State of BNZ LTER Education and Outreach

Elena Bautista Sparrow

School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences,International Arctic Research Center and The Center for Global Change, University of Alaska Fairbanks

February 16, 2008

PostsecondaryPostsecondaryEducationEducation

K-12K-12EducationEducation

Cross-site Cross-site ActivitiesActivities

Education Education OutreachOutreach

Outreach toOutreach toAgenciesAgencies

Outreach to theOutreach to thePublicPublic

Ties to otherTies to otherLongterm ResearchLongterm Research

ProgramsPrograms

Highlights

• Involvement of Alaska Native high school students in LTER research

• Curriculum Development based on LTER research

• Collaboration/Integration of LTER Science with Arts and the Humanities

2007 High School Summer Research Interns

Invasive Plants of Alaska K-6 Curriculum Development Project:

Integrating Global Change Research and K-6 Science Standards

Katie L. VillanoUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks

Department of Biology and Wildlife&

Christine P. Villano Denali Elementary School,

Fairbanks North Star Borough School District

• Assessing wildfire burn susceptibility to invasive plant colonization in black spruce forests of interior Alaska – Villano, Mulder, Hollingsworth • White sweetclover in Alaska: can this invasive affect the floodplain vegetative community? – Spellman & Wurtz

• Role of climate in invasive plant range expansion in Arctic Alaska –Villano & Spellman

Curriculum Development Project Objectives

1. Adapt and apply current Alaskan invasive plant research to elementary-level classroom lessons, activities, and inquiries.

2. Publish and distribute Invasive Plants of Alaska comprehensive K-6 curriculum guide addressing Alaska Science Performance Standards, Grade Level Expectations and Core Concepts.

3. Create and distribute teaching materials kits for easy classroom implementation of Invasive Plants of Alaska lessons, activities and inquiries.

A living time line of boreal forest post-fire succession in the schoolyard. Top to bottom: Forest after a recentfire, shrub phase, mature spruce forest.

Objective 1:Adapting and

applying current invasive plant

research

First Grade Inquiry Katie’s Thesis Research

Grade Level Curriculum Core Concepts Addressed Alaska Science Standards Addressed

K *Plants have a life cycle. S.A. 9, 11, 12, 14a, 15, B, C, D

  *Different types of plants have similarities and differences.  

1 *Seeds change as they germinate. S.A. 8c, 9, 14a, c, 15, B, C, D

  *Seeds are transported by air, water and animals.  

  *Plants are a component of a food web.  

  *Plants have different parts.  

2*Different plants have adaptations that enable them to thrive in

a particular habitat. S.A. 11-15, B, C, D

  *Some plants can become threatened and endangered.  

3 *Plant parts have different functions. S.A. 7, 8, 11, 14a, c, 15, B, C, D

 *Structures in plants allow them to grow, survive, and

reproduce.  

  *Plants have a reproductive process.  

  *Different types of soil influences what plants can grow.  

4 *Plants in Alaska are adapted to their ecological niche. S.A. 4, 12-15, B, C, D

 *Different plant communities occur in different Alaskan

biomes.  

5 * Terrestrial systems are constantly undergoing change. S.A. 5-7, B, C, D, CS.E.2

6 * All organisms are scientifically classified by their structure. S.A. 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, B, C, D, CS.E.2

 * Ecosystems are networks of relationships between organisms

and their environment.  

Objective 2:

Curriculum guide incorporating AK science standards

Objective 3:Build Teaching Materials Kits

Kits will be available at:• Denali Elementary School • Salcha-Delta Soil & Water Conservation District Noxious Weed and Conservation Ed. Programs • Center for Global Change and Arctic Systems Research • Creamer's Field Wildlife Refuge "Living Laboratory" kit collection • Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Library Media Services

Kit materials will include:• Portable grow lights • Plant presses • Invasive and native plant seeds• Greenhouse pots • Greenhouse trays • Temperature sensor • Hand lenses • Kids books on invasive plants, general plants, AK plants, and natural disturbances • Curriculum Guide

Dr. T shows exclosures Making a hypothesis Counting Seedlings

Permafrost probing! Hiking up the CPCRW road Vegetation transects

Making observations of plant growth in burned and unburned soil cores

Entering data on the computer! Bird Vetch Research

Will vetch grow better in burned or unburned soil?

Measuring invasive plants growing in burned soil

1st graders can be LTER scientists too! They showed their school what they learned at CPCRW.

• Cross-site collaboration with HJ Andrews Forest LTER

• Collaboration of artists, writers and scientists

Photo by Marjorie Hall

Photo by

Marjorie Hall

• LTER Humanities Public Outreach Event

- Public presentation at the Pioneer Park Theater on March 21, 2008

Saving Our Spruce by JD Slack

Ice Messengers by Diane Randolph

Northern Temperate Lakes LTER

Moose Running byJoyce Koskenmaki

It’s Just Math by Bonnie Peterson

Needs for science involvement

• BNZ LTER is hosting two workshops for minority undergraduate students May 19-30, 2008

- ESA’s SEEDS program

- Historically Black College

2007 High School Summer Research Interns

We need mentors for 2008 high school research interns

Some Suggestions for Involvement

• Plan and work on activities

• Face to face interactions between ecologists and diverse students

• Opportunity for hands-on field research

• Panel for professionals to share their career pathways and advice with the students