RCN-UBE: The BUZZ: Engaging Community College Students in Native Bee Biodiversity Research

College Of The Canyons, Santa Clarita CA

Investigators

Abstract

RCN-UBE: The BUZZ: Engaging Community College Students in Native Bee Biodiversity Research will build upon the success of the RCN-UBE Incubator project, Campus as a Living Lab, to expand a network of educators from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and supporting organizations to develop biology undergraduate research experiences (UREs) for underrepresented students. Students involved will gain practical experience in field research under the mentorship of participating faculty while supporting local biodiversity and ecosystems. This project will provide students with a rare opportunity to develop and share bee data and analysis skills with peers across U.S. and international borders. Beyond the educational benefits to students directly involved, the project will advance broader conservation research efforts while establishing a replicable program model for undergraduate research at two-year MSI colleges. Key objectives for the project include recruiting an estimated 45 STEM faculty members for the network from at least 15 MSI community colleges and engaging at least 500 students. Students will conduct authentic field research using their campuses as “Living Labs” to investigate, collect, document, and analyze information about native bee species and local ecosystems. Faculty will select different educational pathways based on their expertise, institutional culture, and student interests and needs. These include habitat enrichment on campus and in the community and implementing a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE). These efforts will strive to stabilize native bee diversity by developing an extensive network of habitat pockets resulting in resilient metapopulations. A project-hosted annual Zoom conference will allow students to present their findings and articulate scientific concepts. Faculty will be involved in continuous professional development and receive support from field experts for activity implementation. Bilingual deliverables will include a blueprint for other colleges to replicate, including refined professional development materials, steps for data integration with national databases, student engagement, and habitat enrichment. The project is highly sustainable due to its low cost of entry, faculty-driven perseverance, and efforts to engage administrative leadership throughout the process. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Directorate for STEM Education, Division of Undergraduate Education, as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed by Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/). This project is co-funded by the IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) program. This project is also supported by the NSF IUSE: Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) program, which has the goals of enhancing the quality of undergraduate STEM education, and increasing the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate’s or baccalaureate degrees in STEM. 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.