Teachers from across the state will gather in Steamboat Springs this weekend to share ideas and participate in hands-on field exercises with University of Colorado Boulder Biologist Tim Seastedt as part of the Colorado Biology Teachers’ Association’s fall workshop, “Takin’ It to the Fields.”
Seastedt, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, will kick-off the two-day workshop with a field session titled “Using Novel Ecosystems in Educational, Conservation and Restoration Activities” on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Legacy Ranch Environmental Learning Center, 35435 East Highway 40.
Together, the researcher and teachers will conduct field exercises that can be replicated for the classroom. The lessons are designed to help students understand the causes and consequences of ecological changes that occur in the rural and wildlands of Colorado. Students will learn that biotic changes are happening, how to measure them and how to use land management activities that can alter the speed and trajectory of these changes.
Seastedt’s research interests include invasive species and how they interact with other components of global environmental change, with a focus on grassland and tundra ecosystems. His research sheds light on how insects and soil chemistry can be used to control the spread of non-native plants.
The “Takin’ It to the Field” workshop invites middle school, high school and technical-college science teachers who are interested in incorporating hands-on lessons into their curriculum. Approximately 20 educators from across the state are expected to attend the weekend workshop, which is hosted by the Colorado Biology Teachers’ Association. The Sept. 14-15 schedule begins with Seastedt’s session and is followed by workshops led by other researchers, naturalists and teachers from CU-Boulder, the University of Wyoming, CSU Extension and the Colorado Forest Service.
Seastedt’s visit is sponsored by CU-Boulder’s Learn More About Climate initiative, which seeks to provide educators, policymakers and citizens with the most up-to-date scientific research to raise awareness and inspire an informed dialogue about climate change.