ISU-SEEDS: Student-coordinated education, outreach, and ecological research

Background/Question/Methods

We present an overview of six years (2006-2012) of student-coordinated efforts centered on ecological outreach, education, and research. This work was conducted by the Iowa State University (ISU) chapter of Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity, and Sustainability (SEEDS), a program of the Ecological Society of America. To achieve our goals, we implemented outreach and education activities designed for local K-12 audiences. In addition, we conducted a rapid biodiversity assessment or BioBlitz at a local nature preserve consisting of riparian and grassland ecosystems. We also exposed high school students to ecological research as part of our Turtle Camp Research and Education in Ecology (TREE) mentoring program at a field site adjacent to the Mississippi River in Illinois.

Results/Conclusions

In 2009-2012, we frequently visited three elementary schools in central Iowa. Students responded positively to hands-on activities that involved animals, mainly reptiles. Therefore, this taxonomic group was the focus of our brief lectures on basic ecological principles. In 2007-2012, high school students in the TREE program successfully completed research projects on topics related to the population ecology of turtles. ISU undergraduate students successfully completed three BioBlitz surveys (spring 2010-2011; fall 2012). Students documented the presence of 201 species: animals (N = 66), plants (N = 111), and lichens (N = 23). Overall, these efforts were effective in promoting local environmental awareness while training an emerging generation of ecologists from diverse backgrounds.