Upcoming WebinarS
November 2, 2026 • 7:00pm ET
Building a Global Youth Movement to Protect and Restore Our Ocean Planet
Kasey Gaylord-Opalewski
Associate Director of Education Programs, EarthEcho International
Co-Chair, Student Engagement Committee, NMEA
Cost: Free for members, $5 for non-members
EarthEcho International invites educators to connect their students with opportunities to explore, understand, and take action for our water planet—all year long. Through EarthEcho Academy, teachers can access free, on-demand courses and classroom-ready lessons, including our new Exploring the Blake Plateau series, launching September–December 2026. Students will explore a remarkable deep-sea coral ecosystem off the southeastern U.S., connect with ocean scientists and careers, and participate in live virtual events this fall.
Teachers can also engage students as community scientists through the EarthEcho Water Challenge. Students can test their local waterways, contribute water quality data to a global database, and connect their observations to the health of aquatic ecosystems around the world. Learn how your school can become a Water Challenge Partner and how Water Challenge test kits can support hands-on water science in your classroom.
Join us to discover free, flexible resources that bring water science, ocean exploration, and meaningful student action into your classroom.
Illustration by Wesley Allsbrook
Kasey Gaylord-Opalewski has been designing innovative marine science programs since 2002. An active FMSEA member, she co-chaired the 2016 NMEA conference and has held multiple Board positions, including President. As EarthEcho International’s Associate Director of Programs, Kasey leads initiatives to enhance classroom and community science experiences, fostering ocean literacy and student-led action. She lives in Bradenton, FL with her husband and rescue Huskies, Mako and Phoenix. In her free time, she enjoys reading and being outdoors - hiking, paddling, and camping.
Creative Currents: Art as a Tool for Ocean Literacy
Jeremy Pivor, Partnership & Youth Engagement Director. Bow Seat
Cost: Free for members, $5 for non-members
How can creative expression deepen young people's connection to the ocean and inspire environmental action? Join Bow Seat: Creative Action for Conservation to explore how arts-based environmental education can foster ocean literacy, empathy, agency, and environmental identity among youth worldwide. Drawing on more than a decade of experience engaging over 50,000 students across 144 countries and territories, as well as research published in Ocean Literacy: The Foundation for the Success of the Ocean Decade, Bow Seat will share insights into how creative making helps students develop personal connections to environmental issues and translate learning into meaningful action.
Through examples from Bow Seat's Blue Planet Awareness Contest and other youth environmental initiatives, this webinar will highlight how young people use creativity to raise awareness, engage their communities, and address local environmental challenges. Participants will explore the benefits of interdisciplinary, arts-based approaches and consider how to integrate creative expression into their own educational programs and learning environments. The session will include opportunities for discussion and reflection, along with practical tools and resources that educators can adapt to engage diverse learners and inspire ocean stewardship.
Jeremy Pivor is the Director of Partnerships and Youth Engagement at Bow Seat: Creative Action for Conservation, where he oversees external partnerships and manages the True Blue Fellowship, creating leadership and capacity-building opportunities for youth worldwide. For over a decade, he has worked across conservation, global environmental change, and human health, bringing people and organizations together to tackle complex environmental challenges. Before joining Bow Seat, Jeremy served as Senior Program Coordinator at the Planetary Health Alliance, where he focused on building international and regional coalitions to address the health impacts of the triple planetary crisis (climate change, biodiversity, and pollution). He also lived and worked in Indonesia twice: first as a Henry Luce Foundation Scholar with the Coral Triangle Center, connecting local ocean conservation efforts with government, international development, and nonprofit partners; and later as a research coordinator for Health in Harmony, conducting a community health and environment landscape survey across 23 villages in Kalimantan. Jeremy holds a Masters in Health and Medical Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health’s Joint Medical Program, and a BA in Environmental Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. Outside of work, Jeremy loves to sail and spoil his nieces and nephews.