News

A look back on 25 years of ESA’s SEEDS program.

The Ecological Society of America condemns the escalating pattern of crimes occurring in our country over the past year against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

In 2020, NEON and the Ecological Society of America established a NEON-ESA Early Career Scholars (NECS) program to cultivate and support a group of early career scholars. Read some excerpts from our Early Career Scholars talking about their experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on how we interact with each other and how we communicate scientific information to advance research. Working and interacting virtually has affected all societies and every field of science and ESA and ecology are no exception. Nearly all in-person conferences have been converted to an online format, the so-called virtual conference. 2020…

By Kathleen Weathers, Pamela Templer, and Catherine O’Riordan “To fulfill ESA’s mission to advance the science and practice of ecology, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color must be fully supported throughout their careers.” -DEIJ Task Force Recommendations At its November 2020 meeting, the Governing Board of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) unanimously endorsed the recommendations submitted by the Task…

“If you don’t have diverse representation in positions of power and authority to make change, how can you expect real change?”
Participant, ESA Listening Session on DEIJ Action Steps October 7, 2020

by Kathleen Weathers, ESA President It’s rather remarkable to realize that it was almost two months ago that we were immersed in the grand experiment of an all-virtual annual meeting.  While there were certainly some hiccups along the way, the staff and meetings committees did a remarkable job making an 180o pivot with panache, as did meeting attendees. With almost…

by Charles Nilon, ESA Awards Committee Chair October is upon us and autumn is in full swing. It’s the season of turning leaves, crisp air … and ESA award nominations! And as the chair of ESA’s Awards Committee, I want to make sure that we all enjoy this season together and celebrate outstanding work (and outstanding people) in ecology by…

Racism and prejudice continue to harm communities of color. ESA stands firm in its commitment to challenge and break down inequities in our community of scientists and practitioners of ecology. Today, we reach out to you with an update towards fulfilling the commitment made in the June 2020 letter to the community. At that time, ESA pledged to redouble its…

by Osvaldo Sala, ESA President One of the central roles of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) is to represent its members in front of different bodies at the national and international levels. While single voices face difficulties in reaching target audiences, communications are enhanced when articulated through a professional society. ESA plays the double role of not only communicating…

by Osvaldo Sala, President, and Catherine O’Riordan, Executive Director One of the strengths of the ESA organization is the ability to adapt to challenges in our programs and in our science. Like most other organizations responding to the pandemic, ESA moved to virtual operations in March and the DC office is temporarily closed. Staff continues to work from home while…

Dear ecological community, We reach out to you today in sadness and solidarity. Recent acts of violence against the Black community as seen in the horrific killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, have sparked protests across the United States. They underscore the long history of racism and discrimination in our country. Racism and prejudice continue to harm…