The impact of climate change on the world's ecosystems is a major focus of scientific field research today, yet the broader public remains largely uninformed. Earthwatch Institute teacher fellows working alongside forest ecologists have brought this important subject, and the science behind it, back to the classroom to help educate tomorrow's scientists and civic leaders.

In a poster at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston, on Friday, February 15, Earthwatch teacher fellow Shauneen Giudice demonstrated how cutting-edge field research can be integrated into the classroom. The poster, "One Project, Many Impacts: What do ponderosa pines have to do with climate change?" is the result of a team of nine elementary and high school teachers working alongside forest ecologist and Earthwatch scientist Dr. Gregory Ettl (St. Joseph's University). Giudice joined the project with generous support from the Verizon Foundation.

"Participation in the Earthwatch research program offers teachers the chance to step outside their ordinary existence and interact with other professionals," said Giudice, a seventh grade teacher from Delmar Middle and Senior High School in rural Delaware. "The opportunity to actually work with scientists stimulates a million ideas of things that one could do in the classroom. It also gives teachers a chance to actually practice some of the skills they tell their students about, lending the kind of 'authority' that only experience gives."

The team of nine teachers core-sampled mature ponderosa pines across a range of elevations on three mountains in Okanogan National Forest, Washington. Analysis of the sample growth rings indicatedrer precipitation in the year of growth at all elevations. Winter precipitation was also positively correlated to growth at low elevation sites. Long-term growth increases were observed at all sites, particularly after 1950, and corresponded to increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

"All of the information reported in the poster comes from the all-teacher team that we fielded in 1999," said Ettl, principal investigator of Earthwatch's Saving Crater Lakes Forests project. "Shaun is one of several really motivated teachers that worked on that team. The data come directly from the measurements that the volunteers made in the field."

The findings have major implications for ongoing climate change studies in western forests, but their most immediate impact was on the curricula of the teachers involved in the research. The data was used to enrich the science curriculum of over 900 pre-college students. Participating teachers, who came from elementary through high school classrooms from across the country, used this project as a springboard for numerous field study opportunities and environmental education experiences for their students.

"Three teachers wrote grants and obtained funds for their students to either take forestry-related field trips or conduct some similar research on a nearby forest," said Giudice. "As a recipient of a technology grant, I put together a class website and designed some web-based activities for my students to do. My students have been working on a wetland project, and Greg's faith in the teacher team to collect reliable data made me re-evaluate my own attitudes towards my students as scientists."

Some middle school students also wrote their own grants, developed lessons for younger children, and worked alongs summer research apprentices. They documentedfor conference presentations. Other students helped reforestation efforts in their communities.

Giudice's poster is an important reminder of how removed from our everyday experience science can be, and how much students stand to gain from a more immediate connection to ongoing research.

Earthwatch Institute is an international nonprofit organization which supports scientific field research worldwide by offering members of the public unique opportunities to work alongside leading field scientists and researchers. The Institute's mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.