Despite recent transitions at the Center, 2016 and 2017 have been a busy time for CEES. Here are a few highlights relating to the Center’s education and outreach efforts.
IUPUI students make a difference! From Spring 2016 through Spring 2017, nearly 650 students participated in CEES service learning events. Massive amounts of the invasive plant, Amur Bush Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), were removed from area parks, native plant seeds were collected and sown, and bags and bags – and more bags – of trash were collected along the White River.
Over the summer, CEES partnered with the Felege Hiywot Center, working with Felege’s Youth Farmers to provide science camps for visitors to Felege.
From Earth Day Indiana at Military Park to the IUPUI Regatta, CEES interns used the Center’s watershed model to teach about erosion and illustrate the power of flowing water.
Bug Fest, as always, drew a big crowd – over 900 people visited the tables that CEES shared with our partner – the ISU Center for Bat Research, Outreach and Conservation. CEES and ISU staff engaged the public in conversations about the importance of bats – including topics such as the impacts of bats on insect populations.
As part of the 2016 White River Festival, CEES – in conjunction with the Indiana Silver Jackets, Indiana Water Monitoring Council (IWMC), IUPUI Office of Sustainability, Fishable Indiana Streams for Hoosiers (FISH), IUPUI Center for Unmanned Aerial Systems Imaging (CAUSI), and Osprey Assessments – sponsored a forum to raise awareness about issues surrounding low head dams. Topics included safety, effects of low head dams on stream systems, and ecological impacts of dam removal. A trip to the nearby Emerichsville Dam followed. WFYI produced a documentary about low head dams that featured speakers from the forum.
On April 22 – Earth Day 2017 – many faculty, staff, and students from IUPUI joined with others to March for Science. The gathering demonstrated strong support for the important role that science and the scientific method play in the public sphere. As with any march, there was rampant proliferation of signs. Opinions expressed were often pointed and frequently humorous. The event was a good showcase for the diversity that is science – something that was clearly appreciated by the younger people in attendance; a sign carried by one young person read, “The most important thing I learned is that a scientist can look just like me!” More photos from the march can be seen on CEES’s FaceBook page, specifically here, here, and here.
