{"id":52,"date":"2019-12-24T19:31:42","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T19:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/2019\/?page_id=52"},"modified":"2020-02-05T16:41:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T16:41:35","slug":"nurturing-the-vibrant-community-of-ecologists","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/2019\/2019-year-in-review\/strategic-priorities\/nurturing-the-vibrant-community-of-ecologists\/","title":{"rendered":"Nurturing the Vibrant Community of Ecologists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our community continued to grow in 2019. The membership of nearly 8,000 researchers, educators, consultants, students, practitioners, writers, and leaders continued to be among the most dynamic organizations in science. And to support that energy, we sought constantly to find new ways to contribute to our membership\u2019s aspirations \u2014 scientifically, professionally, socially \u2014 and be the professional home that they deserve.<\/p>\n

Professional Development for Ecologists<\/h3>\n

ESA isn\u2019t just a society of researchers \u2014 it\u2019s a professional organization for people who happen to be ecologists. Like any good professional association, we contribute programs designed to build members\u2019 skills as professionals as well as scientists. This included everything from Career Central at the Annual Meeting<\/a> to initiating a series of webinars<\/a> on everything from data skills to publishing.<\/p>\n

Our unique certification program<\/a> took a major step forward in 2019. While our Board of Professional Certification was pleased to issue 115 certifications for the year, a special ad hoc committee and staff were hard at work to find suitable refinements to the program so that it can continue to provide credentials that meet the growing need for trained, vetted ecologists. Big things are in store!<\/p>\n

The Sustaining Biological Infrastructure Training Initiative<\/strong> continued to provide directors of labs, collections, field stations, and digital data resources with the fundraising, communication, and strategic planning skills they need to ensure their project\u2019s success. In the past year, we held two Strategies for Success<\/em> courses, one mini-course in conjunction with the Organization of Biological Field Stations Annual Meeting, and one workshop at the ESA Annual Meeting, training 84 scientists in total. Check out the SBI website<\/a> for future training opportunities in 2020!<\/p>\n

[ngg src=\u201dgalleries\u201d ids=\u201d2\u2033 display=\u201dbasic_thumbnail\u201d thumbnail_crop=\u201d0\u2033]A follow-up meeting to the 2016 FutureProofing Natural History Collections<\/a> Workshop took place on March 28, 2019 at the American Alliance for Museums in Crystal City, VA. Participants reflected on achievements since the original workshop, discussed methods of overcoming real and potential barriers to maintaining and growing collections, and identified strategies, situations, and tools that help collections leaders implement innovative approaches to sustaining collections and developing new business models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Supporting Ecology Education<\/h3>\n

The final year of the decade was a banner year for ESA and our support for ecology education, headlined by the endorsement of the new Four Dimensional Ecology Education Framework<\/a> (4DEE) by the Governing Board following the excellent work of the Committee on Diversity and Education. These resources were created to help educators orient toward the framework while the CDE builds more resources on implementation:<\/p>\n