Goals of the Ecosystem Literacy Initiative
1. Conduct cutting edge research into how people learn about ecosystems
- Understand what promotes and hinders ecosystem literacy
- Improve the teaching of ecology in and out of school
- Inform education policy to support ecosystem literacy
- Promote ecosystem literacy among educators
2. Provide educators with knowledge required for ecosystem literacy
- Give teachers tools they can use in their classrooms and schoolyards to promote ecosystem literacy
- Provide support for teachers engaged in ecosystem literacy teaching
- Develop effective models and materials for teaching ecosystem literacy
3. Train and mentor the next generation of ecologists, and promote ecosystem literacy among established scientists
- Provide undergraduates with research experience and training
- Mentor graduate students
- Teach a graduate ecosystems course that embodies the deep understanding of ecosystems
- Provide special mentoring opportunities for post docs
- Conduct unique short courses for practicing ecologists
4. Deliver knowledge required for informed citizenship and sound action
- Web-based access to data and visualizations from the integrated, process based, synthetic ecosystem research and related studies
- Conduct media outreach
- Reach out via a compelling web presence
- Partner with land managers and decision makers to learn and apply knowledge
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