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C&E Section at Past Annual ESA Meetings

We are working with C&E Section members and ESA more broadly to move from talking about why communicating our science is important to improving how we actually do that. That’s why, at each year’s annual meeting, we host at least one workshop or session focused on science communication professional development. The following links will connect you to information about current and past workshops at annual meetings. For information about this year’s activities, see our main Annual Meeting page.

2020: A virtual conference

The 2020 conference shifted to a virtual conference in response to the pandemic. Many of the anticipated scicomm activities were modified, postponed, or cancelled to accommodate the adapted formate of the conference. More details about sessions that did happen are available by following the link to the 2020 conference page.

2019: 50+ Sessions for 2019

Discussions around the 2019 annual meeting (#ESA2019) brought numerous, important issues to the fore of ESA governance. Your C&E officers participated in several ways, including 1) serving on an ad hoc committee convened immediately after ESA 2018 by 2019 Meeting Chair, Ryan McEwan (aims to use ESA 2019 to inform long-term policy recommendations for future meetings), 2) joining the ad hoc committee being established by ESA President Laura Huenneke, and 3) serving on the ESA governance-level Committee on Diversity and Education. In each venue, and in the discussions we’ve participated in online, we worked to listen, center underrepresented perspectives, and hold firm on expectations that ESA prioritize member safety, integrity, and dignity. We also supported and directed people to all the travel support options we were aware of through ESA.

conference logo2018: 39+ Sessions for #ESA2018!

The 2018 ESA annual meeting (#ESA2018) in New Orleans provided a significant opportunity to plan scicomm-related sessions that took into account ethics, inclusivity, community and ecosystem resilience, the science of scicomm, and many more themes of critical importance to our Section, ESA, and society more broadly. The C&E Section was involved with 10+ sessions, out of a host of sessions focused on C&E, career success, and sessions specifically related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and career success. In preparation for ESA 2018, we coordinated with several other sections to ensure a wide range of scicomm and engagement sessions are on the program, while also avoiding time and topic conflicts. Folks shared session ideas in this ESA-wide coordinating doc, which informed many of the sessions that were ultimately developed and approved. Click here for complete details about #ESA2018 activities in which the C&E Section was involved.

2017: 45+ Sessions at #ESA2017

The 7 sessions run by the C&E Section in 2017 were the most we’d ever hosted. They were part of a rising wave of scicomm/engagement sessions which continues apace. In our 2017 sessions, experienced communicators work with attendees to consider how they represented themselves (Branding is not a dirty word) and how to enhance their presentation skills (improv!). #SketchYourScience was back, and we did “Ask a Pro” meet-ups at our booth. We also collaborated with Springer Nature Storytellers and The Story Collider on a sold-out evening mixer event! Click here for complete details.

ESA annual meeting logo for 20162016: 14+ Sessions at #ESA2016

Experienced communicators worked with attendees one-on-one in our portfolio/project review workshop, and then got folks jazzed up during our IGNITE session! Click here for complete details.

 

2015: Communicating Science Vividly

Experienced science communicators led visual communication and writing activities to help participants build skills in conveying complex scientific concepts to broad audiences through storytelling and other creative narrative pathways. Click here for complete details on SciComm at #ESA100.

ESA 2014 logo2014: Beyond the Written Word: Advancing Ecology Communication Through Multimedia

The overview from our first time as a section at ESA includes info on a workshop that provided hands-on micro-workshops in audio, illustration, photography, video and writing, along with experience with basic (free) tools and apps; exposure to multimedia communication. We also link to a series of blog posts from workshop participants.