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Conservation Education

• Educating Astronauts
• Education Committee News

Educating Astronauts

This column features a perspective on conservation education from a member of SCB's ad hoc Education Committee.

Educating astronauts about conservation biology. I work at Johnson Space Center as part of an interdisciplinary team of "Earth scientists" (NASA classifies ecologists as Earth scientists because they generally only work on this planet). Our primary responsibility is directing and supporting photography of Earth and maintaining the complete database of astronaut photographs. Like most academics, I have teaching, research, and service responsibilities. My students are astronauts who I brief on ecological and environmental issues. This set of students is unique for obvious reasons. They often have broad technical backgrounds, but vary greatly in their exposure to ecology and environmental science. Our training time is limited: briefings and two field trips for astronaut candidates, and briefings for astronaut crews after they have been selected. In the past, environment-related training was often driven by the geographical opportunities of the particular mission, or by the interests of individual scientists. We have recently restructured our curriculum to better prepare astronauts to understand the changes on Earth that they will observe and to provide a better foundation for mission-specific training. Although our curriculum is dynamic, I share our progress so far.

Astronaut candidate briefings. Astronaut candidates are usually either pilots with military backgrounds, Ph.D.s in science or engineering, M.D.s, or some combination. A two-hour lecture and workshop focuses on descriptive information about the major terrestrial and marine environments and theoretical information about the processes of change in those environments. I teach about ecoregions much as one might in an undergraduate ecology course, but focus on how to recognize different ecoregions from orbit. I briefly introduce special types of habitats such as riparian areas, wetlands, reefs, altitudinal zones, and human-modified environments. Next I focus on pattern and process in environmental change. We do an exercise in measuring species diversity-in this group, almost everyone loves calculating diversity indexes! Finally, we discuss changes in ecosystems-keystone species, invasive species, habitat fragmentation and reserve design.

Astronaut candidate field trip. A geological field trip to New Mexico has been part of astronaut training since the Apollo missions. We developed an additional field trip around Galveston Bay to integrate environmental science disciplines and for the practical reason that it could be done in a day trip from Johnson Space Center. The field trip was the brainchild of two office geologists, Cindy Evans and Dave Amsbury. All eight office scientists-geologists, geographers, meteorologists, oceanographers, and ecologists-worked together to integrate the field trip, and we take turns making presentations and leading informal discussions. At each stop on the trip we present material from diverse disciplines, supplemented with maps and astronaut photographs. For example, near High Island on the east side of Galveston Bay, we discuss the geology of salt domes, oil and gas development, the importance of High Island as the first stop for Neotropical migrant birds crossing the Gulf of Mexico, and local ecotourism. Although our primary purpose is to show how remotely sensed imagery relates to a variety of scientific disciplines, we have discovered an unanticipated benefit: the trip also helps astronaut candidates from all over the world understand their new home on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Training of flight crews. A year or more before a spaceflight launches, final training of the crew begins. Over that time, the crew receives only six to thirteen hours of classroom instruction in Earth science disciplines. Our new curriculum and approach have been refined and guided by Kim Willis, who is both a scientist and a trained educator. We use half-hour modules that are broken into a set of core topics for all crews and advanced topics for specific crews. The locations and examples we use for each topic depend upon the season and geographic coverage of the mission, but we make sure that every crew is exposed to the core topics. Core topics relating to conservation include human population growth and urbanization, habitat fragmentation, wetland functions and modification, water resource issues, coral reef conservation, land use change, biomass burning, and global climate.

The changes on Earth captured in astronaut photographs over the last 30 years are astounding, and demand explanation and discussion. Astronauts have a unique role in educating the public during their public affairs tours and speaking engagements. Successful communication about environmental issues during astronaut training often determines whether they photograph an ecological "hot spot" and also influences what photographs they choose to talk about in their speaking engagements. I have become acutely aware of the challenges of educating astronauts about ecological issues, and teaching them how to communicate to various public groups in an apolitical but realistic manner.

Julie A. Robinson
julie.a.robinson1@jsc.nasa.gov, http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/

Education Committee News

New web site for teaching resources. Betty Harper has put together a web site (http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/b/j/bjh17/SCB/Home.htm) with resources for undergraduate teaching. It includes software, textbooks, journals, and related links. It is in the beginning stages, so please forward suggestions to a committee member (listed on site).

Public literacy standards. Under the guidance of Julie Robinson, a revision of the conservation biology public literacy standards is moving toward completion. The standards are aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of the general public and shaping attitudes towards biodiversity. The standards consider definitions of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, and consequences of its loss. The final version of the literacy standards will be posted on the web site.

Rob Baldwin, robert_baldwin@umenfa.maine.edu

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