America's Geoheritage Workshop II: Identifying, Developing, and Preserving America's Natural Legacy

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Part 1This workshop focuses on the importance of natural and cultural preservation of Geoheritage sites and their societal relevance. The workshop outlines the increased impetus and framework for geoscientists to identify geoheritage sites in need of protection for future generations of geoscientists as well as public enjoyment. Additionally, building a useful framework for site description will have the following benefits:1) As geoheritage sites include both natural and cultural heritage, they provide opportunities for geoscientists to connect with sister disciplines (i.e. arts, humanities, history, ethics, and economics); 2) Geoheritage sites will increase the visibility of the geosciences to the general public; 3) Geoheritage sites make field studies accessible for teacher preparation and ongoing professional development and for local K-12 education. These sites support inquiry- and discovery-based learning; 4) Field instruction is an important component of undergraduate instruction for both non-majors and majors. Sites developed by academic institutions close to their campuses/regular field course sites can be used for educational and outreach purposes for academic coursework, in partnership with local K-12 coursework, to share with courses from other academic institutions, and in collaborative informal educational activities with a variety of stakeholders; and 5) Geoheritage sites are demonstrated drivers of sustainable economic community development, allowingfor collaborative development of geoheritage sites by local governments, civic groups (e.g. chambers of commerce), and contributing geoscientists.Part 2This workshop will build on work performed since 2011 by the U.S. National Committee for Geological Sciences and its Geoheritage and Geoparks Advisory Group. The goals of the workshop, to be hosted by West Virginia University (WVU)'s Beckley campus, are to:-Survey and share current strategies and approaches to identify, inventory, and characterize geoheritage sites across America;-Discuss possible protocols, common terminology, and "best practices" for documenting and developing geoheritage sites in state and local settings;-Consider suggestions for future work to encourage development of geoheritage sites as appropriate in diverse local and state settings;-Create and support a community of geoscientists and collaborators from the public and private sectors that is dedicated to contributing to a coordinated campaign to identify and preserve U.S. geoheritage sites; and-Explore ways to encourage use of geoheritage sites by geoscientists, educators, and the general public through a broad suite of dissemination strategies.Outcomes of the workshop will be disseminated through a summary National Academies proceedings-in brief, an online comprehensive, annotated bibliography, related websites, listservs, newsletters, social media outlets, and publications of sponsoring professional societies to facilitate the development of geoheritage sites by numerous groups across America.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.