Strategic Impact (2014)

4-H Marine Ambassador Camp

Virginia Bourdeau, Mary Arnold, Scot Brees, Michelle Carrillo, Woody Davis, Robin Galloway, Andy Hoffmann, Maggie Livesay, Holly Morris, Janet Nagele, Parker Ogburn, Pat Willis, Todd Williver and Michele Osterhoudt - OSU Extension Service, College of Public Health and Human Sciences

The Oregon 4-H Program’s 2013 Ocean Watch 4-H Marine Ambassador Camp engaged youth from across Oregon with research-based knowledge and prepared them to share that knowledge in their home communities.

The camp curriculum covered a range of topics, including Remote Operated Vehicle technology, marine science, oceanography, and ocean health. In addition, campers participated in a Teens as Teachers training, which empowered them to take on their 4-H Marine Ambassador role.

Education sessions took place on the OSU campus, OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, and aboard S/V Ocean Watch, a 64-foot sailing research vessel. On the coast, youth visited education sites to study tide pools, invertebrate taxonomy, beach ecology, freshwater ecosystems, estuaries, tides, and recent tsunami debris.

The 57 campers who attended camp came from 24 Oregon counties. There were 38 girls and 19 boys, and 98% said they had an increased interest in science and ocean health as a result of the camp. Three out of four were thinking about a career in marine science as a result of the camp.