WISE and Partner Organizations Receive $98,155 from the Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice to launch the Bio/Diversity Project

WISE and Partner Organizations Receive $98,155 from the Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice to launch the Bio/Diversity Project

The UA Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program and partner organizations the Friends of Saguaro National Park and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum were recently awarded nearly $100,000 to launch a new project. The Bio/Diversity Project aims to increase the diversity of voices included in discussions of environmental problems and the development of solutions by creating a K-16+ and into the workforce environmental science pipeline.  

Through this project, partner organizations will increase K-12 student access to culturally-relevant and place-based environmental science curriculum and experiential learning opportunities such as field trips to Saguaro National Park and the Desert Museum. This program will also offer targeted training, mentorship, and networking opportunities for university level students, who will serve as support staff in participating K-12 schools.  After successfully completing one semester of educational outreach with the program, university students will be able to apply for paid internships with the National Park Service through the Friends of Saguaro National Park.  By working across the K-16 educational pipeline, this program aims to get students excited about environmental science and support them along their educational journeys and into the workforce. 

We will begin recruiting UA student participants and identifying K-12 partner schools in fall 2016. Please contact Jill Williams at jillmwilliams@email.arizona.edu for more information.