Global environmental challenges of unprecedented magnitude face the next generation of ecologists, prompting new and innovative approaches to tackling environmental problems. Despite the threats of rapid global changes, never before have humans had such a wealth of technological tools at their disposal, to achieve global solutions. In ecology, new programs are emerging that successfully integrate new technologies with hands-on, natural-history fieldwork. The combination of real and virtual nature offers an innovative new approach not only for environmental education, but also for application of classroom and student efforts to contribute to scientific research.
How can both educators and scientists integate the dynamic platforms of virtual and real field biology to achieve global good? And can some technologies, such as crowd-sourcing and citizen science, achieve the rigor required to be part of the toolkit for scientific problem-solving as well as for educational outreach?
Results/Conclusions
We share three case studies from the California Academy of Sciences that illustrate successful approaches using virtual and real nature: 1. A new mobile app called iNaturalist inspires students to observe and identify biodiversity, and it also catalogs and surveys ecosystems as a rigorous scientific tool for research outcomes; 2. The expanding menu of virtual field trips available for K-12 classrooms, combined with hands-on outdoor curricula and field work in local ecosystems can provide interdisciplinary, problem-solving approaches to ecological studies; and 3. Field expeditions (e.g Jason Expedition, Eco-teach, Students on Ice, etc) whereby students engage in online learning followed by an immersive expedition, are emerging as successful platforms to inspire the next generation of ecologists. For many practising ecologists, there is a sense that no substitute exists for muddy boots and hands-on outdoor education; but new technologies can enhance those outdoor learning experiences by insuring the rigor of classroom data-collection, thereby enabling students (and/or citizen scientists) to contribute their efforts to answering critical ecological questions.