Many years back, NMEA had absolutely no money and we struggled mightily
just to keep Current alive. What we did have was spirit,
and a belief that marine education was important. We believed then
and still believe now that marine education is a gift to each generation.
As marine educators,
our contribution to the well-being of the planet is to share our knowledge
and our passion for the world of water. Our goal is to create a well
informed public. A well informed public means people recognizing that
our water planet is fragile, coupled with the knowledge and understanding
of how best to care for it.
Therefore, a major
focus of our work is always about providing solid science information.
Equally important is the goal of affecting our students so their relationship
to water becomes more heightened personally. I say this is of equal
importance because if we hope to create an enlightened populace willing
to act as positive stewards, then our audiences need to feel some
kind of meaningful visceral connection to water. Providing information
without passion just creates more stuff to know without the key ingredient—emotional
attachment.
Another important
goal is informing our audiences as to problems facing the world of
water, coupled with ideas as to how we can protect it. However, we
need to be cautious here.
Young students
especially need to experience the magic and majesty of water before
they get exposed to the problematic issues. If our audiences have
not yet developed a personal, caring relationship to water prior to
becoming exposed to its problems, there is a good chance they will
not be receptive to stewardship. With this in mind, those of us who
work with young students have the responsibility to excite the students
as well as educate them.
So how do we prepare
ourselves to address these goals as effectively as possible so that
we can have maximum impact?
That is where
NMEA fits in.
NMEA should always
be about providing innovative ideas, the tools to put them in use,
and the inspiration to want to implement them. Consistent with this,
I take particular delight in the wonderful contribution “The
Bridge” makes. NMEA is about its people. We are a network of
like-minded professionals available for sharing and assistance.
We are also friends.
I see NMEA as family. We are kindred spirits who have in common a
love of water, and a desire to share our love and knowledge of it
to others. My life has been enriched both personally and professionally
by the wonderful people I have met and interacted with via NMEA. Whatever
success I have had is shared by all those NMEA friends who have helped
along the way.
I started this
article by pointing out that in the old days NMEA was not about money,
mostly because we had none. We were about spirit and a belief in our
mission. I encourage our leadership to remember that, and always put
people first. All other considerations, especially money, should be
secondary.
Just as we hope
to make our audiences feel more connected to the world of water, so
should we have our members feel as warmly connected to our NMEA family
as possible.
People first.
The revival
of Gamming in NMEA publications marks an absence of more than sixteen
years. NMEA’s President’s Circle, made up of former presidents
and leaders, contribute to this feature. Gamming is meant to 1) inspire,
create, and pass on wisdom; 2) give recognition to unsung stars; 3)
pass on stories, ideas, and dreams: 4) give meaning to our work as
marine and aquatic educators; 5) learn from seasoned and experienced
marine and aquatic educators. Comments may be directed to President’s
Circle Coordinator Bill Hastie at: hastieb@wvi.com
Gam (gam)
1. a social visit; 2. an exchange of visits between the crews of
whaling ships at sea.
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