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Empowering K-12 Students to be Environmental Stewards
At the Duke University Marine Lab, educators in the Community Science Initiative use a hands-on approach to teach the effects of marine pollution to elementary and middle school children.
Features • 02 / 04
Lighting the Spark of Curiosity: Superfund Center Hosts Virtual Visit for Local 4th and 5th Graders
Nearly 70 4th and 5th graders from Durham’s Morehead Montesorri Magnet School got an inside look at Duke University’s renowned Superfund Research Center – and what it’s like to be a scientist there – thanks to a virtual field trip earlier this month led by two of the lab’s researchers.
Features • 03 / 04
Making the Connection
Story by Brandon Gertz, MEM ’21, Coastal Environmental Management
The Nicholas School’s ELEMENT outreach program takes a new approach to getting elementary-school students excited about science and the environment.
Features • 04 / 04
A Pathway to Success
Since 2012, the Nicholas School's ESSP program has helped more than 270 talented high school students from underserved communities enhance their environmental literacy and explore careers in STEM fields.
Duke University Marine Lab Community Science
The DUML Community Science Program is an initiative designed to increase community engagement through scientific research. The goal of the program is to increase meaningful opportunities for local schools, the general public and DUML to engage through public participation in research.
Females Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and Science (FEMMES)
FEMMES is a student-led education outreach organization whose mission is to engage young girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields through exciting hands-on activities and mentorship from female students and research faculty at universities. We have chapters at the University of Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, and the University of Chicago, but Duke is where it all started!
Girls on outdoor Adventure for Leadership & Science (GALS)
GALS is a free summer science program for high school students to engage with science while backpacking through the wilderness. GALS was created to increase hands-on science opportunities for students who identify as female or gender nonconforming, students of color, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and other groups underrepresented in fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).
Health & Environment Scholars at Duke
The Health and Environmental Scholars Program at Duke is a year-long intensive environmental science program created for talented and underserved local high school students from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Programming is designed to position students for success in college and careers in STEM fields. The program is a partnership of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and School of Medicine, Durham Public Schools (DPS) and the Duke University Marine Lab Scholars Program.
Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic
Graduate and law students work in interdisciplinary teams alongside clinic clients to engage in research, analysis, advocacy, and problem-solving on matters of environmental justice, sustainability, and public health, addressing such matters as the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, agriculture, environmental health, and watershed, ocean, and coastal pollution.
Community Engagement Core
The Community Engagement Core works with communities across North Carolina affected by environmental contaminants, especially those related to early life exposures to chemicals that may have later-life impacts. Communities can contact us with short-term requests for information related to environmental contamination or with proposals for longer-term engagement through participatory research projects and/or education and outreach activities.
Research Translation Core
The Research Translation Core provides practical trainings to build capacity for investigators and trainees on research translation and science communication. In collaboration with the Training Core, the Community Engagement Core, and the Administrative Core, the RTC leads the Trainee Communication and Engagement Program to involve trainees in research translation and community engagement activities. In addition, the RTC coordinates Trainee Response Teams to meet short-term community needs on environmental health topics. The RTC also assists investigators with investigator-initiated research translation by connecting them with the appropriate stakeholders.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Museum of Life & Science
The Museum of Life & Science in Durham is looking for volunteers to help Durham Public Schools students learn about the environment. The museum is offering the following opportunities this fall:
STEM Days – Several hundred children are expected to attend each of the museum’s STEM Days events in October and November. Museum staff are looking for some guest scientists to help with activities, which will be set up at tables throughout the venue. In particular, they’re looking for Nicholas School students with expertise talking about wetlands and water-testing activities.
Contact volunteer@ncmls.org or trish.lemm@lifeandscience.org or more information.
Building Outdoor Learning in Durham (BOLD)
Durham Public Schools has received a grant from Triangle Learning Network to support the utilization of local school sites for increased outdoor learning opportunities for students. The Building Outdoor Learning Durham seeks to develop partnerships between K-12 teachers and community partners in the outdoor learning arena to plan and implement outdoor learning experiences for their own students.
For more information, contact DPS Science Specialists, Willow Alston-Socha at willow.alston-socha@dpsnc.net or Linda Tugurian at linda.tugurian@dpsnc.net.
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