COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Science outreach is incredibly important for both scientists and the public. Public engagement encourages people to think actively about science and understand why science is important in their daily lives, and by engaging with the public, scientists learn what is important to their community and also gain new perspectives on their research. Increasing the accessibility of scientists and research to the public also helps to build the public's trust in science and can inspire new champions for science research.
As a trained science communicator, I am committed to engaging my local community with science. Highlighted below are some of the most important science communication projects that I have been involved with.
As a trained science communicator, I am committed to engaging my local community with science. Highlighted below are some of the most important science communication projects that I have been involved with.
STEM Ambassador Program
The STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP) is funded by the National Science Foundation and is designed to train scientists to engage members of the public in innovative ways outside traditional venues. As a participating scientist, I linked my research, personal interests, experiences, and desired social impacts to local groups in Salt Lake City.
Urban Indian Center
As a STEM Ambassador, I teamed up with a friend, Ben Breeden (a vertebrate palentologist) to develop a program for the Urban Indian Center's summer youth program. For my portion of the program, I led a hike around Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. During the hike, the youth engaged their curiosity for nature by experiencing it first hand and used scientific observation skills to learn about Utah's wildlife. |
Argentina's Best Empanadas
For my second project as a STEM Ambassador, I worked with a female business owner in Salt Lake City to develop a science engagement program in her restaurant, "Argentina’s Best Empanadas." We each have strong connections to Argentina, and found a unique synergy in our interests the led to a creative engagement program. We combined our interests in baking and birds to create restaurant table flyers about the rufous hornero, the national bird of Argentina. Horneros, also known as ovenbirds, build enclosed clay nests that look like their namesake - ovens! |
ALTA NEST BOX MONITORING PROJECT
The Alta Nest Box Project was created as a pilot study emphasizing civic engagement and collaboration among local groups and organizations. We are interested in learning about the breeding birds that call our local ski resorts and high-elevation habitat home. In 2016, I partnered with Alta Ski Resort, Friends of Alta and the Alta Environmental Center to install the first nest box network in the town of Alta and within the bounds of the ski resort. The monitoring efforts of the Alta Nest Box Project grew considerably when the Tracy Aviary joined on to help coordinate volunteers, and the Tracy Aviary has now managed this project successfully since 2017. Learn more about this project or sign-up to volunteer here!
Science in prisons - the INSPIRE program
Initiative to bring Science Programs to the Incarcerated in Utah (INSPIRE) is a program designed to bring science and nature to the incarcerated. Projects, like rearing the endangered least chub and monitoring American kestrel boxes, give inmates a sense of purpose, responsibility, teamwork and potential employment upon their release. The broader benefits of bringing science and nature to the incarcerated are reduced recidivism and cost-efficiencies to prisons..
In 2014, INSPIRE program staff began working with the Utah Department of Corrections and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office to develop a monthly science lecture series that connects inmate with real scientists. I gave a lecture at the Utah State Prison on the co-evolutionary arms race between brood parasites and their avian hosts : "Birds at war: cheating, deception and mafia tactics." My audience of about 80 men was arguably the best audience I've ever had for a talk; the inmates were engaged with learning and asked insightful and discerning questions. This was an incredibly valuable experience for me as a scientist.
In 2014, INSPIRE program staff began working with the Utah Department of Corrections and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office to develop a monthly science lecture series that connects inmate with real scientists. I gave a lecture at the Utah State Prison on the co-evolutionary arms race between brood parasites and their avian hosts : "Birds at war: cheating, deception and mafia tactics." My audience of about 80 men was arguably the best audience I've ever had for a talk; the inmates were engaged with learning and asked insightful and discerning questions. This was an incredibly valuable experience for me as a scientist.
Training and public outreach at the Red Butte bird banding station
The bird banding station in Red Butte Canyon is a volunteer-based research station that provides university students and community members the opportunity to learn about avian ecology through hands-on experience. As a lead bander and organizer of this program, I trained students and volunteer citizen scientists how to properly capture, handle and study songbirds, and shared the science behind our efforts. Over the years, we have engaged with individual undergraduate students, University of Utah classes, high school volunteers, and local community groups like Members of the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park and the Great Salt Lake Audubon Society.
Community-based monitoring of breeding birds in Ethiopia |
Field day for middle school students |
While studying the conservation of montane forest birds in Ethiopia, I partnered with the Bale Mountain Lodge to hang "nest baskets" around the lodge property as a way to monitor breeding birds. I worked with local women who used their traditional skills in basket-making to weave “nest baskets” for birds to use. These women then monitored bird activity in the baskets using extendable mirrors.
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I worked with Autumn, a "Think Globally, Learn Locally" fellow, and Darwin, a community member, to organize an engaging field day for Hillside Middle Schoolers on Darwin's property. Darwin is a landowner in Western Utah and also a nature lover, and he has put a great deal of effort towards conservation and resource management on his property. Together, we engaged 75 middle school students in hands-on activities during which they learned about Utah's birds, soil and plant interactions, and how Darwin used principles of conservation to restore areas of his farmland property.
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Minnesota Studies in International Development
La Fundación Cimas del Ecuador
As a Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) scholar, I lived in Ecuador for five months to foster a better personal understanding of the social and economic realities of Ecuadorian communities and the people working within them to address complex problems. The MSID program is designed around classroom and experiential learning to cultivate awareness and appreciation for global development issues, strengthen communication skills through acquisition of local languages and cultural awareness, and gain cross-cultural competencies through extended engagement at a local grassroots organization.
During this program, I participated in an internship at Parque Amazónico La Isla, an environmental interpretation center and zoo in Tena, Ecuador, situated just on the border of the Amazon Rainforest. During my internship, I developed and instituted the city’s first environmental education program. I visited every kindergarten in Tena on foot to personally invite teachers and students to participate in our environmental education program "Un Dia de Aventura en La Isla." We were thrilled that not a single kindergarten classroom missed the opportunity to enjoy a day of adventure and learning in the park! With the help of Marcelo, the park's director, we taught children about the importance of the amazonian rainforest and its wildlife, encouraged them to learn how to care for the rainforest through hands-on activities, and even finished the day by sending children down the park's zipline.
During this program, I participated in an internship at Parque Amazónico La Isla, an environmental interpretation center and zoo in Tena, Ecuador, situated just on the border of the Amazon Rainforest. During my internship, I developed and instituted the city’s first environmental education program. I visited every kindergarten in Tena on foot to personally invite teachers and students to participate in our environmental education program "Un Dia de Aventura en La Isla." We were thrilled that not a single kindergarten classroom missed the opportunity to enjoy a day of adventure and learning in the park! With the help of Marcelo, the park's director, we taught children about the importance of the amazonian rainforest and its wildlife, encouraged them to learn how to care for the rainforest through hands-on activities, and even finished the day by sending children down the park's zipline.