The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 ASLO Global Outreach Initiative Awards. The ASLO Global Outreach Initiative provides mini-grants to ASLO members to conduct outreach projects in their own communities. This year’s recipients are:

• Bringing Limnology and STEM Careers to the Classroom: Engaging with Underrepresented High School Students (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico); Bianca M. Rodríguez-Cardona, Université du Québec à Montréal, Katherine X. Pérez Rivera, Virginia Tech, and Carla López Lloreda, Virginia Tech.
• Interpreting Oil Spill Impacts: Integrating First Nations Knowledge with Aquatic Science fo­r the Benefit of Coastal Communities (Victoria, Canada); Sara Mynott, University of Victoria, and Raisha Lovindeer, University of British Columbia.
• Environmental Education Towards the Conservation of Biodiversity in the Brenu Lagoon, Ghana (Cape Coast, Ghana); Margaret Fafa Awushie Akwetey, University of Cape Coast, and Sika Abrokwah, University of Cape Coast.
• Integrating Western Science with Māori Knowledge to Understand Changes in Sedimentation and Water Quality in Ōhiwa Harbor, Aotearoa New Zealand (Ōhiwa Harbor, New Zealand); Andrew La Croix, University of Waikato, Ben Stewart, University of Waikato Kura Paul-Burke, University of Waikato, and Karin Bryan, University of Waikato.
• Assessment and Monitoring of the Water Quality in the Water Resources of the Cofán Indigenous Community Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates as Cost-Effective Bioindicators (Lago Agrio, Ecuador); Federico Sinche Chele, Yachay University, Manuel Cabrera Quezada, Universidad Estatal Amazónica, and Carlos Huatatoca Tanguila, Sucumbíos Environmental Agency.

A key component of ASLO’s mission is to advance public awareness and education about aquatic resources and research. In response to an increasingly international membership, ASLO launched the Global Outreach Initiative in 2012 to assist members outside the U.S. in communicating aquatic science to non-technical audiences. The ASLO Global Outreach Initiative has since funded an additional 18 projects in 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2019, reaching 15 countries across the globe. This year, ASLO was pleased to commit additional funds for a new category of projects to support outreach efforts in First Nations and Tribal Nations within North America.

“Selecting the recipients among a pool of highly deserving projects is always a challenging task for the Outreach Subcommittee. This year was no exception, with 21 outstanding proposals representing 17 countries requesting over $56,000 (>4 times the available funds),” says Bob Chen, Chair of the ASLO Outreach Subcommittee. “Effective science communication and outreach are more important than ever, and I am confident the selected projects will have a big impact in the communities they serve.”

Recipients of the Global Outreach Initiative Award have one year to complete their proposed outreach project. Major activities and project outcomes are summarized in a report in L&O Bulletin. Reports for previous projects can be found in the Bulletin: Nov 2013 (2012 cycle), Aug 2017 (2016 cycle), Feb 2019 (2017 cycle). The projects may also utilize ASLO social media channels, including our YouTube page, for broader dissemination.

Roxane Maranger, ASLO President, says “The Global Outreach Initiative has quickly become a cornerstone program of ASLO’s outreach activities. On behalf of the Board, I would like to congratulate this year’s award recipients, as well as thank the members of the Outreach Subcommittee for their dedication to this effort. We are looking forward to the outcomes of these wonderful, diverse projects and are proud to contribute increasingly to public awareness of aquatic sciences internationally.”

To support ASLO programs such as the Global Outreach Initiative, visit https://www.aslo.org/support-aslo-programs.

 

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ASLO is an international aquatic science society that was founded in 1948. For more than 60 years, it has been the leading professional organization for researchers and educators in the field of aquatic science. The purpose of ASLO is to foster a diverse, international scientific community that creates, integrates and communicates knowledge across the full spectrum of aquatic sciences, advances public awareness and education about aquatic resources and research, and promotes scientific stewardship of aquatic resources for the public interest. Its products and activities are directed toward these ends. With more than 4,000 members worldwide, the society has earned an outstanding reputation and is best known for its journals and interdisciplinary meetings. For more information about ASLO, please visit our website at www.ASLO.org.