Education Forum and Art-Sci Workshop

Ready to try out something new at NACCR 2026?

SCBNA & SER are excited to announce the inclusion of two unique conference events to our program lineup this year: our Education Forum and an Arts-Based Learning event (title and details to be finalized in the coming weeks). These events reflect the needs of our constituents to incorporate more curriculum and arts-centric programming into our conference, and to broaden the scope of how we integrate conservation and restoration into other fields. We encourage all attendees to take advantage of these events and to join us in trying out something new this summer!

For additional information on our education and arts activities (including dates and times), please click on the links below. In addition, you can view some examples of our activities by navigating to the right of this page.

NACCR Education Forum (July 13, 4:00 – 6:00 PM)

Organized in collaboration with SCBNA’s Education Committee

Watch the recording of the July 13, 2026 Education Forum here!

The goal of our Education Forum is to connect educators and NACCR attendees seeking to share and gain pedagogical support for fostering outstanding conservation and restoration education practices, and provide space for new connections to be made. The Forum will include a combination of 5-min preview talks followed by 1-hour workshop modules on July 13 (4:00 – 6:00 PM), with attendees having the option to attend any workshop of their choosing. For educators presenting and leading the workshops, please see below.

UNLESS

Module Title: UNLESS

Organizer: Lauren Simmons, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design

Educational Focus Area(s): Higher Education

Module Description: Fifty-six years ago, the United States created the Environmental Protection Agency to address environmental and human health concerns in response to decades of air, water and soil contamination. Today, that same agency tasked with ensuring environmental and human health at the direction of those in power, are seemingly not upholding their charge, threatening both environmental and human health. This module provides an opportunity for students to review environmental policies over time – when they were created, progress made, and any proposed or enacted policy changes – and to consider the outcomes from these policies. Through this work, students become more aware of governmental and agency regulatory actions, the impact on environmental and human health, and how as responsible citizens, they fit into this tumultuous landscape.

Data Reliability in Botanical Community Science

Module Title: Data Reliability in Botanical Community Science

Organizer: Maggie Gaddis, Colorado Native Plant Society

Educational Focus Area(s): Higher Education, Environmental Education/Community Science

Module Description: Strong species identification skills improve ecological restoration and conservation activities. However, few restoration professionals and even fewer community scientists have botanical education, even if they have a terminal degree in their professional field. Our curricular approach teaches people how to identify known plants using a dichotomous key and the community science tool, iNaturalist. By employing backwards design, we develop rubrics for species identification that increase data reliability. This approach can be used for myriad practical outcomes including seed scouting and collection, weed mapping, rare plant conservation, and ecological monitoring. The complimentary use of iNaturalist and the primary literature of one’s locally appropriate dichotomous species key promotes reliable data collection for botanical community scientists.

From Belonging to Biodiversity: A Child-Led, Play-Based Native Plant Restoration Module for Early Learners

Module Title: From Belonging to Biodiversity: A Child-Led, Play-Based Native Plant Restoration Module for Early Learners

Organizer: Alicia Highland, Tiny Green Learning

Educational Focus Area(s): K-12, Informal Education, Environmental Education/Community Science

Module Description: Conservation education often begins with ecological content or technical practice. However, research suggests that the foundations of environmental stewardship and interest in ecological restoration can be established in early childhood, when inquiry, place-based engagement, and belonging in nature are developmentally strong.This session introduces a 4-phase, child-led native plant restoration module designed for early learners and families. Grounded in guided play, inquiry-based STEM learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy, the framework positions family plant knowledge and sensory exploration as an entry point for ecological restoration learning.

Rather than directing children to plant native species, this approach guides them to:
– Share family plant stories and outdoor memories
– Explore local ecosystems through dramatic and loose-parts play
– Generate their own ecological questions
– Analyze patterns in plant abundance
– Collectively decide on a feasible native plant restoration action within educator-guided ecological boundaries

Restoration decisions are shaped by children’s noticing and reasoning while maintaining site-appropriate conservation practices.

Participants will leave with:
– A ready-to-implement 4-session outline
– Facilitation language for guided play and inquiry
– A child-led restoration decision-making protocol
– NGSS-aligned assessment tools
– Adaptation strategies for urban and rural contexts

Evaluating Ecosystem Restoration: From Principles to Practice

Module Title: Evaluating Ecosystem Restoration: From Principles to Practice

Organizer: Cara Nelson, University of Montana; and IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management

Educational Focus Area(s): Higher Education, Informal Education, Environmental Education/Community Science

Module Description: Ecosystem restoration is a challenging endeavor. Unless carefully planned, implemented and monitored, investments in repairing degraded ecosystems may not yield net gain for nature or people – and even worse, may cause unintended adverse impacts. This semester-long undergraduate-level educational module trains college students on the elements of effective ecosystem restoration through appraising a real-world restoration project against the Standards of Practice to Guide Ecosystem Restoration (Nelson et al. 2024; here after the Standards of practice). The Standards of Practice were co-produced for the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (hereafter, UN Decade) through a global effort, led by the Society for Ecological Restoration, IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. They provide a shared vision of effective ecosystem restoration for application across global restoration initiatives (e.g., Target 2 of the UN Convention on Biodiversity’s KM Global Biodiversity Framework, Bonn Challenge, etc.). The Standards of Practice framework organizes restoration into five core components (Assessment, Planning and design, Implementation, Ongoing management, Monitoring and evaluation), 45 subcomponents and over 300 recommended practices.In this educational module, students will be introduced to a real-world restoration case study that they will critically analyze through the lens of the Standards of Practice recommendations. Students will work in five-person teams. Each of the five students in the team will appraise the case study with respect to one of the five core components of the restoration process, and all students on the five-person team will share their findings to produce a comprehensive project appraisal report. The project involves students independently reviewing and appraising the case study for their specific component, participating in peer consultations with other students and course instructors (outside of their five-person team) working on the same assigned component, collaborating with their five-person team to draft a report presenting their appraisal findings across all five components, and participating in a final seminar in which each five-person team shares findings and present recommendations for improvement. To facilitate the appraisal process and application of consistent methods among student groups, students will conduct their appraisal using an Excel macro tool that automates summary statistics and generates graphs, once students enter their data. The Excel macro tool will eventually be replaced with an online tool, currently under development by UN Decade partners (beta-version will be available by July 2026 and shown in the proposed session).

Engaging with Controversial Topics: Red Wolves on Trial

Module Title: Engaging with Controversial Topics: Red Wolves on Trial

Organizer: Alexandra DeCandia, Georgetown University

Educational Focus Area(s): K-12, Informal Education, Higher Education, Environmental Education/Community Science

Module Description: Ecology, evolution, and conservation are dynamic fields within the biological sciences that contain a multitude of controversial topics. Especially in an era of intense political polarization, individuals can look at the same evidence and come to very different conclusions. By exploring controversial topics through classroom simulations, students can engage with diverse stakeholder positions as they formulate and deliver arguments alongside peers. They can review evidence, apply a critical eye to prominent arguments, and develop their own opinions about issues that lack easy answers. This brings course material to life and places them in the center of ongoing debates. What’s more, these assignments are highly customizable, both in terms of the controversial topic covered and the approach taken for the classroom simulation.The specific module proposed engages students in a mock trial seeking to determine whether red wolves should be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The trial hinges on the species status of red wolves. Namely, do they comprise their own distinct species, or are they interspecies hybrids? And based on the answer to that question, should they be afforded protections under the ESA, as currently written? This lesson brings together species concepts, ecology, evolution, management, and law, as students research diverse stakeholder positions. They then assume the roles of attorneys and expert witnesses (i.e., an ecologist, conservation geneticist, and ESA author) in a mock trial simulation. By play-acting an assigned role, students can adopt a viewpoint they may otherwise shy away from as they truly embody their stakeholder. Subsequently, they prepare a written reflection about their own personal opinion on the matter based on the evidence presented during the simulation. I teach this module in my introductory college course centered around ecology and evolutionary biology, and have found it to be a highly engaging and educational way to introduce students to multiple concepts within the broader field. I would love to see more educators adopt similar simulations in their classrooms, as well!

Using Science Communication to Enhance Conservation Research Learning

Module Title: Using Science Communication to Enhance Conservation Research Learning

Organizer: Heather Galindo, University of Washington-Bothell

Educational Focus Area(s): Higher Education

Module Description: Designing a course that takes students from learning the fundamentals of a new topic to having them design and implement field-based research projects in a single term is a daunting task. However, by scaffolding content across activities with a focus on science communication and real-world conservation contexts, students can have a greater sense of agency in navigating this process. Over the past ten years I have developed a roadmap for integrating flexible classroom and field-based learning activities that emphasize both doing and communicating about scientific research related to conservation policy.This work begins in the classroom with having students engage with the peer-reviewed scientific literature on human impacts on natural ecosystems. They learn to summarize this work through the creative practice of designing graphical abstracts as well as using it as the basis of collaboratively developing a crowd-funding proposal for a related research project. These approaches emphasize communicating complex ideas in ways that are clear and compelling for broad audiences. The next phase involves taking students into the field for a session in which they can practice identifying taxa, observe ecological patterns, and take simple field measurements that can inform their understanding of how ecosystems respond to environmental change. This allows them to create a research proposal for a project they will carry out during a longer fieldtrip. The final element is for students to present their research results in both a written report and an oral presentation in which they have to articulate how their findings could inform conservation and management decisions. Collectively, these activities support students developing skills to both do and share conservation-focused research in a relatively short amount of time.

Beyond the Facts: Scientific Literacy, Science Denialism, and the Ethics of Managing Invasive Species

Module Title: Beyond the Facts: Scientific Literacy, Science Denialism, and the Ethics of Managing Invasive Species

Organizer: Stuart Livingstone, University of Toronto-Scarborough

Educational Focus Area(s): Higher Education, Environmental Education/Community Science

Module Description: What does science denialism look like in the context of invasive species management? After a brief introduction to that complex topic, this talk will share an in‑class exercise that tasks students to apply a scientific literacy lens to a complex conservation management case study. In the activity, students work in small groups to investigate and embody the perspectives of different actors (including science denialists) involved in the management of a charismatic invasive species. Before class, they read selected articles on science denialism and epistemic disagreement within invasion biology, giving them a conceptual foundation for understanding how scientific debates become entangled with values, identity, and competing forms of evidence. During the activity, each group adopts the role of a specific stakeholder—such as conservation biologists, local community members, policymakers, industry representatives, and a science‑denialist organization—and prepares to articulate that group’s priorities, assumptions, and preferred management strategies.The class is then presented with a challenging management scenario in which the invasive species evokes strong emotional, cultural, or economic attachments. Rather than aiming for consensus, the exercise encourages students to experience how real‑world environmental conflicts unfold when diverse epistemologies, ethical frameworks, and political motivations collide. By hearing and responding to one another’s arguments, students observe how science denialism operates alongside legitimate scientific disagreement, how evidence is selectively interpreted or dismissed, and how ethical considerations shape management decisions. The goal is for students to leave with a deeper appreciation of the messy, multidimensional nature of environmental decision‑making rather than a tidy resolution.

The COMPASS Message Box

Module Title: The COMPASS Message Box

Organizer: Heather Mannix, COMPASS Science Communication

Educational Focus Area(s): Higher Education

Module Description: The COMPASS Message Box is a tool that can be used to break complex, technical information into component pieces that are more accessible to audiences that don’t share that technical expertise. By focusing on the SO WHAT—the broader implications for a specific audience—of someone’s research or expertise, it becomes more accessible, interpretable, and actionable.

Scientific knowledge is too often siloed away from the people that can use it. Whether the intended audience is a group of policymakers, a journalist, or a community at risk, the Message Box is a tool that can be used to hone in on why research matters and how it can make a difference outside the lab or journal.

Art-Sci Workshop: Developing Your Creative Practice (July 15, 4:00 – 6:00 PM)

Organized by Creature Conserve

Watch the recording of the July 15, 2026 Art-Sci Workshop here!

The non-profit organization Creature Conserve is hosting an interactive workshop at NACCR designed to explore the possibilities of art-sci collaboration in conservation and restoration. The goal is to give participants practice using creative tools to solve problems and engage audiences in new ways. This two-hour workshop on July 15 (4:00-6:00 PM) includes two artist presentations followed by a collaborative break-out session with creative “making” time. Participants will also have the opportunity to experiment with different artistic media that they can incorporate into their scientific work.

Be sure to check out Creature Conserve’s Exhibitor Table as well!

The Creature Conserve Exhibitor Table at NACCR will include an exhibit/installation with examples of art-sci collaboration in conservation and restoration that can grow over time.

Curious?

Check out the 5-Min Presentation Recordings from SCBNA’s 2025 (Virtual) Education Forum

DAY 1 RECORDING (Aug 5, 2025)

DAY 2 RECORDING (Aug 6, 2025)

You can also explore examples of arts-based learning from SCBNA’s Repository of Conservation Education Workshops and our Arts for Conservation Activities at NACCB 2024

Education Forum and Art-Sci Workshop

Ready to try out something new at NACCR 2026?

NACCR Education Forum (July 13, 4:00 – 6:00 PM)

Art-Sci Workshop: Developing Your Creative Practice (July 15, 4:00 – 6:00 PM)

Curious?

Latest News