Teaming Up for Science

Claudia Santiago, Biological Science Technician & Citizen Science Coordinator at Congaree National park, and  Rosemary Martin-Jones, Richland County 4-H Agent at Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, collect dragonfly larvae at Congaree National Park for mercury analysis.

Karen Jackson

Every national park is part of a community. Communities benefit from the protected lands, educational opportunities, and boosts to the local economy. National parks and their local communities also have similar priorities such as protecting air quality and wildlife and human health. A new partnership between the National Park Service and the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Thriving Earth Exchange supports science and stewardship activities that benefit both parks and their local communities. The partnership began in October 2021. Over the next five years parks and their communities will collaborate to identify and address their scientific priorities. Projects in the first year will focus on water quality, marine biodiversity, and preservation of night skies.

“This partnership and the community projects will help achieve shared goals of enhanced conservation, public enjoyment, and sustainable communities and landscapes – including our national parks,” said Raymond M. Sauvajot, NPS Associate Director of Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. “Community-led science allows people to engage directly in learning about and conserving national park resources and builds on our solid foundation of supporting citizen science at parks.”

Thriving Earth Exchange Director Raj Pandya said, “AGU and the National Park Service both value the principles of community science and promote conservation, education and sustainability. Thriving Earth Exchange envisions a future where all communities can contribute to and benefit from scientific knowledge, and this partnership supports that goal. We look forward to what these project teams will accomplish with the strength and commitment of NPS behind them.”
About the projects
Projects in the first year will accomplish a lot:

• Create baseline understanding of water quality in Richland County, South Carolina and Congaree National Park prior to installation of a regional sewer system that may stimulate urban development.
• Assess the impacts on coastal marine biodiversity and tidal currents from a 1930s road and causeway that bisects a cove in Acadia National Park and the village of Otter Creek, Maine.
• Develop and apply scientific information to inform strategic planning and good guidance for preserving dark night skies in Boulder City, Nevada and Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Thriving Earth Exchange projects typically span 6 to 18 months from start to finish. Community leaders work with Community Science Fellows, project managers who help the team set priorities, plan a project, and engage scientists and technical experts to conduct the research.
Community Science Partnerships
Thriving Earth Exchange brings scientists and project managers together with communities to identify and explore their scientific priorities. Past community science projects include assessing flood risks in Gulfport, Mississippi, updating a climate vulnerability assessment in Santa Cruz, California, and monitoring plastic pollution in Staunton, Virginia.

Through this partnership, NPS staff will serve as Community Science Fellows, with training and ongoing support from AGU Thriving Earth Exchange program leaders.

“We are excited about this partnership between the NPS and AGU, and with our neighboring communities,” Sauvajot said. “Supporting scientific activities with local communities will help parks better understand their resources and engage with the public to promote health, resilience and conservation of national parks and communities for generations to come.”