GLOBE 23rd Annual Meeting: Intersections of Diverse Environments

University Corporation For Atmospheric Res, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is a worldwide science and education community that currently consists of more than 125 U.S. Partners and 121 Partner Countries. It is a community of students, teachers, scientists, and citizens working together to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth's environment at local, regional, and global scales. The mission of GLOBE is to promote the teaching and learning of science; enhance environmental literacy and stewardship; and promote scientific discovery. More broadly, the GLOBE Program strives to expand the pipeline of future scientists and STEM professionals for industry, academia, and government as well as to engage citizens in collecting data about their local environment. The theme of the 23rd GLOBE Annual Meeting is Intersections of Diverse Environments. The location for the Annual Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, is positioned at the intersection of multiple types of diverse environments culturally, geographically, and economically. The municipality of Detroit, the largest town on the US-Canadian border, has a population of over 670,000 people and the metropolitan area is home to close to 6 million people. Within the urban downtown of Detroit is Belle Isle, a 982-acre island park in the Detroit River between Michigan and Ontario. Belle Isle includes an aquarium, conservatory, nature center, and natural areas to explore and discover (about 1/3 of the island is natural woodlands). The island, which is accessible by car and bus, is home to many types of small animals, birds, and insects. Protocol trainings will allow Annual Meeting participants to visit Belle Isle. At the Annual Meeting, the theme of Intersections of Diverse Environments will be explored further in multiple strands. These strands are: 1) Finding nature in urban landscapes; 2) Exploring changing environments, 3) GLOBE and technology, and 4) GLOBE gives back. GLOBE community members will be invited to propose talks based upon the themes. Additionally, trainings will be offered by NASA SciAct Earth Science Education awardees (GLOBE Mission EARTH, The AREN Project, Arctic and Earth SIGNs, and the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC)). Woven through all the strands will be the overarching theme of inclusion and diversity. All presenters will be asked to think about equity and inclusiveness for their talks, panels, and demonstrations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.