Letter to the Community

Letter to the Community

November 2014

Dear Friends,
 
One of the wonderful aspects of the GLOBE Program is how the 'GLOBE' name is recognized internationally. I learned this first-hand most recently, when I was in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, at the invitation of the Government of Japan and UNESCO, for the conference on the UN 2005-2014 Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). To assess the impact of this effort, UNESCO presented The Final Report for the Decade, which concluded--most notably for us--that education is a critical tool for moving societies towards sustainable development and that this education must be made relevant to the social, environmental and economic challenges that the world faces now and in the future. GLOBE teachers, partners and scientists all play a roll in ensuring that students acquire the scientific knowledge and skills necessary to help shape a sustainable future.
 
Nowhere was this more evident that at the Nanzan Girls' Junior High school, which I visited following the UNESCO conference. The students there were preparing presentations for a gathering of GLOBE schools in Tokyo in December 2014 and were eager to share their research with me. They were interested in what other schools were doing with phenology protocols, so I was able to share that with the whole school. Who knows, your school may receive a communication from them if you are collecting phenology data to collaborate on some research.

It was a wonderful honor to be able to visit the students and hear about their research and preparations for the upcoming visit to Tokyo. They were clearly excited about this biennial gathering of GLOBE schools in Japan. I wish them well in their preparations and their presentations.
 
Now for some other news items I want to share with you.

TEACHERS:

Distinguished Educator Fellowship 

Deadline to apply for the GLOBE Distinguished Educator Fellowship is 15 December. The fellowship will allow you to team up with a scientist to develop educational resources for GLOBE and it carries a small stipend! More information about this opportunity can be found here.

GLOBE Student Art Competition  

A huge thanks to all teachers who encouraged their students to enter the GLOBE Student Art Competition. As you know, artwork will be selected to illustrate the 2015 GLOBE calendar. Our entries increased by 20% this year. It has made judging harder than ever! All entries have been posted on the GLOBE Facebook. The winning entries will be announced soon, and the calendar will be available on our website in time for 2015.

SCIENTISTS:

GLOBE International Scientist Network

I am excited to share with you that Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists (YLACES) Foundation announced that Dr. Barrett Rock has been selected as the first recipient of the Youth Environmental Science Medal. This honor is in recognition of his founding of Forest Watch in 1992 and contributions in establishing the measurement system of the GLOBE Program while serving as its first Chief Scientist in 1994 and 1995. I worked with Barry when I was with the Program initially during this time and want to congratulate him on this honor.
 
The medal will be presented on 13 March 2015, at the National Science Teachers Association National Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

COUNTRY COORDINATORS/REGIONAL OFFICE COORDINATORS:

GLOBE Working Groups

The purpose of the Working Groups is to enhance of role of GLOBE U.S. and Country Partners and GLOBE Scientists and Educators in shaping the future of the GLOBE Program and supporting the development and implementation of GLOBE worldwide. Currently, there are four Working Groups: Education, Evaluation, Science, and Technology. Their initial meeting occurred during the GLOBE Learning Expedition in August. This was followed up in the fall by their second meeting.

I want to encourage you to connect with your regional representative on these groups and put forward your ideas and thoughts for discussion when the groups meet every two months. Click here for information about the Working Groups.

U.S. PARTNERS:

Online Discussions

Earlier this month, the U.S. Partner Forum met to discuss issues relevant to the US GLOBE Community. Members of the Forum will join Jen Bourgeault's watercooler soon to discuss the forum. In addition, over the next several weeks, the U.S. Partners will gather at the virtual watercooler to discuss a STEM/STEAM graphic and a tiered Train-the-Trainers (TTT) model, and to hear from U.S. Partner Forum representatives. Be on the lookout for a Ready Talk invitation in your inbox, for details on how to join the conversation.

North America Regional Meeting

The North American Regional Meeting (NARM) will be held on 11 March 2015. We will again be running the meeting before the National Science Teachers Association annual conference, 12-15 March in Chicago, Illinois. The exact location is still being determined but it is likely it will be downtown Chicago. In addition, a two-day training event will be held in Chicago on 9-10 March. More details on the training and NARM will be available shortly.

As we approach the end of the calendar year, it becomes a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the coming year. In my next letter, I will do just that. Until then, stay well and thank you for all you do for GLOBE.

 Sincerely,

 
 
 
 
Dr. Tony Murphy  
Director, GLOBE Implementation Office
tmurphy@ucar.edu