Great news, friends -- the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) has agreed to continue funding our Oil Spill Science Outreach Team for three more years!
As you may remember from my previous blog posts, two years ago Sea Grant partnered with the GoMRI to pull together a team of specialists to answer questions about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. To date, we have created 10 outreach publications (download them here), hosted 15 science seminars (watch the recordings here), and given more than 75 presentation to various groups.
So, what does the next phase of our project look like? Based on the feedback we’ve collected from more than 1,000 people that work, live and play along the Gulf Coast, we’ll be expanding our work to create some new outreach products. Here are some highlights:
- Develop a train-the-trainer program so that others can share oil spill science on a regional and national level
- Build relationships between emergency responders and researchers to assist with future collaborations during response efforts
- Create targeted outreach products for audiences, such as videos, fact sheets, newsletter articles and translated materials
- Organize targeted outreach events, such as a health summit, science socials and programs involving Science on a Sphere
We’ll still be offering science seminars and creating outreach publications, like we have in the past, but we’re excited for our new programs and products! This second phase of our program will be kicking off later this fall so be sure to stay tuned for our new, exciting products.
And, if you still haven’t checked out our outreach publications or the recordings of our science seminars, they are all waiting for you on our website. Feel free to email or call (251-438-5690) me if you’d like to be added to our email list or have any questions related to the oil spill.
