Encyclopedia of Life Blog

How do you use EOL? Do you use it for research?  To learn about the life cycle of a species that is now affected by an environmental change? Or as an inspiration to create striking paintings steeped in the theme of biodiversity? One of the best ways to convey the value of a resource like the Encyclopedia of Life is for people to use it and share their stories. Last week, the Encyclopedia of Life and its partners did just that at the National Association of Biology Teachers Conference (NABT) in Memphis,TN. and the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA.

 
At the NABT Conference, EOL was presented to high school science teachers, biology professors and others involved in formal and informal science education. The presentation featured EOL partners and pilot projects including: Elliott Bennett, a high school biology teacher from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in Oaks Bluff, MA. who has used EOL as a model for her students to examine and inventory local biodiversity; Tricia Jones, Research Specialist for the Animal Diversity Web and BioKIDS projects at the University of Michigan. Undergraduate students have created species accounts for the Animal Diversity Web website and those data are now also served on EOL; Chris Bowser, Science Education Specialist for the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program, implements a citizen-science project where high school students  and teachers study migrating American eels in Hudson River tributaries.  Their data are provided to environmental managers in the area who use the information for management purposes.  Soon, information about these projects will be available on EOL. In the meantime, check out the NABT Wiki.

The Bioneers is an organization that promotes environmental solutions and social strategies to heal and restore the earth’s ecosystems.  The presentation, Encyclopedia of Life: The Web of Life Meets the Worldwide Web,  featured Education and Outreach director, Marie Studer, as well as EOL partners Nathan Wilson and Isabella Kirkland. Nathan is a citizen scientist and the creator of the website Mushroom Observer. Isabella Kirkland is a renowned artist who infuses and integrates science, politics and art in her TAXA series paintings.

How do you use EOL? Please comment here or in the general discussion forum thread “How do you use EOL?”

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 9:59 am and is filed under Education and Outreach, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.