Background/Question/Methods We are at a serious crossroads in our global culture. How we respond to the global "revelation" of the cataclysmic tears in our social fabric that the COVID-19 pandemic has made visible will define us for the next several decades. With the dramatic shift to online learning since March 2020, ecologists have re-focused attention on metropolitan (human-dominated) environments, where the majority of our students live, by "bringing ecology home." Engaging in authentic ecological research questions in students’ own communities, homes, and places they know well moves research from abstract to personal, and when combined with the benefits of kinesthetic outdoor learning, may be a powerful key to success. We developed a curriculum template where students ask authentic ecological research questions using low-tech ecological equipment at home (yards, neighborhoods) to conduct authentic ecological research inquiries and share their data. Our template unifies three pedagogical approaches: (1) Home-based Field Ecology, (2) Data Science, and (3) 4-Dimensional Ecological Education (4DEE). Specific projects we have deployed for use by our online students are inspired by our work and collaborations in biodiversity research, citizen science, ecological education, and curriculum development (Great Sunflower Project, www.GreatSunflower.org, TIEE, https://tiee.esa.org/, EREN https://erenweb.org/). Results/Conclusions Student research includes biodiversity studies of backyard pollinators (time-constrained observations), nocturnal lepidoptera (LED UV light traps available by mail or curbside pickup), home carbon sequestration/emissions (DBH measurements, species-specific carbon storage regressions, and home energy use), soil invertebrates (pitfall traps), among others. Collaborative student research groups spanned diverse socio-economic metropolitan (urban to rural) ecological gradients. Student research group data were shared using google products, and some uploaded to online repositories such as iNaturalist. At the end of the semester, student research groups presented their data symposium-style and/or in Padlet breakout rooms. Our students (1) enhanced their skills in ways of observing, measuring, and knowing ecology, (2) formed affinities and connections with improved senses of place, despite isolation, (3) were motivated to discuss and engage in ecological and environmental decision-making such as pollinator decline, insect armageddon, urban food justice, and neighborhood sustainability (4DEE framework), and (4) were introduced to synthesis science and the capacity for broad scale ecological insights. In addition, for the broader ecological community, we enjoin that classes that participate in these projects capture scientifically valid data that can be made available through a shared cyber-infrastructure for student learning and for ecological research communities.
