Despite denial of global climate change (CC) by some, the scientific community increasingly recognizes the need to predict and prepare for CC impact. Among the most pressing issues is the need to develop mechanisms to address impact inequities. The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has long been engaged in education, research and outreach activities, particularly by EHRC and environmental justice (EJ) Section activities. These groups have raised issues relevant to and involving local communities, including sponsorship of meeting symposia, workshops and urban field trips; publication of papers, on-line materials, and public policy initiatives; and encouraging community-based research and education initiatives; and working with faith-based communities active in CC. The 1993 first Women and Minorities in Ecology (WAMIE) report highlighted the need to make ecology relevant to a diverse society by reaching out to achieve a broader racial and ethnic diversity of ecologists. These efforts were subsequently expanded by linking with social and justice movements at the grassroots level, especially through the establishment of the ESA and UNCF supported student mentoring Strategies in Ecology Education, Development and Sustainability (SEEDS).
Underlying all efforts has been the understanding of the critical need to provide communities, particularly those without access to resources, sufficient information so that they may make reasoned and reasonable decisions, work with scientists, and interact with authoritative decision-makers to develop and implement appropriate plans to address and alleviate CC impacts. Education on CC poses several challenges. Perhaps the most critical is that community-based research directly related to CC is not available for every setting. Basic CC research often requires the use of expensive research equipment, complex modeling and analyses of large datasets and research settings that are often not available to low income, disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. Through surveys of a variety of publications (texts, journals, and online), we compared ESA, ESA-affiliated, and non-ESA efforts to ascertain whether and how components (audience addressed, materials, approach) of ecological education and justice were included.
Results/Conclusions
While ESA has made strides in education and outreach over the past two decades, there is much work to be done when compared to the activities, approaches, efforts and results of other organizations. We envision a set of organizational goals that will ensure that all ecologists have an understanding of the need for educational outreach to a variety of audiences, a skill set to effectively participate in community education and a support network that facilitates community collaboration.
