Earthwatch-supported tropical forest researchers recognize their essential role as educators, not only training new generations of forest researchers but also bringing conservation and environmental issues to the attention of local communities. Many, including Drs. Linsley Gressit (Wau Ecology Insititute) and Karen Holl (University of California, Santa Cruz), have used their research to contribute to local school curriculums.
"Earthwatch does more than back vital research," said Dr. E.O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and world-renowned expert on tropical biodiversity. "It inspires us to understand our global responsibilities as citizens of the world."
In the 1970's Adrian Forsyth (Arizona State University) and Kenneth Miyata (Harvard University) began taking Earthwatch teams into the field in Costa Rica to make a pioneer photoarchive of "every living thing" for the local museums and schools. The project became a model for "giving back" to a host country. The images were widely disseminated and contributed to Forsyth and Miyata's 1984 book, Tropical Nature, which remains one of the finest introductions to tropical biology recognized by educators and researchers worldwide.
In addition to benefiting local communities, Earthwatch tropical forest projects have hosted more than 500 teachers from North America as educator fellows, who brought their field experience back to the classroom to develop innovative science curriculum. For example, New Jersey art teacher Marcia Smith Haller received a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation grant to help Dr. Jeff Hatfield (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and colleagues monitor endangered populations of Hawaiian rainforest birds. Haller went on to educate her students about rainforests through art, creating murals, models, award-winning lesson plans, and a video aired on local public television.
In recent years, 310 African conservation professionals have participated in Earthwatch projects, gaining valuable field training and the opportunity to network with others facing similar issues in their own countries. For example, Dr. Martin Cheek (Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew) has had 132 African Fellows from 15 countries on his teams documenting rare rainforest plants the mountains of Cameroon (see Use It or Lose It). One of Cheek's fellows, Geoffrey Mwachala (National Museums of Kenya), began his own Earthwatch-supported study in 1999, Rare Plants of Kenya, examining the effect of human population expansion on endemic species in the Taita Hills of Kenya. Already his work has been crucial in implementing management and conservation strategies, and has added valuable specimens to the East African Herbarium.
Earthwatch's support of forest research in Africa has also led to two publications valuable to the capacity-building of African conservation professionals. African Rainforests and the Conservation of Biodiversity is the proceedings of a 1997 conference in Limbe, Cameroon, designed to explore the linkages between biodiversity monitoring and conservation of African rainforests. African Forest Biodiversity is a practical manual for conservation professionals to survey African forest vertebrates, from frogs to primates. Together, these books represent a significant step toward more effective management and conservation of African forest resources.
Learning is an integral part of every Earthwatch tropical forest project, as participants discover a wealth of new information and experiences that help them become better global citizens. But the learning is not only one-way. Entomologist Dr. Larry Orsak (Scientific Methods) was counting on his first team making an important contribution to his field study of moths in Papua New Guinea (see Use It or Lose It), but he was not prepared for startling new insights from the group, most of which had no scientific background. One volunteer questioned the traditional top-down method used by entomologists to examining moth color patterns, and wondered if more could not be learned by viewing all angles. This key insight led to the discovery of a defense mechanism never before described: one moth bore the image of a jumping spider, visible only at spider-eye level, and as a result repelled jumping spider attacks. With this, Orsak knew that his volunteers would be one of his most valuable assets.