Integrated research and education projects of the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory LTER and USFS programs

Background/Question/Methods The Coweeta Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program and the Coweeta United States Forest Service (USFS) Program at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory have developed several education and outreach projects ranging in participant ages from grade school to continuing professional training. Located in rural western North Carolina, Coweeta has partnered with local middle school, high school, and community college groups to develop hands-on Schoolyard programs for students to not only experience outdoor educational activities, but to actively participate in science first hand by collecting samples and other data as part of ongoing regional projects. Undergraduate opportunities include formal research experience for undergraduate (REU) programs, semester-long internships, summer research internships, and informal research opportunities. Resource manager workshops focus on providing an informal field location interface between resource management professionals and research scientists. This interaction provides targeted research results applicable for resource managers and provides valuable feedback to scientists on the questions and issues facing resource professionals.

Results/Conclusions These educational activities have led to better informed students, adults, and voters who value the understanding of our ecosystems, services they provide, and the long-term outlook necessary to make wise resource management decisions. Each year, more than 1300 people take part in the various integrated education and research outdoor activities at Coweeta. These participants often serve as conduits of information to other members of their educational, professional, and civic organizations, thereby enhancing a multiplier effect of the learning experiences they actively participated in with Coweeta representatives. As a means of further distributing current research results, we have developed a new informal publication series titled ‘Science Highlights’ that condenses findings from current peer-reviewed research to a two-page easy-to-read format that can be distributed in PDF form via the internet. With this internet-based audience, we can reach individuals who can benefit from the results of our programs and results, but who may not be able to participate in our hands-on field-based activities.