Linking environmental biology to local communities: Active learning with UMEB scholars

Background/Question/Methods The National Science Foundation's Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology program (UMEB) is one of several programs designed to engage students from underrepresented groups in research and professional development in environmental biology. Although the primary focus of UMEB is on research experience, we find that outreach activities resonate especially deeply with students in our University of Missouri-Columbia UMEB program. To instill research content into students' work with local communities and enhance student awareness of the many ways that environmental biologists contribute professionally to the health of local communities, we created a semester long service-learning course, "Connecting Environmental Biology to Local Communities". Results/Conclusions A few examples illustrate how the course ties research to environmental issues in local communities. First, the semester starts with a stark look at how environmental quality (vegetation, heat and UV intensity, biodiversity, invasive species abundance, etc.) changes along a socioeconomic gradient (corridor) through Columbia, Mo. Students design a data sampling strategy, collect data and collaborate on potential remedies for environmental degradation in the corridor. Our students developed a logic model for a tree-planting program that would involve residents in a low-income neighborhood, giving them a first-hand look at interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues. Next, our UMEB students engaged in environmental education for fifth graders in a public school that serves an economically disadvantaged and racially diverse neighborhood of Columbia. They begin this 6-week series of activities by creating experiential modules introducing fifth graders to their UMEB research projects. This assignment simultaneously enhances our students' understanding of their own research, provides a venue for developing communication skills. and generates genuine excitement for science as a way of learning and teaching. In a self-assessment, we found that UMEB students gained considerable confidence in their capacity to explain their research to others through the course. A third activity involves teaching our students skills for deliberative dialogue and providing them an opportunity to moderate a town hall meeting on local environmental issues. While these skills are valuable in their own right, we envision them playing a key role for environmental biologists, as they work with diverse stakeholders to create and implement solutions to intransigent environmental issues. Although it is early to assess the success of this program, we feel that innovative curricula to strengthen connections between research and outreach work especially well with diverse and community oriented students attracted to UMEB.