Steve Jones’ Post

"So, what do you want to do after University?" The dreaded question many of us have been asked before. I, like many university students, usually reply with the classic "Oh I'm not sure yet" or "Whatever will have me!". But, we deserve better than that mystery. At Atlas, we have found that for humanities students, especially geography, our courses are so broad that there are just so many career options and pathways out there for us that it's almost difficult to choose where to begin - the Paradox of Choice. This is where Atlas was born - in the information and knowledge gap between professionals and young people. A platform run by students, for students. This gap is what we seek to bridge via our 'Interviews with Professionals' series, to provide students with better clarity to be able to make more informed career choices and gain a head start in an industry you love. Today, we are excited to announce our first edition titled "Birds of a Feather: Beccy Speight Talks Youth, Conservation, and Leading the RSPB" from our 'Interviews with Professionals' series, featuring Beccy Speight, the CEO of RSPB. You can read this edition by clicking the link below which will take you to our Substack page. ✨ Have any suggestions for who we should interview next, or have a particular industry you're interested in learning more about? Comment them below, and we will try and make it happen for you in our next edition! Written by Lilia Hakem, Founder of Atlas 🗺 https://lnkd.in/emSEsNW7

“Drenching a piece of paper in water and alcohol to help save it? It's all in a day's work at The New York Public Library's Barbara Goldsmith Conservation Lab. Watch this full-length video, which is part of an exhibition currently on view at the library called "Mapping New York's Shoreline." If you have been following my posts for a while then you know my fascination with #art conservation. It's a beautiful intersection of art and science. I know that students of all ages will find this video interesting. I know from experience that students ask, "How do they fix that?" This video can help answer some of their questions. If you have the opportunity, ask a conservator if they would speak to your students. Not only will this be enlightening for students in terms of how conservation is done, but it opens their eyes to conservation as a potential career. What would you ask a conservator? I encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments. #MuseumEducation #BookArt https://lnkd.in/gE2YQ8df

STEAM the Streets wants to inspire and hear the opinions of their biggest focus: the youth. Piper, one of our App users, was inspired by our Marine Ecologist module: “I would love to be a marine ecologist when I finish college, and this really inspired me a lot." Are you interested in having #STEAMtheStreets come to your school? Get some info at the link in our bio! #youth #inspiration #motivation #goals #marineecology

The Fall 2024 undergraduate semester-away program is now live! Current undergrads and recent college graduates from any accredited US institution, in any major, can apply now for either (1) Conservation, Biodiversity and Society, or (2) Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Each hands-on program contains 16 upper-level undergraduate credit hours, and can satisfy degree requirements in a variety of ways.   George Mason University students, earn a minor in one semester, or use credits to satisfy concentration or even Mason Core requirements! Attending from another school? Talk to your advisor to see how your program can fit into your degree.   To apply, search "residential" on our website, or navigate to Programs & Courses > Undergraduate. As always, space is limited!

Elementary students’ ‘outdoor – digital’ explorations in ecology - learning through chains of transduction | Open Access Cecilia Caiman & Susanne Kjällander Pages: 83-100 | DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2023.2229541 Abstract This article illustrates a research project in a Swedish elementary school where young students are engaged in a project on ecology. Species, digital resources and nature contribute to place-based exploration of ecological issues, relevant in learning for sustainability. Since children grow up in a digital era, their meaning-making is transversed by oral, digital and physical modes. By launching the terms relations, gaps, stand fast and chain of transduction as an analytical apparatus and connecting video ethnography to pragmatic theory and multimodal analysis, we contribute to the body of knowledge on students’ participation and meaning-making featured in digital and physical representations. Specifically, ecological and sustainability learning takes place in the transduction displaying students’ drawings, texts, digital images and biological arrangements. The article concludes with several education concerns: the teacher’s responsibility in supporting agency-processes, the growth of ecological literacy in a blurred ‘digital-ecology’ environment and the educational need to support students’ attachments and care for the living and nonliving. #participation #ecology #explorations #digitaltablets #digitalsignmaking #transduction #ecologicalliteracy #agency #SDG4 https://lnkd.in/giSJiChz

Three Days That Changed the Way I See Moss—And How It Will Shape the Future of My Designs 🌱 “It is the office of the naturalist no less than of the poet to call attention to objects that are neglected because they are familiar or obscure, to show the beauty and the charm that lie hidden in common things, to give eyes where there have been no eyes, to dispel the lethargy of the mind and to quicken the spirit to admiration and to love.” —Sir Edward Fry and Agnes Fry, 1911 I’ve just returned from an unforgettable experience at OSU’s Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island, where I spent 3 days immersed in the world of bryophytes, mostly mosses. I had the privilege of learning from Dr. Robert Klips and Lisa Kutschbach-Brohl, whose expertise and passion for these often-overlooked plants opened my eyes to their intricate beauty and ecological value. Exploring mosses on Gibraltar and the surrounding islands, combined with hands-on lab work, was a game changer for my design approach. This deeper understanding of moss identification and ecology will allow me to enrich my garden designs with lush textures and colors, while boosting soil stability, nutrient cycling, and invertebrate microhabitats. I was impressed by the expertise of my fellow participants, many of whom were professors or researchers in closely adjacent fields. Their knowledge and varied perspectives made this experience even more enriching—we even wrote moss poetry together in our free time! Grateful to Dr. Klips and Lisa for creating such a rich learning environment. I’m excited to integrate these insights into my work and see how they shape my designs. #EcologicalDesign #Ecology #Bryophytes #SustainableLandscaping #OSUStoneLab #ContinuingEducation

Book Drop: Down to Earth by Ted Steinberg A page-turner of incredible depth and breadth, Down to Earth is not only a great read but an introduction to a network of books on environmental history, resource management and our past/future relationship with "nature." This one was hard to put down - highly recommended. Follow Emergetic below for book recommendations, interviews and other resources at the intersection of architecture, energy and ecology. #downtoearth #books #tedsteinberg #environmentalhistory #nature #americanhistory #bookrecommendations #emergetic

Across land based industries, whether arboriculture, ecology, agriculture or most others, there is a real problem with bringing new people into the different sectors. The government is launching a request for evidence in relation to the curriculum, both in content and how it is delivered. This provides a valuable opportunity for stakeholders to help shape the national curriculum for the better and improve access to land based sectors, or at the very least, raise the profile of our respective sectors and the natural environment. https://lnkd.in/equeF9Sb

Given the great interest in rewilding in the spheres of policy and practice, the imminent question is: What is rewilding, and how do we do it? Cities and the Environment (CATE) invites robust discussion on urban rewilding through the lenses of practitioners and researchers on themes including (but not limited to): Biodiversity conservation Climate change adaptation Design, planning, architecture, and engineering Ecological restoration Green and blue infrastructure and management Knowledge, learning, and culture Multispecies agency Nature-based solutions One health and zoonoses Right to the city and green justice Sustainable development and resilience Wellbeing and relational ecology We are soliciting well-written, relevant submissions across five article types (original research, practitioner and research notes, perspectives, and reviews). We also have the ability to publish less traditional scholarly works including multi-media and interactive productions. We encourage submissions of art, experiences, observations, and transdisciplinary work. All submissions will be peer-reviewed, and published free of charge, with open access. Contributing authors may be requested to peer review (double blind) other submissions to the special issue. Interested contributors may submit their work on the CATE portal. On the journal home page, click on “Submit Article” and follow the prompts. In the “Type of Submission” menu, select the “Special Topic Article: Urban Rewilding” option and upload your files. Expected Publication Timeline: Initial Submission: September 1, 2024 Peer Review: October 2024 to November 2024 Publication: January 2025 To express your interest and/or enquire about details, please contact Guest Editors: Mallika Sardeshpande University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Mallika.sardeshpande@gmail.com Alessio Russo Queensland University of Technology, Australia alessio.landscape@gmail.com