Diverse People for a Diverse Science

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This project, Diverse People for a Diverse Science, takes the Ecological Society of America's Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) program into Phase IV of its mission. It integrates a set of existing and new programs into a sequence of activities that build upon previous experiences and an infrastructure of support designed to retain minorities in ecology. Specifically, students from groups underrepresented in science will be recruited to participate in multi-day field trips to sites of long-term environmental research, where they will meet scientists and learn firsthand about ecological research. SEEDS will help these students and their mentors build and strengthen SEEDS chapters on their college campuses. Students will be able to apply through SEEDS competitions for funds to support their own research and to attend the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), where they can present their work and meet a wide diversity of ecologists. This suite of activities provides students with mentoring support and exposure to a broad spectrum of career development opportunities. Effectiveness of these activities for recruiting students from underrepresented groups into the field of ecology will be assessed by independent evaluators. By expanding and fostering the interaction of students across ESA's members and partners, SEEDS is well-positioned to enhance the visibility and value of diversity for the next generation of scientists. Through developing student leadership and community outreach skills, the project provides outlets for students to share the value of ecological science on campuses, in local schools and in communities. More broadly, SEEDS helps to ensure a diverse workforce, which will be necessary to solve the many ecological problems faced by practically all societies in the 21st century.