Response to COVID-19 Field Research and Education Disruptions: Creating Virtual Field Experiences in Coastal and Estuarine Science

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Three university field stations, including Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory (BMFL) at the University of South Carolina, and the University of Georgia Marine Institute (UGAMI), are collaborating to produce a suite of virtual estuarine field experiences polished for distance-delivery in undergraduate programs. UGAMI at Sapelo Island and BMFL at North Inlet - Winyah Bay, will be the two filming locations for these virtual modules because they have unique access to relatively pristine model estuarine systems dominated by Spartina alterniflora marsh that are similar to low-gradient, Spartina marshes that rim the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines from approximately New York through Texas, with the exception of the mangrove systems of South Florida. The virtual field experiences will be more accessible and equitable than traditional in-person field experiences and can help address barriers to participation in the traditional field experiences, such as mobility impairments, financial limitations, family obligations, as well as reduce limitations of geographic accessibility. The videos, datasets, and educational materials will be available for free download and will be developed to be compatible with platforms used by universities in virtual learning. Upham Woods’s expertise in environmental education will help ensure the quality and applicability of these assets. Providing these experiences to a wider audience has the potential to broaden the pipeline of students pursuing careers in STEM fields. The final products will feature research by and voices of a diverse group of scientists to address issues of equity in the university field station community and to better represent human diversity in ecological fields, and the modules will be distributed widely to undergraduate institutions, outdoor education centers and schools. This project will develop products that address widespread educational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic for the marine science community. The pandemic has dramatically impacted the educational landscape in the United States, radically limiting the traditional in-person, experiential educational programs for undergraduates and high school students. The crisis has highlighted the need to develop educational content and experiences that provide access to outdoor, field-based learning to all students, not just those who are able to access in-person programs. This project will bring accessible, engaging, and rigorous science experiences to learners by developing a suite of virtual estuarine field experiences for undergraduate courses. These experiences will consist of ten modules, each focusing on a particular estuarine ecology topic and featuring research projects, datasets, prompts, and worksheets to support science learning. A range of topics will be covered in the modules, such as fish ecology, fisheries research field techniques, coastal physical oceanography, coastal depositional processes, biogeochemical processes in the coastal zone, benthic and water column processes, field sampling and laboratory methods for estuarine biogeochemistry research, human interactions with coastal ecosystems, research ethics, formulating research questions and hypotheses, designing field studies, laws governing research, collecting and analyzing data, scientific writing and presentation skills. The modules will also be modified for delivery to high school students as virtual modules that can be incorporated into programs at outdoor education centers and schools.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.