ESA SEEDS: Exploring Science and Careers in Ecology

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The goal of ESA SEEDS: Exploring Science and Careers in Ecology award is to a) Increase exposure of underrepresented college students to the field of ecology and to careers in ecology; b) Promote the use of diverse ecological knowledge in research, policy, communication, outreach and leadership; and c) Develop students' sense of identification as scientists and belonging to the scientific community. This award will use a robust approach to the orientation, support and mentoring of diverse talent in the ecological sciences. To accomplish this, ESA will organize and support diverse undergraduate students to attend the annual ecological fieldtrips and leadership meetings and travel to the ESA ecological conference to present their research. An annual workshop designed for underrepresented minority graduate students will address critical research skills that have been gaps in graduate programs. These gaps include data coding, data management and analysis, interdisciplinary approaches or translational science.The proposed workshops and activities aim to provide the personal interactions that serve to deepen participants' sense of identity and efficacy as scientists. Through intensive engagement and extended networking, this award will recruit and retain ecological scientists and professionals representing all racial and ethnic groups in the workforce. Increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the ecological field is critical to developing a workforce that is prepared to be responsive to the serious issues threatening ecological systems while involving diverse communities and decision-makers at all levels of our society. This project is well-positioned to reach many more diverse people and communities through the efforts of participants in campus activities, national conversations about the relevance of science in society and contributions by graduate students to the scientific literature. The award will evaluate success based on three components in its theory of change: explicit socioemotional and culturally responsive mentoring; understanding how career information flows based on career development theories: social cognitive career theory, social capital theory, social and resources theory; and professional identity and community supported by a disciplinary society. This award will contribute to the literature on how these three elements are interwoven and their short and long term impacts on students' professional development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.