Tuesday, August 5, 2008: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
101 B, Midwest Airlines Center
SS 17 - Linking Research and Education In and Beyond Our National Parks
Have you conducted research in a National Park? Did you share your research experience or findings with park visitors, park interpreters or managers, students, or the local community? Why or why not? This roundtable for researchers, educators, and National Park staff will be organized to provide: (1) Overview of research and education programs in national parks (e.g., Natural Resource Challenge, Inventory and Monitoring Networks, Research Learning Centers, Research Permit and Reporting System, Sabbatical in the Parks); (2) Educational outreach examples from research in National Parks (e.g., podcasts, fact sheets, classroom curricula, citizen science, workshops, internships); (3) Open forum for participants to share stories of research-education links (successful or not-so-successful). The goal is to encourage researchers working in National Parks to communicate research results with park managers and the public - and thereby help connect people with park resources, build support for ongoing research, and provide information for science-based management. In addition to hearing ideas for tapping into existing educational outreach opportunities, participants can share and discuss their experiences at creating effective links between research and education - what works and what doesn’t. Session organizers and participant-presenters include NPS employees and research cooperators representing several national program areas, regions, and parks. Information will be shared from Research Learning Centers located at parks as far flung as Denali, Acadia, and Great Smoky Mountains, and from several Inventory and Monitoring Networks (including Great Lakes). This workshop is supported by the NPS Office of Education and Outreach, Natural Resource Program Center in Fort Collins.
Organizer:	Lucy E. Tyrrell, Denali National Park and Preserve
Co-organizers:	Mike Whatley, National Park Service Joy Marburger, Great Lakes Research and Education Center

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See more of The 93rd ESA Annual Meeting (August 3 -- August 8, 2008)