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WHAT DOES THE SCB EDUCATION COMMITTEE DO?

Four years ago, as a result of a strategic planning exercise, SCB's Board of Governors created an ad hoc committee to explore ways in which the educational component of the SCB mission, which until then largely had been overlooked, could be addressed. Two years later, the members of SCB voted to make this ad hoc committee a standing committee, a permanent part of SCB's efforts to provide for "the education, at all levels, preparatory and continuing, of the public, of biologists, and of managers, in the principles of conservation biology." Those of us who have been involved with the committee through all or part of this time were given the challenging opportunity to figure out exactly what that mission ought to mean and how to make it happen. The essential character of SCB is dynamic, and we always will seek to transform and grow in new and better directions. So it will be with the Education Committee. But enough time has passed since the committee's inception that it is reasonable to feel that we have a pretty good picture of what the committee is capable of and what it can offer the members of SCB as a whole.

Unlike several of SCB's standing committees, the Education Committee has a fairly broad charge. This has led us over the last four years to tackle a wide array of projects. In any given year we may take on ten to 15 projects, depending on the number of people on the committee and the depth of their enthusiasm and effort. Projects develop in one of two ways: proactively and reactively.

Proactive projects emerge from within the committee itself. Because the committee is open to all members of SCB, it actually represents a tremendous pool of creativity on the subject of conservation education. In fact, many people join the committee specifically because they have a project in mind and would like to work on it with the resources of the committee and the help of other like-minded souls. Examples of such projects include a survey of undergraduate conservation biology programs, the conservation literacy guidelines, the web site of undergraduate conservation biology teaching resources, the evolving list of continuing conservation education courses, an expansion of conservation education discussions in Conservation Biology, and the presentation of regular symposia at the annual meetings. Numerous other projects are currently in development, as we hope will always be the case.

Reactive projects emerge from outside the committee. These most commonly take the form of a program or curriculum review. Over the years we have consulted with numerous faculty on the establishment or revision of conservation biology programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and in countries around the world. Our reviews have (so far) all been done via the internet, and serve as an inexpensive yet fast and expert form of feedback from conservation biology's largest and most diverse professional society. These reviews do not result in an endorsement by SCB. Unlike other professional societies, SCB does not feel that it is in anyone's best interest for it to engage in professional certification of programs. But the reviews do provide valuable advice that will help any program better meet their educational objectives, and we invite any program interested in this service to contact us.

Another current project that began from outside the committee is our advisory role with the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners, a collaborative project that is developing a large set of web-based teaching modules intended to promote conservation education in countries all around the world. Although this project has only recently begun, a number of modules are close to completion and have so far been prepared in English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese, and Laotian. The Education Committee is also working with SCB media consultants on the development of a conservation biology FAQ intended for use by journalists and other interested members of the public.

What else should we be doing? The list is nearly endless. We are limited only by our imaginations and by time. Clearly, SCB's recent initiative to improve its international scope and representation highlights the importance of the Education Committee to expand its focus and services to more effectively promote conservation education globally. It also expands the domain of SCB's "collective wisdom" about conservation education, and the committee now needs to focus on making the experience and resources successfully developed in one region available to SCB members throughout the world. We welcome any suggestions for projects, or the identification of existing resources that could be shared via the SCB web site.

But further, we welcome your time. We know that this is not a resource that any of us has in any great abundance. The truth, however, is that good ideas fall by the wayside if someone does not step forward to help bring them to life.

We have accomplished a great deal in the last four years with the hard work and devotion of more than 50 committee members, and SCB as a whole owes them much thanks for their efforts. Yet I believe that we can do much more, and that the best is yet to come.

Steve Trombulak, Chair
trombulak@middlebury.edu

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