Philippe Cousteau explores juvenile fish habitats. Marine biologists, Tom Stamp, and Dr. Ben Ciotti show Philippe how different habitats can be monitored. The use of nets, acoustic telemetry, sampling and more are used to monitor habitats, like estuaries. Learn how protecting these habitats, where fish spend their early years, is crucial in ensuring fish populations for future generations.

Seafood serves as a primary source of food and protein for many people across the world, and the economies of many nations are heavily influenced by fish stocks and fisheries management. While efforts are in place to manage fisheries in many places around the world, there are still risks associated with fishing on a commercial scale. Many fishing vessels are equipped to target specific species of fish, for example, cod, but the large nets and trawls used for efficiency have a downside. This downside is called “bycatch”. Bycatch is defined as any non-targeted species that are brought in accidentally within the catch. In this lesson, students will use the engineering design process to create an alternative to modern fishing nets to try and reduce the amount of bycatch. They will also practice data collection and review.

Approximately 600,000 sea birds die each year by getting caught on hooks used in line fishing. A device called the Hookpod, invented by a UK company in Devon, has a clever solution to this problem. The fish hook is covered by a case so birds cannot get hooked. At a certain depth (below the diving depth of indigenous birds) a mechanism is triggered to release the case which floats to the surface and is retrieved to be used again. These lesson ideas provide an interesting practical idea to use a particle model to explain density and pressure in a gas. Students will then take part in a STEM design challenge to make a device to respond to a pressure change at a particular depth of water.

Global populations have for decades migrated more and more to coastal regions. This colonization of the coast has resulted in large areas of what was formerly rocky shores, salt marshes, and mudflats becoming built environment for people. What’s more, as sea levels rise more, coastal defenses are being put in place to protect towns and cities from the oceans. These coastal defenses are also replacing natural habitats that play a vital role in the life cycle of fish, including spawning locations, nurseries, and sources of planktonic food. This, in turn, is affecting the fish stocks in the oceans. During this lesson, students will gain a basic understanding of the idea that specific habitats are essential in the lifecycle of some species. Students will work through the engineering design process to build a ‘bio-block’ solution to make sea walls a more nature-friendly solution for flood protection.

For anyone looking to teach and learn more about biodiversity. This resource includes the basics of biodiversity to building solutions to foster and protect this element of our world.

Slides from our virtual field trip with Dr. Kate Charlton-Robb with the Marine Mammal Foundation.

This calendar has been created by the EarthEcho International Youth Leadership Council. These youth, aged 16-22, designed this calendar to increase awareness and inspire behavior change to protect our collective future. The YLC invites you to use this calendar track and change your habits and, hopefully, provide monthly ideas to help you live a more sustainable, conscientious lifestyle.

Join us as we celebrate the launch of our 2018 EarthEcho Expedition: PlasticSeas with one of your young ocean protectors, Shalise. Shalise believes we need to protect our beautiful oceans for future generations as the oceans are essential to life on earth.

In this investigation, students design and create a Recycling Sorting Machine to eliminate the amount of waste that is incorrectly being sent to landfill. Students use basic resources (recycled and/or reused items in the classroom, home, or their community) to engineer a solution to the growing problem of waste in our schools.