Getting the word out about clean harbors

Some things you just can’t accomplish over Zoom. Which is why Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow Pax Templeton is making sure to meet Alaska’s harbormasters and harbor staff in person.

“Just putting your face out there, it matters a lot,” said Templeton, whose principal task is to help the state’s harbors to qualify for Alaska Clean Harbor certification. “A lot of these harbors are definitely operating way more in the real world than the digital world, so it really helps to be face-to-face.”

Templeton is spending his 18-month fellowship as the point of contact for the Alaska Clean Harbors Program, which is spearheaded by Alaska Sea Grant and composed of volunteers throughout the state. The purpose of the program is to assist the state’s harbors in achieving one of three levels of Alaska Clean Harbor status, which they can do by meeting environmental standards in areas like waste disposal and recycling, pollution prevention, and boater education.

“The goal of our certification program is to create a change in culture,” Templeton said. “Harbormasters have described this process as a generational undertaking—we’re trying to create new values around how we handle waste and take individual action to build more sustainable communities.

We have the incredible opportunity here to get ahead of the destruction of marine resources rather than try to restore them [after the fact],” he added. “This is not possible for the rest of the U.S.”

Templeton advertises the program around the state and helps harbormasters to meet certification requirements. To that end, he’s working on specific initiatives for harbors such as creating stencils and signs to educate the public about waste disposal and to connect harbors to funding and spill prevention training opportunities.

“Pax is creating specific action plans for all the harbors,” explained Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent Tav Ammu, who serves as Templeton’s mentor. “If they don’t come up to the level needed to qualify as a clean harbor, he’ll help them identify ways they could do that.” 

Much of Templeton’s time is spent visiting harbors and attending outreach events, perhaps none more significant than last October’s Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators conference in Juneau. He gave a presentation about the program and bestowed a pair of Alaska Clean Harbor awards on Whittier and Skagway, in addition to engaging one-on-one with participants.

“It’s relationship-building with the harbormasters for four days in a row,” Templeton noted. “It’s just a good way to get to know people on a personal level.” 

Templeton brought significant relevant experience to the fellowship. He has a masters degree in Oceans and Fisheries from the University of British Columbia and has spent many hours on the water—and underwater as well— including as a scientific diver and as a deckhand on fishing boats in Alaska and Washington. “Not only does he have his higher education background, but he also has a lot of experience in the harbor and maritime world,” Ammu said.

Templeton’s fellowship is funded through an Alaska Clean Waters Action grant administered by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. There are currently seven certified clean harbors in the state, Templeton said, and the goal of the current grant is to increase that to 14, about half of the 20–30 eligible harbors in Alaska. 

Templeton noted that Alaska Clean Harbor status is a voluntary, non-regulatory certification that affords multiple advantages, including technical assistance in meeting regulations, access to signage and informational materials, and publicity. He said the organization is building partnerships to offer more benefits, such as subsidized spill response training and supplies or discounts on insurance. 

“A big part of our mission is to celebrate and share the work harbors are doing to protect the marine environment—we want the public to understand the effort that goes into stewardship in these community spaces,” he noted. “We also want harbors to see the leadership occurring throughout the state, understand the resources that are out there, and see examples of what a successful harbor looks like.”

Check out this Alaska Sea Grant vlog post to hear more about Pax Templeton in his own words.