So far as we know, Earth is the only planet in our Solar System that has liquid water on its surface. All life on Earth requires water to exist, and beyond that, water is an amazing substance that has many functions that make the Earth a special place. In this course, we will explore the oceans together, learning about their role in shaping the Earth’s climate and about their importance to life on Earth. We will look at some of the amazing creatures that can live at the extreme pressures of the ocean floor, and we’ll talk about the role humans play in influencing the good and ill health of the oceans.   

What to Expect

You will gain a deeper appreciation (pun intended) of the essential impact of these vast water reservoirs on our planet as well as our impact on the oceans.

Feedback from past courses with Pan:

“Extraordinary in every way! 10 stars! We should have Pam Conrad for future CF courses.”

“Dr. Conrad was very intriguing and such a good story teller. The multiple visuals were a definite asset. She took us, the participants, on several journeys and she left us with a challenge to keep up our own personal exploration.”

“What a GREAT program this was!!!  I hope we can get “Pan” to come back and visit with us again in the future.  Would be wonderful to meet her in person!”

Pamela Conrad

Pamela Conrad

Pan Conrad is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist specializing in understanding how planets do or do not evolve into habitable environments. She is presently involved in the exploration of Mars with the Perseverance Rover and its companion, the Ingenuity helicopter as a research scientist at The Earth and Planets Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Science in Washington, DC. Her “primary” job is as an Episcopal priest and pastor of St. Alban’s Parish in Glen Burnie, MD. As both an Episcopal priest and a scientist, one of her priorities is to help people feel confident to engage both their critical thinking and their faith in all aspects of life, using what we can learn from observing nature as an approach to understanding the systems nature of all that is.

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