EarthEcho Academy

COURSES AND CONTENT

EarthEcho understands that teachers are essential to galvanizing and empowering a scientifically literate generation of young people who can restore and protect our ocean planet. But, introducing some of the world's biggest challenges into the classroom through solutions-oriented STEM is no easy task. That's why we offer free educational tools and wrap-around support for educators of all backgrounds and professions.

EarthEcho Academy's self-directed online courses introduce teachers to a variety of STEM professionals to learn about the innovative ideas and solutions being used to address the climate crisis. Each course's accompanying classroom materials are designed to help students practice critical thinking, understand iterative design, and identify engineering principles in action.

EXPLORE this page to access the courses and content we have created.

Course: Introduction to Environmental Justice

Deep-dive into environmental justice and racism. Through videos, case-studies, and data-visualization tools, learners will gain a better understanding of environmental risk factors and the impacts of environmental injustice on local communities. This course guides learners to draw connections to themes between their own environments and neighborhood-level environmental issues.

Course: An Ocean of Opportunity

Let’s talk about the Blue Economy. From renewable energy to biotechnology, the Blue  Economy is a rapidly growing and increasingly-influential source of both climate solutions and career opportunities. Through this four chapter course, learners will better understand the basics of the Blue Economy, the ocean as a source of renewable resources, the critical underwater habitats we rely on, and innovation around ocean-based solutions to climate change.

Course: Expedition: Water by Design

Explore water scarcity and drought, understand aqueducts and aquaponics, define desalination, and discover innovative environmental solutions to the water crisis.  In 2017, the EarthEcho Expeditions team embarked on an exploration of Southern California to examine the diverse solutions engineered to overcome the scarcity of available freshwater. From aqueducts that stretch across the state, to converting ocean water to fresh, to innovations in farming, you will leave this course with an understanding of solutions to the global water crisis.

Expedition: PlasticsSeas

In 2018, the EarthEcho Expeditions team explored the consequences of coastal development and human pollution, particularly plastics, along Australia's southern coast with a focus on the impacts plastic pollution has on the vibrant creatures of Port Philip Bay. Continued growth and urban sprawl in coastal areas throughout Australia pose imminent threats to the offshore ecosystems but the population density of Melbourne made it the perfect place to explore this issue!  We dove deep into ocean plastics and examined where plastic pollution can come from, the impacts it can have on the environment and what solutions are out there to make the change we need to stop marine debris.

Expedition: What’s the Catch?

Overfishing and poor fisheries management is a global issue impacting more than 3 billion people worldwide who depend on seafood as their primary source of protein. Populations from the Pacific Island to the United Kingdom are addressing this complex problem that is heavily influenced by ecology, economics, and anthropology. In 2018, EarthEcho International traveled to Plymouth, England to explore fisheries that were thought to be beyond recovery but has rebounded in recent years thanks to new technology guiding resource managers.

Expedition: Shell Shocked

The EarthEcho Expeditions team travels to the Pacific Northwest to explore how the continued absorption of carbon dioxide by our oceans is changing the fundamental chemistry that marine ecosystems depend on to operate. Join Philippe as he learns about the causes of ocean acidification and how it is affecting the native communities along Washington’s Olympic Coast.

Expedition: Into the Dead Zone

The EarthEcho team explores the Chesapeake Bay watershed to learn more about a global ocean issue that plagues more 400 communities worldwide: dead zones. Journey through five states and the District of Columbia to investigate the impacts causing a dead zone in the world’s largest estuary, including urbanization, agriculture, wastewater, and airborne pollution.

Expedition: Beyond the Dead Zone

What is ocean acidification? Join the EarthEcho team as they travel to South Florida to explore how development and agriculture have impacted this region’s natural ecosystems.