March 7^th-10^th Ian Sanchez and I attended the Blue Vision Summit in Washington, DC.  The main focus of the summit was about ocean conservation and preservation.   I learned that even though the world’s oceans seem vast, they are very delicate.   One speaker that I found very interesting was Roz Savage.  In the summer of 2008, she rowed from San Francisco, California to Waikiki, Hawaii.  What stuck out in my mind from her stories of rowing was the amount of trash and plastic she saw while she was rowing.  Roz even said at one point her oars were being weighed down by the trash they were collecting.  In my quiet silence I could only think, WOW.  On the small stretch of ocean this woman was rowing she could not escape the plastic that could have easily been recycled.  All in all, the Blue Vision Summit was a great experience to be a part.  Ian did a great job when he was part of a panel to discuss environmental education in schools.  The panel in general was explaining what they did in the schools to grasp the attention of the students and how to reform the curriculum in the schools to allow the students to retain information better.  A teacher from California raised an interesting point by saying he thought the curriculum was in place; however, some of the teachers were either not qualified to teach the new curriculum or had trouble understanding how to teach the curriculum.  This is why LEEP is such a vital part of our school system.  In the schools that Ian helps teach, Ian has the knowledge and the resources to teach the curriculum in a manner that allows for students to retain knowledge better.  Just from my personal experience, I sat in on a class Ian was teaching the about ores and the different kind of rocks.  At first, Ian just talked about the property of ores and rocks, but it wasn’t until the students were allowed to go outside and look for these different types of materials did the information hold.  The attendees at the Blue Vision Summit praised Ian for his work and teaching skills and really admired the way he was able to present environmental education to students in a hands on manner.  I would highly advise anyone if they have the time and means to go to the Blue Vision Summit next year.  It was a great learning experience for me, and I really appreciate Ian for allowing me to go.