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Kari O'Connell Receives Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education

News Brief Description: 

Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education

Kari Bisbee O’Connell, Associate Director, STEM Research Center, Oregon State University

"Odum Award recipients demonstrate their ability to relate basic ecological principles to human affairs through teaching, outreach and mentoring activities. This year’s Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education is presented to Kari Bisbee O’Connell, associate director of the STEM Research Center at Oregon State University.

Through her innovative study and promotion of inclusion and belonging in field-based research, O’Connell has significantly influenced the field of ecology instruction and science education more broadly. Under her guidance, UFERN has fostered collaboration among educators and researchers across numerous research stations and laboratories, supporting the development of evidence-based teaching practices, effective assessment tools and original research on student learning. Through UFERN, O’Connell advances the cause of enhancing field experiences for undergraduate students—particularly those from minority groups.

In her role at Oregon State University, O’Connell is instrumental in several other significant projects aimed at enhancing ecological education. Her initiatives include improving public engagement with science at Long-Term Ecological Research sites, fostering opportunities for middle and high school students to connect with old-growth forests at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and facilitating community engagement with wildfire research. Additionally, she focuses on professional development for middle and high school science teachers, developing their data literacy and cultivating a deeper understanding of ecosystems and the scientific process.

O’Connell’s work is crucial in identifying and implementing strategies to make field stations and marine laboratories more inclusive, and her efforts have significantly shaped practices at Oregon State University and beyond. Her holistic approach to ecology education will have a lasting impact on the academic community and on public understanding of ecological science."

--text from Ecological Society of America 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting June 2024

Event Date: 
Friday, June 7, 2024
Event Brief Description: 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting: Friday, June 7,  9-11 AM

Presentations:

  • "Is post-fire management pre-fire management in a fiery world?" presented by Christopher Dunn, Assistant Professor of Wildfire Risk Science, College of Forestry, OSU
  • "Academic support in a changing fire environment" presented by Kevin Reese, Interagency Fire Staff Officer- Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management, US Forest Service
  • Student lightning talk: "Economic Valuation of Carbon Sequestration in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest: Co-Benefit of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Site" presented by Alex Rendon, Fiona Duggan-Fuchs, and Sarah Gwynn, from Southern Oregon University.
  • "Naturalness and the Lookout Fire: Partial results of the Sep-Nov 2023 Lookout Fire Interviews" presented by Claire Rapp, Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Forestry, OSU.

After our presentations we will move into our community meeting, which includes updates on graduate student activities, site, WNF, community, education, new faces, and recent publications.

PFSC 315. Contact Lina DiGregorio for Zoom link.

Our meetings follow the academic year. Our next meeting will be October 4, 2024.

 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting April 2024

Event Date: 
Friday, April 5, 2024
Event Brief Description: 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting: Friday, April 5,  9-11 AM

Presentations:

  • "Federal Regulations and Archeological Resources: Best Practices for Conducting Research in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest" presented by Steven Highland, Heritage Program Manager (Forest Archeologist) and Tribal Liaison, Willamette National Forest
  • "New Fire and Forest Development Histories in Moist Douglas-fir Forests" presented by Andrew Merschel, ORISE Postdoctoral Scholar with USFS PNW Research Station.
  • Graduate student lightning talk: "The Influence of Network Contraction and Expansion on Dissolved Oxygen Synchrony" presented by Jasmine Krause, Ph.D. candidate, Water Resources Science, OSU

After our presentations, at 10 AM, we will move into our community meeting, which includes updates on graduate student activities, site, WNF, community, education, new faces, and recent publications.

PFSC 315. Contact Lina DiGregorio for Zoom link.

Our meetings follow the academic year. Upcoming meetings: April 5 (Peavy 315), May 3 (Peavy 315), and June 7 (Peavy 315).

 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting March 2024

Event Date: 
Friday, March 1, 2024
Event Brief Description: 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting: Friday, March 1,  9-11 AM

Presentations:

  • "What influences how public land managers evaluate scientific information? Long-Term Ecological Research and Cognitive Biases" presented by Claire Rapp, Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Forestry, OSU
  • "Investigating the Effects of Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation on Native-Invasive Plant Interactions Post-fire" presented by Ethan Torres, ENVS M.S. student at University of Oregon.

After our presentations, at 10 AM, we will move into our community meeting, which includes updates on graduate student activities, site, WNF, education, new faces, and recent publications.

PFSC 315. Contact Lina DiGregorio for Zoom link.

Our meetings follow the academic year. Upcoming meetings: March 1 (Peavy 315), April 5 (Peavy 315), May 3 (Peavy 315), and June 7 (Peavy 315).

 

David Paul Bayles Exhibit and Artist Talk Jan 27

Event Date: 
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Event Brief Description: 

You’re invited to an artist talk by David Paul Bayles, as he discusses his work on “Following Fire: A Resilient Forest / An Uncertain Future.” Bayles focuses on landscapes where the needs of forests and human pursuits often collide, sometimes coexist and on occasion find harmony. Some of his projects utilize a documentary approach while others use a more contemporary art practice.

Blue Sky Gallery. 122 NW 8th Ave, Portland, Oregon

RESCHEDULED:  Artist Talk: Saturday, January 27, 1:30  p.m.

Exhibit: through January 27. Hours Wednesday to Saturday, 12 to 5 PM. 

 

This project is supported by the Spring Creek Project, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, and the McKenzie River Trust.

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting Feb 2024

Event Date: 
Friday, February 2, 2024
Event Brief Description: 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting: Friday, February 2,  9-11 AM

Peavy 315 with a zoom option.

At our February meeting we will continue to develop a potential synthesis paper, with a focus on making cross-disciplinary connections across groups. 

Upcoming meetings: March 1 (Peavy 315), April 5 (Peavy 315), May 3 (Peavy 315), and June 7 (Peavy 315).

 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting Jan 2024

Event Date: 
Friday, January 12, 2024
Event Brief Description: 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting: Friday, January 12,  9-11 AM

Peavy 315 with a zoom option. Note room change--we're back to the large room in Peavy. 

Our January meeting will be the second Friday of the month, to align with the OSU academic calendar. 

Topic TBA, likely a continued focus on predictions, scenarios, and hypothesis around post-fire trajectories.

Upcoming meetings: February 2 (Peavy 315), March 1 (Peavy 315), April 5 (Peavy 315), May 3 (Peavy 315), and June 7 (Peavy 315).

 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting Dec 2023

Event Date: 
Friday, December 1, 2023
Event Brief Description: 

Andrews Forest Monthly Meeting: Friday, December 1,  9-11 AM

Richardson 313 with a zoom option

We’ll focus this meeting on a discussion around predictions, scenarios, and hypothesis around post-fire trajectories.

Our meetings follow the academic year, the first Friday of the month, 9-11 AM. Upcoming meetings: January 12 (Peavy 315), February 2 (Peavy 315), March 1 (Peavy 315), April 5 (Peavy 315), May 3 (Peavy 315), and June 7 (Peavy 315).

 

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