© North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
According to NOAA, selected projects will reach community members in eight US states, many of whom have never had access to this level of aquaculture outreach and education resources.
The 2024 Aquaculture Literacy Mini-Grant awardees
LEAD INSTITUTION |
PROJECT |
PRIMARY PROJECT LOCATION |
IBSS Corp. |
Tide to Table, Farm to Food: Exploring the Merrior of Ocean-Farmed Seafood |
Washington State |
Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center |
Farmers MAI-KIT (Maine Aquaculture Innovation Kitchen): Interactive, Live-streamed Cooking Classes Featuring Maine Chefs, Farmers, and Aquaculture Products |
Walpole, Maine |
Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group |
Expanding Social License for Public and Private Aquaculture on Martha's Vineyard |
Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts |
North Carolina Sea Grant |
Advancing Shellfish Mariculture Literacy in North Carolina |
North Carolina |
Saltwater Classroom, Inc. |
Empowering Ocean Stewards: Restorative Aquaculture and Inclusive Oyster Farming Education |
Southern Maine |
South Carolina Aquarium |
Increasing Oyster Aquaculture Awareness in Charleston, South Carolina |
Charleston, South Carolina |
Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center |
From Hatchery to Habitat: How Conservation Aquaculture Benefits the Bay |
St. Petersburg, Florida |
University of Maryland |
Aquaculture in Agriculture |
Caroll County, Maryland |
University of New Hampshire |
Developing and Piloting an Aquaculture Podcast to Enhance Aquaculture Literacy in the Northeast |
Durham, New Hampshire |
According to NOAA, the second cohort of the Aquaculture Literacy Mini-Grants programe are forging lasting partnerships across informal learning institutions (eg aquariums), aquaculture industry (eg shellfish, finfish and seaweed farmers), and NOAA to co-develop innovative educational experiences that explore aquaculture topics. Opportunities include everything from farm tours, online cooking classes, and podcast episodes to exhibit and curriculum development. By requiring applicants to build partnerships across the education, industry, and research sectors, selected projects will pull from each partner’s unique expertise to address gaps in aquaculture literacy.
“Thanks to this eeBLUE funding, we are excited to launch a new project that connects chefs, farmers, and the public through some of Maine’s best-farmed products, allowing new audiences to directly engage with sustainable seafood,” said Dr Emily Whitmore, social science research manager at Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center
