2022–23 Education Impact Report: Empowering our Next Generation of Climate Scientists

The 2022 – 2023 school year came with reinvigorated energy and enthusiasm around science learning. After experiencing the uncertainty and challenges of schooling during the pandemic, students and educators alike were eager to feel connected — to their work, peers, ecosystems, and the scientific community. Through immersive science learning experiences, GMRI develops and deepens these connections to help inspire our next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) leaders and decision makers.

We’re thrilled to share more about the results and impact of our education work in the 2022 – 2023 school year.

LabVenture

LabVenture remains our tried-and-true immersive experience designed to kickstart students' STEM learning journey. Once students step foot into our learning laboratory, they become scientists examining real data and answering real questions including: how is the Gulf of Maine changing? How are species responding? What do these changes mean for our region’s ecosystems, economies, and communities?

In the 2022 – 2023 school year, we proudly reached 8,300 students with LabVenture. Whether students joined us from down the street or up in the county, they traveled aboard our GMRI branded coach buses. This transportation — which is offered at no cost to public school students — is critical to ensure that every student in Maine, regardless of their resources, has access to transformative STEM learning. For some of the students we reached in the 2022 – 2023 school year, their LabVenture visit was their first field trip in years (or ever!) or their first time seeing the ocean.

Community Science: Investigating Local Ecosystems

In order for science learning to have meaningful, lasting impacts, we must help make the fundamental STEM skills (such as those developed in LabVenture) relevant to the world around them. Community science does just that by leading students through immersive investigations of local ecosystems, exploring the vernal pools, intertidal zones, and forests in their backyards and schoolyards. Through our community science curriculum at GMRI, students not only collect data but also contribute their findings to real, ongoing research projects led by expert scientists via our Ecosystem Investigation Network.

This authentic approach helps students build confidence and agency which is particularly critical as they navigate the overwhelming challenges brought by climate change. Through community science, students connect to their immediate surroundings and the broader community working to understand and mitigate climate impacts. By focusing on local impacts, students are directly involved in understanding ecosystem change and advancing solutions rather than being paralyzed by helplessness. These youth-driven climate solutions are perfectly illustrated by a group of students from Old Orchard Beach working to eliminate an invasive pest from their local forest. After using our community science protocol to determine the presence of hemlock woolly adelgid (an invasive woodland pest), students raised funds to execute a solution, published a research article in our Findings from the Field journal detailing their plan, and are now working with a state entomologist to control the adelgid with predator beetles. They are also tracking the success of the biological control by closely assessing adelgid and beetle populations.

In addition to the student reach, we also engaged 150 educators through professional development workshops, online information sessions, and field training sessions designed to help them create and lead hands-on science experiences for students in their classrooms. This program growth can be attributed in part to continued development of our community science challenge model, utilized for vernal pool investigations among other projects, which strives to build a sense of community through synchronous participation, weekly updates, and multiple guided conversations among participating schools.

When we asked students about their favorite part of their community science experiences, they shared these reflections:

Findings from the Field

Finding from the Field (“Findings”) is Maine’s first and only scientific journal for and by middle school students, engaging them in the communication of scientific inquiries through writing and peer review. Findings empowers students to explore the topics that interest them most and gain authentic experience in mindfully consuming information, communicating clearly, and giving and incorporating constructive feedback.

In the 2022-2023 school year, we engaged approximately 1,700 students in Findings across the writing, review, and publication process. Findings: Volume 6 features 23 student publications in three different formats — full research articles, nature notes (student observations of the natural world), and data challenges (analysis of data collected during community science investigation). These published scholars represent eight schools across Maine and New Hampshire, including some that participate in Findings year after year. Since publication of volume 6 in spring 2023, there have been more than 600 downloads of students’ findings across the globe, demonstrating the value of student scientists and their work.

By engaging students in robust science learning, we can equip and activate them as critical thinkers and decision makers who will ultimately advance solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time, including adapting to climate change and protecting ocean ecosystems. At GMRI, we’re proud to play a role in energizing future generations of scientists and STEM leaders and are deeply appreciative to the partners who make this work possible, including classroom teachers, informal educators, community organizations, and of course, our donors and supporters.