With the September 29 th tsunami now several months behind us, the environmental damage that ensued will nevertheless take months if not years for the Territory's reef system to recover from. As a proactive effort to aid in this recovery, students from the Marine Science Oceanography class and Youth Outcry Club at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) have been participated during November in several educational projects that help protect our marine environment .

Working with Alice Lawrence, Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Protected Area Network Specialist, the students assisted in reef cleanups in Asili, Leone, and Fagasa, relieving the corals of such threats such as roof tops, clothes, and other hard structures that would otherwise damage their fragile structure. "With so many tsunami victims still in urgent need of assistance, we understand why the villages have not had time to think about their reefs," said Wetzell. "As stewards of our marine environment, I, my students and Youth Outcry have been happy to help the villages get a head start on this effort."

Continuing their involvement, the ASCC students assisted the US Geological Survey (USGS) with their post-tsunami research by downloading videos and photos from the community that captured of the tsunami and its aftermath. "We put the word out asking the public to share their visual record of the tsunami with us," said, "and the students made digital copies of these resources at our drop off point on campus." The photos and videos will assist the USGS in validating their wave inundation models. The USGS will post these images on a dedicated website for all to view.

Wetzell explained that this active approach in providing post-tsunami assistance engages students in understanding the impact that natural disasters have on the marine environment, and motivates them to stay involved in long term activities such as supporting local authorities in establishing accurate warning system. As one example, the students of Youth Outcry recently prepared a letter to ASCC President Dr. Seth Galea'i requesting that the
College review its emergency evacuation strategies, taking into account the conditions that arose during the September 29 th disaster. "ASCC has always had an evacuation plan in place," said Wetzell, "but based on what we observed during the earthquake and tsunami, we now know additional factors that can contribute to an even stronger plan of action."