by Catherine Schmitt, Science Communication Specialist with Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park Scientists often express frustration over their attempts to communicate with public audiences. Through our workshops and presentations, I’ve come to believe that one root of this frustration is the difference in nature-related knowledge and experiences between scientists and their audiences. Unaware of […]
News
Three new fellows to conduct research in Acadia National Park
April 27, 2020Three scientists have been awarded fellowships to conduct research in Acadia National Park as part of Second Century Stewardship, an initiative of the National Park Service, Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, and the National Park Foundation. Second Century Stewardship was launched in 2016 upon the centennial of the National Park Service to provide relevant […]
An Earth Day message from our founder
April 22, 2020Earth Day was created in 1970 to celebrate the health of our planet. The half century since then has been a time of momentous change including astounding breakthroughs in our ability to explore and understand our natural world. One thing is clear: stewardship of parks and protected areas is more important than ever. This short […]
ESA grants award to MacKenzie, coauthors for climate change research
April 17, 2020The Ecological Society of America has selected Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie and coauthors for the Mercer Award, in recognition of an outstanding, recently-published, ecological research paper by young scientists. In the paper “Phenological mismatch with trees reduces wildflower carbon budgets.” J. Mason Heberling, MacKenzie, and coauthors “show creative and powerful integration of historical records and contemporary […]
Psychological distance from nature as a science communication challenge
April 3, 2020by Catherine Schmitt, Science Communication Specialist with Schoodic Institute Due to health and safety concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, many local, state, and national parks have closed, including Acadia National Park, after experiencing a surge of visitors seeking solace and space during otherwise stressed and isolated days of social distancing. Of course people are seeking […]
The Bats of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Need Your Help
March 4, 2020by Catherine Schmitt About one-fourth of all mammals (nearly 1,000 species) on Earth are bats, a misunderstood and underappreciated denizen of the night. Many bat populations are declining from various causes, ranging from destruction of their nesting caves and other habitats to “white nose” disease caused by an invasive fungus. Since it emerged in New […]
National Science Foundation grants award to Mortelliti
March 3, 20202017 Second Century Stewardship Fellow Alessio Mortelliti, University of Maine assistant professor of wildlife habitat conservation, has been awarded an $875,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award to study the ecosystem consequences of small animal personalities. According to Mortelliti, most classical ecological models consider all members of a population to be more or less identical. However, […]
2019 Year in Review
January 24, 20202019 was a big year for Second Century Stewardship. We awarded three new fellowships for research in Acadia National Park. The fellowships act as a catalyst to strengthen relationships between park resource managers and the research community, while generating knowledge that is being applied to park management. We describe this in more detail in an […]
Announcing the Parks Stewardship Forum
January 6, 2020Second Century Stewardship is featured in the inaugural edition of Parks Stewardship Forum, The Interdisciplinary Journal of Place-Based Conservation, published by the University of California Berkeley’s Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity and the George Wright Society. This new open-access journal will “serve the global stewards of parks, protected areas, cultural sites, and other forms […]
Dragonfly Mercury Project at Minamata Convention
December 23, 2019The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. Signatories met in Geneva, Switzerland in November 2019. The Second Century Stewardship film segment on the Dragonfly Mercury Project was shared with the conference of parties by the North American delegation. The Convention […]
