From Field Trips to Facebook: A Low-Cost Model for Conducting Ecology Outreach with Urban Minority High School Students

Racial minorities are starkly underrepresented at all levels in marine science and ecology.  Strong mentorship and early research and field work experience contribute significantly to underrepresented minority students pursuing careers in ecology.  Many academic and governmental institutions have an interest in building relationships with local high schools but struggle to establish or maintain those connections.  This talk presents a case study of a small-scale outreach program at a Philadelphia high school which aimed to increase entry and success of underrepresented minority and first-generation college students in marine ecology, and cost less than $1000.  The program targeted an ethnically diverse group of twelve students, was structured around an ecological theme (food webs), and trained students to use scientific tools to answer questions within that theme (e.g., diet and stable isotope analysis).  Students collected diet data, assembled those data in talk and poster form and presented their work at a university departmental talk and an ecological research symposium. The program used strategies not conventionally used in university settings for retention, including home phone calls and visits, frequent texting and use of social media such as Facebook.  Students consistently demonstrated enthusiasm for the program, and have been clamoring for more such opportunities.