{"id":18601,"date":"2019-10-10T10:51:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T14:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=18601"},"modified":"2019-10-16T15:33:13","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T19:33:13","slug":"training-the-next-generation-of-conservation-leaders","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/newsletters\/training-the-next-generation-of-conservation-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Training the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sandra
NRT Team leader Sandra
De Urioste-Stone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An interdisciplinary team of UMaine researchers led by Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow Sandra De Urioste-Stone<\/a> was recently awarded a five-year, $2.99 million grant to help graduate students develop the innovative mix of skills they\u2019ll need to succeed as conservation leaders. The award comes from the National Science Foundation\u2019s prestigious Research Traineeship Program (NRT), where fewer than one in six proposals are typically funded.<\/p>\n

Unlike many conservation training programs whose primary emphasis is on species and ecosystems, the new grant – Enhancing Conservation Science and Practice<\/em> – is equally focused on people and nature. Thus, the project\u2019s graduates will be as adept at helping rural communities \u2013 where lives and livelihoods are closely tied to the surrounding land- and sea-scape \u2013 as they are at addressing biodiversity challenges per se<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Given the multi-faceted nature of many conservation issues, the project\u2019s leadership team includes faculty with expertise in economics, forestry, communication, conservation biology, community psychology, ecosystem modeling, tourism, governance, public policy, and several other fields. Seven of the project\u2019s nine faculty are members of the Mitchell Center.<\/p>\n

One of the project\u2019s central goals is to train graduate students to work outside academia. A recent National Academy of Sciences report found that many graduate students seeking careers outside higher education don\u2019t have the skills to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost graduate students are trained to become professors rather than to work in non-governmental organizations, the private sector or government,\u201d says De Urioste-Stone.<\/p>\n

Thus, one of the key components of the project is to determine how to integrate, within existing curricula, elements that allow trainees exposure to other skills that are helpful beyond academia. In preparation for the arrival of the first cohort of students, the team met on a regular basis to craft a \u2018Specialization in Conservation Science\u2019 training program made up of new and existing courses. The first new course launched in fall 2019 and focused on the concept of resilience. Conservation partners involved in the course help students learn about existing conservation efforts and research needs and identify potential internships \u2013 a critical facet of the program. A second new course focused on collaboration and facilitation techniques will be offered as a one-week intensive in January 2020.<\/p>\n

Bridie McGreavy<\/a> notes, \u201cThe NRT comes at the perfect moment to expand our efforts to make research relevant for sustainability challenges and continue to strengthen the relationships many of us already have with conservation partners\u201d.<\/p>\n

The leadership team is comprised of Aram Calhoun<\/a>, Wetland Ecology; Adam Daigneault<\/a>, Forest, Conservation & Recreation Policy; Daniel Hayes, Remote Sensing & Geospatial Analysis; Bridie McGreavy<\/a>, Environmental Communication; Sarah Nelson, Watershed Biogeochemistry; Laura Rickard<\/a>, Risk Communication; Linda Silka<\/a>, Community-University Partnerships; and Aaron Weiskittel<\/a>, Biometrics and Modeling. Sabrina Morano is the NRT Program Coordinator.<\/p>\n

For more on the NRT program: umaine.edu\/conservationscience\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interdisciplinary team of UMaine researchers led by Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow Sandra De Urioste-Stone was recently awarded a five-year, $2.99 million grant to help graduate students develop the innovative mix of skills they\u2019ll need to succeed as conservation leaders. The award comes from the National Science Foundation\u2019s prestigious Research Traineeship Program (NRT), where fewer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":957,"featured_media":0,"parent":2179,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18601","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"mitchellcenter","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/mitchellcenter\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18601"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18686,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18601\/revisions\/18686"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}