The CoastWatch program and the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network are collaborating to sponsor a workshop at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston.

The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place in the Boat House Auditorium. It will also include a showing of a newly created slide talk surveying the worldwide marine debris problem.

The workshop, titled “Marine Mammal Strandings: Objectives of Response,” will be led by Jim Rice, coordinator of the stranding network. It is designed to prepare volunteers for the stranding network.

The presentation will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about Oregon’s marine mammals and what to do when encountering beached animals.

The workshop will be followed by the world premiere of a new slide talk, “Trash in the Ocean,” created by CoastWatcher Al Dohner of Bandon, a retired physician.

For Coos County CoastWatch information, contact Diane and Dave Bilderback, the Coos CoastWatch coordinators, at (541) 347-1335, dbilderback@mycomspan.com.

For more information about the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, contact Jim Rice by phone at (541) 867-0446, or by e-mail to jim.rice@oregonstate.edu.