Trading Prairie Winds for Ocean Swells: How Two Kansas Teachers Brought NOAA Fisheries Research Home to the Midwest

What happens when two educators from landlocked Kansas trade wheat fields and prairie winds for views of the open ocean aboard NOAA research vessels? They return to their classrooms with firsthand scientific observations, memorable stories of marine life, and a vital message for their students: ocean health, scientific discovery, and maritime careers belong to every community.

This summer, through NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program, teachers Amelia Black of Topeka and Guy Sturdevant of Wichita traveled from the heartland to different coasts to serve as members of science teams conducting research at sea. Though the program has sailed more than 900 educators on federal research vessels since 1990, relatively few participants have hailed from the Sunflower State. Sturdevant and Black represent only the 9th and 10th Teachers at Sea from Kansas.

Black, who teaches English as a Second Language at Topeka's Jardine Middle School, headed 900 miles south to help scientists survey groundfish in the eastern Gulf of America. Sturdevant is a chemistry, earth science, and ecology teacher at Wichita Northwest High School. He journeyed nearly 5,000 miles northwest to join scientists on a midwater acoustic trawl survey of pollock in the Bering Sea. Both were eager for the opportunity to inspire students to step out of their comfort zones and expand their horizons.

Frontline Fisheries Research

Living and working at sea alongside professional scientists meant adapting to demanding 12-hour shifts, unpredictable maritime weather, and constant vessel motion. In addition to the science work, each teacher took photos and wrote blogs from sea. They explained the science, significance, and personal experience of NOAA's missions with their students and communities.

In June, Sturdevant boarded NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson in the remote Alaskan port of Dutch Harbor. For more than 3 weeks on the Bering Sea, he worked with scientists surveying Alaska pollock, a key U.S. seafood species students may know from fish sticks or fast food sandwiches. Sturdevant learned how scientists monitor the backscatter (recorded echoes) from multi-beam sonar "echosounders" to locate possible schools of pollock and estimate their biomass. The team then conducts trawls to sample the fish schools and ground-truth their sonar interpretations.

Sturdevant helped process the trawl catches in the ship's wet lab, measuring pollock with an electronic measuring board and entering data into custom software. The trawls on Sturdevant's cruise, targeting fish schools in the middle of the water column, captured mostly pollock. But Sturdevant made sure to include photos of occasional stranger finds-including remarkably round fish called "lumpsuckers"-in his blogs.

In his posts, Sturdevant also highlighted shipboard safety protocols, documenting safety drills and explaining how ships handle emergency healthcare hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital. "The fast rescue boat is designed to respond to emergencies such as man overboard," he writes in one post, introducing the week's drill. He then explains why regularly conducting drills is important. "Average water temperatures in the survey area hover just above freezing… Each minute in the water decreases the chance of a successful rescue. Response times matter. Practice matters."

Next, in July, Black headed to Pascagoula, Mississippi to board NOAA Ship Oregon II . She and the science team deployed bottom trawls at pre-determined sampling stations off the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Black helped sort catches, weigh and measure specimens, and record data.

Unlike Sturdevant's midwater trawls far north, these subtropical bottom trawls sampled a wide range of marine life. Black had the opportunity to see first-hand commercially important groundfish and shrimp species, as well as crabs, seahorses, pipefish, scrawled cowfish, brain-like tunicates, venomous scorpionfish, and invasive lionfish. One haul brought up thousands of small Atlantic calico scallops; another included a common octopus hiding inside a large helmet shell. (The octopus was returned to sea.) Ultimately, the team catalogued 350 distinct marine taxa over the span of her 12-day survey leg.

In addition to biological sampling, Black helped collect physical ocean data at each sampling station by deploying the Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth rosette. The large metal apparatus houses a ring of water sampling bottles and the Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth probe. Black was delighted to learn that NOAA Ship Oregon II's rosette is nicknamed "Dorothy II," while the probe it contains is called "Toto"-fitting companions for a teacher no longer in Kansas!

Connecting Ocean Research to Kansas Career Pathways

A central goal of our program is helping educators connect ocean research to local workforce development initiatives. The collaborative effort required to conduct research at sea involves a range of career paths much broader than the classic, academic marine science. Only some of these require college degrees. Other roles require skills that students could apply to local high-paying non-college careers (PDF, 77 pages) as well.

Students pursuing careers in electronics, computer science, or data technology can apply their skills as survey technicians, software developers, and electronics technicians. Students interested in healthcare, nursing, or emergency medical services can apply those skills as shipboard medical personnel. Mechanical trade students can help meet a critical need for ship engineers.

Kansas high school students enrolled in Career and Technical Education culinary courses can find rewarding opportunities as cooks and Chief Stewards in our ship galleys. For her blog, Black interviewed the two stewards aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II about their careers. She reported that "students who gain restaurant experience and earn their ServSafe certificate should absolutely consider applying for NOAA," and notes that "the job offers excellent benefits, opportunities for shore leave, and the chance to travel."

Finally, students with a wide range of interests and a love of the outdoors might consider the NOAA Corps , one of the nation's eight federal uniformed services. NOAA Corps officers staff NOAA research vessels and aircraft, applying skills in science, navigation, engineering, and logistics.

Learn more about these career connections

Inspiring Midwestern Classrooms and Communities

Back home, both educators will weave their ocean experiences into their school curricula. For example, Black has already surveyed the crew to compile ocean reading recommendations for different reading levels. She also plans to introduce her middle school students to traditional Japanese fish printing, called gyotaku, which she learned while at sea. She hopes the interdisciplinary nature of the activity will help her students connect with science across language barriers.

"Connectivity extends geographically: Our rivers in Kansas lead to our oceans," reflects Black in her blog. She noted that beyond her classroom, she works with other teachers statewide through her role on the board of the Kansas Geographic Alliance. "The Midwestern watersheds affect our marine ecosystem in the Gulf. In participating in this experience, I will be able to bring back my learning and experiences not just to my students but to educators and others throughout Kansas."

Sturdevant will bring acoustic science, fisheries data, and safety awareness to his high school science classes. "In my 7 years in the classroom, I have worked to immerse my students in the hands-on practice of science," Sturdevant says. "NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program will be an amazing opportunity for me to bring the exciting world of marine science into my high school classroom."

Ocean health directly affects inland agricultural states, but it does so in ways many of their residents may not see. After all, the ocean produces more than half the planet's (generally invisible) oxygen. By sharing their experiences at sea, teaching ocean science through original lessons, and highlighting a wide range of marine career pathways, Black and Sturdevant show their students that ocean literacy is essential for everyone. Our program is proud to support dedicated teachers who bring the wonder of ocean exploration back to their Midwest schools.