Education and outreach: Connecting LTER and GLRBC to society

Doll, J.E. and D. Pennington

Presented at the All Scientist and GLBRC Sustainability Meeting (2009-05-05 to 2009-05-07 )

There are mounting demands on agroecosystems to provide ecosystem services to society. The complementary research of the KBS LTER and GLBRC Thrust 4 gives a comprehensive understanding of the trade-offs in ecosystem services with various management and crop regimes. As society considers land-use scenarios to meet our rising needs for food and fuel, the need for effective education and outreach on these trade-offs has never been greater. The dialogue that determines how our landscapes are utilized will happen—it is up to us as a scientific community to decide to be an active part of it. We believe that this dialogue between the scientific community and society is not only necessary for effective outreach and education, but can also help to promote relevant and new research directions. Understanding the varying perspectives of stakeholder groups is key to fostering such dialogue, and as a scientific community, we need to continually evaluate and discuss questions such as:

  • What’s our message?
  • How can we promote effective dialogue with society?
  • Where can we have the greatest impact?
  • Which audiences should we target?
  • To what extent should everyone engage with the public?
  • What are the education and outreach priorities for LTER and GLBRC?
  • How can we coordinate efforts between projects?
  • As we develop outreach and education programs for the KBS LTER and GLBRC, we hope to help stimulate discussions on these topics, and look forward to receiving input and ideas from all LTER and GLRBC members.

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