Thursday, August 5, 2010: 11:30 AM-1:15 PM
308, David L Lawrence Convention Center
Organizer:
Julie A. Reynolds, Duke University
Co-organizer:
Teresa Mourad, Ecological Society of America
ESA’s President Mary Power and President-Elect Terry Chapin recently issued a call to action for ecologists to promote planetary stewardship as a framework for science and society to reduce anthropogenic damage to the biosphere (Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7(8):399, 2009). Certainly, most ecologists would recognize the importance of this vision, but many of us may struggle with how to implement it. This workshop will be facilitated by education and outreach specialists on ways to combine research interests with education and outreach programs that could promote planetary stewardship. We will address some of the major barriers to education and outreach efforts, including limited time, resources, and expertise. We’ll talk about ways to get funding for outreach efforts, including the “broader impact” requirement for most NSF grant proposals. We’ll talk about how to build partnerships that will not only increase the impact of education and outreach efforts, but also will provide invaluable human resources. Finally, we’ll present case studies that illustrate innovative ways of combining research interests with outreach, education, and service. Among these include ESA initiatives such as partnerships with SEEDS chapters, the EcoED Digital Library, and collaborative projects such as Planting Science, Earth Trek and National Lab Day. We will also hear about service learning projects and citizen science projects such as Project BudBurst. These projects reach out to all audiences from K-16 to the general population and representatives from these projects will provide insights into effective ways to work with new audiences. Participants will leave with an action plan for planetary stewardship initiatives connected to their own research.