IGN 15-8
Communication is a two-way street: Ecologists must learn to listen too

Friday, August 15, 2014
313, Sacramento Convention Center
Madhusudan Katti, Biology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA
Ecologists are hardly shy of shouting about environmental issues of significance to society. Yet we often seem to fail to convey our science in ways that bring about the changes necessary to protect earth's troubled ecosystems. We speak as learned experts out to educate the public and policymakers about our science, but rarely step out of the expertise bubble to engage in meaningful dialog, particularly with socioeconomically disadvantaged and indigenous communities. Listening to their stories and studying their knowledge as naturalists and ecological actors in their own ecosystems, is valuable not just for conservation, but to enrich ecology itself.