ESA SEEDS

Strategies for Ecology Education, Development and Sustainability:

Diverse People for a Diverse Science

SEEDS is an education program of the Ecological Society of America. Its mission is to diversify and advance the profession of ecology through opportunities that stimulate and nurture the interest of underrepresented students. Focused at the undergraduate level, opportunities sponsored by the program include student field trips, undergraduate research fellowships, ESA Annual Meeting travel awards, and campus ecology chapters.

The core SEEDS program components offer hands-on, engaging experiences with ecology that exhibit the relevance and applications of the science. Each experience also provides opportunities to interact with a diverse group of ecologists and other motivated students to both broaden and deepen students’ understanding of ecology and potential careers.

2008 Chapter of the Year Award!

The 2008 Chapter of the Year Award goes to the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras!  The runner-up award goes to the University of Puerto Rico - Bayamón!  Congratulations to both of these outstanding chapters for all of their achievements.

Read the full story in the August/September issue of the SEEDS Dispersal newsletter.

Members of both chapters at the Diversity Mixer at the ESA Annual Meeting.

SEEDS of Passion Thoughts on the Annual Meeting from our SEEDS Intern, Rui Zhang.

Milwaukee - the beautiful city saw the great 93^rd ESA gathering of ecologists and students this August.  I, as the SEEDS intern, was very fortunate to be a part of it and attended almost all the SEEDS events during the meeting.

I really enjoyed listening to our Diversity Programs Manager Melissa Armstrong gracefully introducing the SEEDS program and our Diversity Programs Coordinator Erin Vinson passionately commenting on students’ evaluations for the past events. I was also impressed by our Director Teresa Mourad’s energy level and her commitment to the cause of ecology education and diversity. But what impressed me most is the tremendous passion and energy our SEEDS students bring to us. Listening to their presentations at the Chapter Workshop and at the poster sessions were great inspirational experience for me.

Before joining SEEDS, I had no idea what kind of program I would be working on. I still distinctively remember how I walked into the ESA office three months ago with a strong self-awareness of being an international student, a minority, and an outsider to the field of ecology. The education staff welcomed me with open arms and introduced me to the SEEDS program with incredible patience. Their guidance encouragement and acknowledgement gave me enormous confidence and made me feel like home. Now at the ESA Annual Meeting, I got to see the whole picture of the program and I understood eventually the greatness of the SEEDS program. I can feel that the program had helped planted in me and in many others the seeds of passion for pursuing what we truly ENJOY doing. It dawned on me by the end of the week that this is what SEEDS is all about!

This has been a wonderful journey for me - to learn, to be motivated, and to grow with SEEDS.

SEEDS Students and staff @ the ESA Annual Meeting closing, August 2008.

SEEDS pictures from the Annual Meeting are now online!  Click here to view these great pictures!

Partner Opportunities:

Work for the Forest Service as a Presidential Management Fellow!

Click here for more information.