Teaching students about ecological restoration in a remote setting

Alyssa Bueno, Education, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY

Background/Question/Methods
Education, particularly in more hands-on STEM fields, has drastically changed in the last year. At Wave Hill, we have committed to running our paid high school internship programs nearly 100% virtually. While the foundational content of the WERM (Woodland Ecology Research Mentorship) program has not changed, the mode of learning certainly has. This presentation will discuss the strengths and limitations of virtual learning, and take a case-study approach to try and answer important questions when it comes to ‘how can we teach about ecology from home?’. How can we work within these limitations, but also take advantage of virtual education? How can we apply educational pedagogy and museum education to primarily Zoom-based learning spaces?
Results/Conclusions
At Wave Hill, we have found great success in learning from home by assigning independent outdoor work in students’ neighborhoods, encouraging exploration time, and facilitating discussion-based lessons. We are eager to share our reflections and testimonials (from both teachers and students) so that other organizations can hopefully benefit from our techniques and experiences.