Integrating underserved groups into scientific endeavors

Background/Question/Methods

In this talk, we will address the need for a scientifically literate and civically empowered citizenry by proposing a programmatic model by which working within an existing organizational infrastructure, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, can be used to address community-identified environmental issues. Projects like these can draw from traditionally underserved audiences and foster scientific reasoning skills and self-efficacy that will heighten their engagement in local environmental issues and in the scientific enterprise in general. Projects should be driven by local community concern. 

Results/Conclusions

For this model, we investigate the use of open space; a major issue of concern in especially urban populations.  Through this program model participants will apply scientific methods to implement and evaluate their plans of action. It is our hope that this program model would be exportable to communities throughout the United States.  Because the number of trained land managers is insufficient to meet the growing need for communities to manage open space, local citizens need to become involved. To be effective, these individuals need a sufficient understanding of both the scientific and civic processes in which data are used to make decisions and modify practices. Content covered needs to be both ecological and environmental science based. Participants also need an accessible opportunity for learning techniques and assessment of land management practices and the means to bring this learning to the decision-making table. To further develop a sense of community and to broaden our impact, we involve pre-service formal and informal science teachers associated with Rutgers University’s Program in Science Learning; which will pair students with community members directly in an effort to promote a broader learning community among students, scientists, and citizens at large. Few programs to our knowledge have worked to develop citizen understanding of science to the point where they can take ownership over a project and apply their results to novel situations. By challenging the widely held notion that citizen science programs emphasize only the use of citizens as monitors of nominal necessity to the scientific community, we intend to highlight the value of citizens as an underused resource for local scientific endeavors. Furthermore, we intend to facilitate the means by which the public can play a valuable scientific role in resource conservation and management. This is especially critical when working with underserved groups.