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Freshwater systems worldwide are increasingly facing complex environmental issues. In the Laurentian Great Lakes region, harmful algal blooms are one example spanning agriculture, municipal drinking water, science and monitoring, water quality, and human health. Addressing these challenges and working across stakeholder interests requires sound science and additional skills that are not necessarily taught to graduate students in the apprentice research model. Effective stakeholder engagement and science communication are two areas consistent with emphases on broader impacts from the National Science Foundation, information and dissemination of the National Institutes of Health, and community engagement of the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The lack of training in these areas creates a gap for outreach, engagement, and science communication training to help enable researchers to translate important science to influential stakeholders, policy makers, and members of the public. To address this gap, we held a Community-Engaged Scholarship Workshop for graduate students and early career faculty. The workshop used an established community-engagement framework and was tailored to address the complex environmental issue of harmful algal blooms. It addressed four community-engagement competencies, including community-engaged partnerships, community-engaged teaching and learning, community-engaged research, and science communications. Here, we report evaluation results on changes in these four competencies and participant satisfaction. We conclude with a discussion of potential improvements and next steps for those seeking to host similar community-engaged trainings.
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Community‐engaged learning to broaden the impact of applied ecology: A case study
Abstract Ecological changes are creating disruptions that often disproportionately impact communities of color and economically disadvantaged areas. Scientists who study the consequences experienced by these communities are uniquely suited to bring the public into their work as a way of setting conditions that enable impacted residents to empower themselves to advance environmental and community change. In addition to involving community stakeholders in the process of science, community science can be used to motivate learning and increase engagement of students. Here we highlight a case study of one way a historically Black college involved local communities and students in water quality monitoring efforts to examine the role of the environment in human health. Students in an introductory‐level environmental toxicology course collaborated with community members to track pollution and monitor conditions in an urban, impaired stream. Students participated in bi‐monthly water quality monitoring alongside community watershed researchers and an annual day‐long multisite sampling event with community residents and organizations. Through this engagement, students and community members contributed to the collection of data, learned about the significance of their results, and translated findings into strategies to advance watershed restoration, health, quality of life, and environmental justice goals.
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- PAR ID:
- 10418788
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecological Applications
- Volume:
- 33
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1051-0761
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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