Webinar Series

fish swimming around a coral reef

The National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series provides educators, students, and the interested public with educational and scientific expertise, resources and training to support ocean and climate literacy. This series generally targets formal and informal educators that are engaging students (elementary through college) in formal classroom settings, as well as members of the community in informal educational venues (e.g. after school programs, science centers, aquariums, etc.). However, the series is open to anyone interested in the topics listed below.

For distance learning programs about marine mammals and other protected species in the wild, please visit our Wildlife Viewing Guidelines and the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources' Marine Life Viewing Guidelines to ensure you are aware of the regulations.


Upcoming Webinars

L to R: A sunflower star grown in a laboratory; the Sunflower Star Laboratory (SSL); a sunflower star in the wild; and SSL scientists and volunteers.

Shooting for the Stars: Sunflower Star Laboratory’s community-based approach to Pycnopodia conservation and kelp forest recovery

August 21, 2025 at 12 pm Hawaii / 3 pm Pacific / 5 pm Central / 6 pm Eastern

Reuven Bank, Cofounder and Chairman of the Board, Sunflower Star Laboratory

Sunflower Star Laboratory (SSL) is a conservation aquaculture nonprofit dedicated to restoring the critically-endangered Sunflower Star and saving California's kelp forests. In part because of the loss of this keystone urchin predator, over 96% of Northern California's kelp forests have disappeared in the last decade. In this talk, learn about how SSL is currently raising part of the first cohort of human-reared juvenile Sunflower Stars in California, conducting scientific research, and coordinating Sunflower Star recovery with partner institutions across North America.

Register