More than 30 people representing education interests at 20 LTER sites and the Network Office met March 17-20 at the Sevilleta field station in central New Mexico. The group shared stories of succeses and failures in their education efforts, drafted additions to the LTER White Paper, and discussed and debated the future of education endeavors in LTER.
The next two years will be a critical time for defining the LTER education agenda, and for consolidating and implementing the strategic plan that began developing during the meeting. Having Sonia Ortega in the Network Office as a full-time education coordinator facilitates communication and interaction between LTER education representatives. Sonia will also serve as liaison between LTER sites and NSF.
LTER education executive committee (see photo) will lead the charge for some of the tasks that were identified during the meeting, and to represent LTER education interests to the community.
The meeting provided an opportunity to combine efforts among LTER sites so that they can seek additional funding for education activities. For example, several participants are exploring the possibilities of collaborating on a grant based on elements common to their sites. Learning about each other’s activities and strategies used to seek additional funding was of prime importance to meeting participants.
Next Steps
Among the future plans for LTER Education is an evening discussion at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting August 2002. The title of the session is: Interfacing Education and Ecological Research at Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and Biological Field Stations (BFS).
The goal of the session is to provide an overview of the education opportunities available at LTER sites and BFS. The discussion will include schoolyard projects for K-12 students and teachers, problem-based learning, inquiry-based education for graduate students, and professional development opportunities for post-docs and faculty.