Call for Applications Open for 2004 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowships

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Call for Applications Open for 2004 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowships

Communication Training Opportunity for Academic Environmental Scientists

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, Jun. 24 -/E-Wire/-- An innovative program that provides intensive communication and leadership training for academic environmental scientists is now accepting applications for up to 20 fellowships in 2004.

The Aldo Leopold Leadership Program (ALLP) was launched five years ago with the goal of improving the flow of accurate, credible scientific information to policy makers, the media and the public by training outstanding academic environmental scientists to be better communicators of complex scientific information. The program is named for Aldo Leopold, a renowned environmental scientist who communicated his scientific knowledge simply and eloquently. His writings, including his 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, are credited with infusing the emerging conservation movement with good science and wisdom.

Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellows participate in intensive training that takes place in two separate one week sessions and features "hands on," interactive modules lead by media and policy specialists, leading scientists and business leaders. The focus of the training is on how to communicate effectively with non-scientists in terms they can understand and use.

The deadline for applications for 2004 fellowships is Monday, August 25, 2003. Detailed application information is available at www.leopoldleadership.org.

"Academic scientists typically communicate their new findings through scientific publications or professional scientific society meetings -- in other words, to other researchers who share a common scientific language and framework," said Jane Lubchenco, Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University who co-founded the program and co-chairs the steering committee. "It is increasingly important for scientists be able to communicate effectively to non-scientists, such as legislators, journalists, business leaders and citizens."

"Environmental scientists have valuable knowledge that should be available to citizens and policy makers as they make choices about the future of our planet and our communities. It is vitally important to all of us that scientists be able to provide accurate information in plain language and in the context of everyday life to those who are determining our environmental policies and practices," Lubchenco added.

Sixty scientists from 26 states and a wide range of environmental disciplines, from biology and plant pathology to civil engineering and atmospheric sciences, were selected as Leopold Leadership Fellows between 1999 and 2001. Among many other prominent scientists, the list of fellows includes:

Â· Gretchen Daily ('99), Associate Professor (Research) in the Department of Biological Sciences and Senior Fellow in the Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and co-author of books on how society values the services of natural systems, including Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems and The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable Â· Mark Hay ('00), Teasley Professor of Environmental Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, recognized as one of the "most highly cited" researchers by the Institute for Scientific Information, he has served on several government scientific advisory panels Â· Pamela Matson ('00), Dean of the College of Earth Systems Science, Stanford University, a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and a leader in defining sustainability science for the NAS Â· Stuart Pimm ('99), Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, author of five books, including most recently The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth ('99) Â· William Schlesinger, James B. Duke Professor of Biogeochemistry, and Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, he is president-elect of the Ecological Society of America and a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Many of the Leopold Leadership Fellows report that the training has made a huge difference in their ability and confidence in presenting their work to non- scientific audiences.

"Prior to the [Leopold] training, it would never have occurred to me to entertain media interviews or write press releases on my research," said Ann Kinzig, assistant professor in the department of biology at Arizona State University and a 2000 Leopold Leadership Fellow. After completing the training and feeling more comfortable about interacting with the media, Kinzig issued a press release on her research on birds in urban parks. The result was numerous news articles in local, national and international publications and international radio coverage in Scotland, England, Canada, Australia, and Japan as well as the U.S.

"This is important not for the exposure it gives me, but to remind people that there is nature worth caring about in their own backyards, and to remind other scientists that the ecology of human-dominated ecosystems is worthy of research," Kinzig said.

"Before (the fellowship training) I was attempting to translate science to the public, particularly environmental policy makers and regulators, but without many tools or even confidence," said Susan Williams, a 2000 Leopold Leadership Fellow who is professor of environmental science and policy and director of the Bodega Marine Laboratory at the University of California Davis. "The Leopold Program made me more effective and provided means to improve policy and media interactions, which have increased dramatically."

Based at the New England Aquarium in Boston, the program is funded by a major grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Jane Lubchenco and Diana Wall, professor and director of the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University and a 1999 Leopold Leadership Fellow, serve as co- chairs of the steering committee, which oversees the program and the selection of the fellows through a competitive application process.

The Aldo Leopold Leadership Program was originally based at Oregon State University. In January 2003, it moved its administrative headquarters to the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information about the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program, including information about applying for a fellowship, visit www.leopoldleadership.org or contact Marion Smith, Program Coordinator at [REDACTED-EMAIL].

Aldo Leopold Leadership Program

Cynthia Robinson, Director [REDACTED-PHONE];

Cynthia Barakatt, Manager,Training and Outreach [REDACTED-PHONE]

http://www.leopoldleadership.org

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