The Institute's Purpose:

The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is dedicated to the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge about ecological systems. This knowledge is created through scientific research, disseminated through teaching, writing, and exhibits, and applied through participation in decision-making regarding the ecological management of natural resources and through promotion of a broader awareness about the importance of ecological relationships to human welfare.

The Institute's Goals:

The goals of the programs at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies are:

• To advance the basic understanding about the structure, function and temporal development of ecological systems.
• To provide knowledge needed for the solution of environmental problems.
• To develop an understanding of how people learn about the processes of science, and about ecological concepts.
• To enhance the general understanding of ecology by students, policy makers, and the general public.
• To train a new generation of ecologists capable of addressing and solving complex environmental problems important to human societies.

Implementation of Goals:

To reach these critically important goals, the Cary Institute has developed a working environment and philosophy unique among ecological research centers in North America. In addition to empirical research of the highest order, the staff has set itself the task of promoting synthesis in ecological understanding. The search for generalizations and unifying models has unusual promise for advancing basic ecology and making ecological understanding relevant for addressing the urgent environmental problems confronting humanity. Solving such environmental problems requires a scientific foundation of the highest quality.

The work of the Institute contributes to an understanding and resolution of pressing environmental problems in two fundamental ways:

Basic science is the foundation for environmental problem solving. Indeed, basic science often is the window through which critical environmental problems are first recognized. Examples include acid rain in North America, eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, the ecological origins of Lyme disease and the global CO₂ increase. Environmental problems cannot be evaluated or solved without answers to questions like, "How much? How extensive? What has been the change with time? What is the impact on different system components? What are the feedback and amplification pathways?" Research programs at the Cary Institute contribute answers to such questions. For example, Cary Institute staff can state how their research projects relate to global environmental change, biodiversity, air and water pollution, eutrophication, forestry practices, and sustainable development.

Second, Cary Institute staff members are committed to making scientific information available to the public, managers, and decision-makers. The consensus document on "Sustained Ecological Research: A Critical Need" arising out of the international 1989 Cary Conference organized by the Institute, reflects this commitment. Other examples include workshops on science and the media, public field trips and ecological excursions led by Cary Institute staff, concerted staff review of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation plans and programs, and interactions with local, state, and federal officials and agencies. Specific examples include regional commissions concerning the Hudson River, town planning boards and conservation commissions, the New York Governor's Environmental Advisory Board, the New York City Parks Department, and the USDA Forest Service.

In addition, the Cary Institute Education Program attempts to increase scientific literacy in elementary and high schools, and the National Science Foundation funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program aggressively recruits women and students from minority groups, and from schools where research is not likely to be an option for college undergraduates. The intense involvement of Cary Institute staff in these pursuits is remarkable and unusual even when compared to centers of ecology at leading universities.