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Hubbard Brook Research Foundation Environmental Literacy Program
Contact: John Brissette
Hubbard Brook Research Foundation’s Environmental Literacy Program
One of the Northern Research Station’s primary partnerships supporting efforts in the area of environmental literacy is with the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation (HBRF). The Hubbard Brook Research Foundation (HBRF) is a nonprofit organization established in 1993 to support the work of scientists at the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in central New Hampshire. The HBRF has a mission to promote understanding and stewardship of ecosystems through scientific research, long term monitoring and education.
The HBRF Environmental Literacy Program uses a multifaceted approach to promote the use of ecological knowledge in informed decision-making for a sustainable future: we develop Hubbard Brook-based educational materials, provide professional development for teachers, and work in partnership with schools local to the Hubbard Brook and Bartlett Experimental Forests.The Northern Research Station and Northeasten Area State & Private Forestry are lead partners with the HBRF in these efforts.
Scope
The Forest Service has partnered with many organizations to make the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation Environmental Literacy Program a success.
Established | 2007 |
Staff | 2 NRS professional support staff part time, and 2 at HBRF |
Partners | 10 |
Active National Forests Involved | 1 |
Annual Budget (approximate) | $55,000 |
Results
In partnership with the Northern Research Station and Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, HBRF Environmental Literacy Program is creating innovative science inquiry programs for middle and high school students and educators using data sets and real life examples from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.
Impacts
The partnership between the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation and the USDA Forest Service has:
- Reached 300 teachers in person since 2007, through workshops, institutes, and a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program.
- Sustained partnerships with 10 local schools, reaching appromately 200 students per year with their environmental literacy program.
- Developed, in partnership with teachers, over 40 educational resources including modules, lessons, and slideshows for grades 7-12, available to all on the HBRF website.
- Built relationships between teachers and active scientists in order to deepen understanding of the processes involved in ecological research.
- Fostered scientific inquiry in the grade 7-12 classroom via rapport with and support for teachers participating in the Research Experience for Teachers program.
Lessons Learned
The NRS partnership with the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation for increasing environmental literacy is demonstrating that making science relevant and using real world data increases student interest and learning.
“HBRF's Environmental Literacy Program (ELP) represents an exciting collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station. The three arms of ELP -- teacher professional development, curriculum creation, and long-term partnerships with local schools -- draw on the long-term data sets gathered at Hubbard Brook. Thus cutting-edge science helps teachers and administrators conform to educational standards while also teaching students real-world lessons about our forest resources”
--David Sleeper, Executive Director, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation
Partner Organizations
- Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry
- White Mountain National Forest
- New Hampshire Education and Environment Team
- Long-Term Ecological Research Network’s Schoolyard Program
- New Hampshire Project Learning Tree
- New Hampshire Fish and Game
- The GLOBE Program
- New Hampshire Project WET
- New Hampshire Project WILD
- The HOMES Program
- New Hampshire Department of Education
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
- National Science Foundation, Long-Term Ecological Research Network
- Smithsonian Institution
- Colleges
- Universities