Nine Students in the Marine Biology program at Des Moines Central Campus High School have been selected to become part of a national program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The students were selected to participate in NOAA’s Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassadors program, which provides students with leadership and training opportunities to become effective, knowledgeable stewards of the National Marine Sanctuaries, and the ocean in general.
Their instructor, Dr. Gregory J. Barord, has also been chosen to participate in an international effort, selected by the United Nations as part of a pool of experts for their Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment. Started in 2002, the initiative aims to regularly review the environmental, economic, and social aspects of the state of the world’s oceans, both current and foreseeable. Dr. Barord will be working with the “Cephalopod Team”, as his research focus and expertise lies in the biology, behavior, and conservation of nautiluses, octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.
“I will be able to share with them so they can see another way that scientists work together with other scientists, from around the world, to focus on global issues,” said Dr. Barord. “Students will also be able to see a connection between scientific work and socioeconomic outcomes.”
He also expects that working with other scientists from around the world will mean even more opportunities to invite them to lecture to his classes.
“In the classroom, my work will provide another perspective from which to discuss local issues here in the Des Moines area within a broader context of their connections to the world,” added Barord. “Science can inform socio-economic solutions, and vice versa, both at the world level but also at our local level.”
Dr. Barord’s new work with the United Nations is in addition to several other affiliations he has that bring new knowledge and experience to Central Campus and Des Moines Public Schools. That includes his affiliation as a research scientist with the American Museum of Natural History, a Conservation Biologist with Save the Nautilus, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Mollusc Specialist Group, and work with the United States Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
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