Take a look at this recent press release describing the annual Gulf dead zone measurement. The dead zone is an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — and this year it is approximately 4,402 square miles. This equates to roughly 2.8 million acres of habitat potentially unavailable to fish and bottom-dwelling species.

NOAA’s new Education Strategic Plan sets a vision for the next 20 years of NOAA’s work supporting a strong scientific workforce and engaging learners in our planet’s dynamic environment. In this update, the NOAA Education community shares the course of action that reflects current programs and priorities. This plan is the product of nearly two years of work (read this article to learn more background information on the development of the plan) from the NOAA Education community and our partners, grantees, and colleagues across the ocean and environmental education field.

Submit photos through the category links below.

Calling all photographers, regardless of skill level or experience, select your best photos to participate in the 2025 Get Into Your Sanctuary Photo Contest.

Winning photos will be featured in the Earth Is Blue social media campaign.

Show the world what the ocean and Great Lakes mean to you in the following categories.

• Sanctuary Views
• Sanctuary Life
• Sanctuary Recreation
• Sanctuaries Around the World

Winning photographs will be announced in October 2025. Each photographer may submit up to 10 photos total (minimum of 1200 pixels on long edge).Photographers may submit photos to all categories, as long as their submissions do not exceed 10 photos total. Additional photos will be disqualified. All images MUST include the following information: photographer's name, short description of when and where the photo was taken, and what is shown in the photo. Please include the species names of animals if known.

Remember to practice responsible recreation when taking your photos. When photographing marine mammals and other protected species, always follow wildlife viewing guidelines to ensure that you are not disturbing these animals.

For questions, please contact earthisblue@noaa.gov

Region: Nationwide

Equipment Needed: Smartphone

For this project, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory collects public weather reports through a free app – mPING (Meteorological Phenomena Identification Near the Ground). Weather radars cannot "see" what is happening on the ground, so mPING reports are used to fine-tune forecasts. Users can submit the type of weather that is occurring in their area as often as every minute. The reports are immediately archived into a database and are displayed on a map accessible to anyone. 

Through a partnership between NOAA Citizen Science and the Teacher at Sea Alumni Association, we explored ways to engage a broader audience, particularly educators and students, in NOAA Citizen Science initiatives. Citizen Science Programs: Best Practices for Educational Components highlights best practices for improving access to these projects through enhanced data accessibility, educational resources, and intentional connections to formal and informal learning.

Deadline: Friday, August 29, 2025

The Global Heat Health Information Network, in partnership with Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, is launching a global photography competition to showcase the real impacts of extreme heat, and the ways communities around the world are responding to it.

Heat is a silent killer, and it remains largely invisible and misunderstood. Our Network invites photographers and visual storytellers from around the world to help us change that.

This competition seeks original, compelling photographs that capture the human, environmental, and infrastructural impacts of extreme heat—as well as the creative strategies communities are using to stay safe and resilient.

The Environmental Educator Knowledge and Skills: Guidelines for Excellence is a comprehensive set of recommendations about the knowledge and skills or competencies educators use to provide effective environmental education. Environmental Educator Knowledge and Skills: Guidelines for Excellence outlines the experiences and learning that will help educators foster environmental literacy, plan environmental education programs, and implement them.

This stormwater control presentation can be used to introduce the topic, which is both a safety issue and a pollution problem since stormwater carries pollutants into our streams and bays. Urban flooding from storm events has become increasingly common as evidenced by more frequent extreme weather events.

Application Deadline:
Sunday, September 21, 2025

The Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Network’s fellowship aims to provide an immersive, real-world learning opportunity within the field of coastal and ocean acidification (COA). This workforce development fellowship is also intended to support a project(s) that builds on the activities outlined in the MACAN 2024-2028 Workplan. The student will interact with one or more mentors to learn about the fundamentals of COA science, policy, industry, education, and outreach. The focus of the fellowship should be data compilation and analysis, with additional creation of outreach and education materials determined by the fellow in consultation with appropriate partners and mentors.