Educating students and teachers about the role of forests in regulating CO2 and climate
Most people understand that trees (and plants) take up carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, but few understand that forests also release carbon dioxide through respiration and that the balance between uptake and release can be altered by climate, disturbance, and management. Improving climate literacy, including the degree to which forested ecosystems help regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, is particularly relevant in Idaho where forest mortality due to fire, drought, and insect outbreaks is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Through a new project at the award-winning UI McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS), I am implementing a new citizen science network that will both improve education and improve a much needed database of ecosystem properties that will advance forest science. We are developing a project centered on a forest-climate literacy curriculum to improve basic understanding of forest carbon capture and release and how it can affect and vary with climate change. The first high school educator workshop will occur in June 2017. I am very excited about these future activities.