2007 SEEDS Leadership Meeting, “Responsibility of Education and Outreach"

The second annual SEEDS Leadership Meeting was held Feb. 23-25 in San Jose, CA.  Over 40 ecologists participated in this event including past and present SEEDS fellowship students, the SEEDS advisory board, members of the ESA governing board, ESA staff, and local scientists and students from the bay area.  Participants represented widely different communities across our nation and Latin America.  All shared a great hope for the future – a future where outreach and education play a vital role in tackling the most critical ecological issues facing the planet.

During the meeting, students participated in a series of workshops around the topics of leadership and the importance of education and outreach. ESA governing board members, Meg Lowman and Rich Pouyat gave a joint workshop on the inner workings of ESA leadership. SEEDS Advisory Board members Jeff Herrick and Sonia Ortega gave workshops on the many facets of international research for scientists and the different views and characteristics of a leader. The afternoon was spent at Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve participating in workshops given by Meg Lowman, Cindy Wilber, and Rodolfo Dirzo on holistic views of ecology that include strong education and outreach components in the United States and Mexico.

SEEDS students were active participants in the meeting. They presented their research, facilitated a dinner discussion on outreach ideas for future ESA meetings, and led a field trip to the Don Edwards State Wetlands Don Edwards will be the site for a SEEDS student-organized outreach field trip at this year’s ESA Annual Meeting. This outreach activity is an exciting product from last years SEEDS Leadership Meeting and expands upon the students’ vision of the future of ecology published in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America last year http://www.esapubs.org/bulletin/backissues/087-3/web_pdfs_july/seedsjul06bulletin-2.pdf.

This gathering highlighted the energy and resolve of exceptional SEEDS students who continue to push the barrier of science and outreach. The SEEDS fellows took the initiative to plan the first-ever outreach Annual Meeting field trip “San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge field trip - A Hands on Educational Experience” for San Jose high school students and teachers, along with ESA members and their families. The students have also organized a follow-up to the field trip with a Special Session “SS 26 – Bridging the gap: establishing outreach activities at ESA meetings” to discus the results of the outreach field trip and start a conversation with other ESA members about planning future outreach events at ESA Annual Meetings. SEEDS students provided blog entries during the event available at: http://www.esa.org/esablog/?p=35; http://www.esa.org/esablog/?p=37; and http://www.esa.org/esablog/?p=38.

Positive momentum within this group of SEEDS students is surging forward as they initiate the change they want to see in the world. Watch out!