Estuaries: Where Rivers Meet the Sea

This is the official Web site for National Estuaries Day and a resource for teachers, students and anyone interested in learning more about the magical places where rivers meet the sea. National Estuaries Day is an interagency celebration that takes place the last Saturday in September. The featured event is EstuaryLive, a free, interactive field trip over the Internet hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Estuarine Research Reserves in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Estuary Programs.

On this Web site you will find everything you need to participate in EstuaryLive. Plus, you will find information on a new initiative: the development of a new curriculum called Estuaries 101. This curriculum teaches key principles and concepts of estuarine ecology and illustrates how estuaries relate to other human and ecological systems, all while teaching to science standards! To learn more about the development of Estuaries 101 click here.

Several steps are being followed to develop Estuaries 101. The first step, implementation of a national teacher needs assessment, is now complete. In the summer of 2007, more than one thousand classroom teachers and informal science educators shared their thoughts and opinions on teaching estuarine related topics via an online needs assessment. The results of this assessment describe obstacles to teaching about estuaries, and teacher’s preferences for accessing and utilizing various educational products. This assessment was conducted by TERC, a non-profit educational research and development organization, and NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System. To read the final report on the survey results, please click here.

Why You Should Learn More …

Estuaries are extraordinary places. These bays, sounds, lagoons and sloughs are inspirational sites enjoyed by boaters, swimmers, hikers and bird watchers. They are also essential to the U.S. economy for commercial fishing and tourism. Estuaries buffer uplands from flooding and help protect coastal communities from severe storms. Our actions—even far from the coast—impact the health of our estuaries and ultimately our water quality, food supply and livelihoods. Explore this site and learn more.