Blair Paulik and Jamie Minick, both SRP Trainees working on their PhDs in Dr. Kim Anderson’s lab (Project 4), traveled to McNary High School in the Salem, OR area on April 10th to teach students about environmental pollution.
This opportunity was initiated when a teacher from McNary contacted the Community Outreach & Engagement Core of the Environmental Health Sciences Center (EHSC). The opportunity was then given to the Department of Environmental & Molecular Toxicology’s graduate student organization, TEAM Tox. This is a great way for grad students to get out into classrooms.
Blair and Jamie’s interactive presentation highlighted where environmental pollution comes from, why environmental pollution is of concern, how humans are exposed to pollutants, and how scientists at Oregon State University are studying pollutants in the environment.
Throughout the day, Blair and Jamie taught 129 high school students from six different classes including chemistry, biology, and environmental science. The students showed genuine interest in the subject matter, asking questions about specific environmental pollutants and about science and college in general.
[The post is adapted from a story in the October 2014 issue of NIEHS Environmental Factor – written by Sara Mishamandani, research and communication specialist for MDB Inc., a contractor for the NIEHS Superfund Research Program and Division of Extramural Research and Training]
A tool to educate K-8 students about mercury in the environment and its effects on human health is now online, thanks to a collaboration between the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) at Oregon State University (OSU), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the London School in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
The cooperative project was the first pilot for the Partners in Technical Assistance Program (PTAP), launched with the London School, located near the Black Butte Mine Superfund site in rural Cottage Grove, about 70 miles south of the university. The EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation initiated the technical assistanceprogram in 2013 to help communities affected by Superfund sites understand technical information and to enable meaningful community involvement in the Superfund decision-making process.
During a Black Butte Mine community information session, London School principal Laurie Briggs requested that EPA create materials to teach students about the nearby abandoned mine, where mercury and other contamination from mine waste affect creeks that flow into the nearby Cottage Grove Lake and the Coast Fork Willamette River. Listen to Laurie share about the project.
Putting environmental health into context
The educational package Mercury, the Community, and Me is available online as modules for K-8 teachers. The activities help connect students to the environment by defining environmental health, providing an overview of mercury and how it enters the environment and the food chain, and delivering information about mercury and human health. The resources include background information, presentations, worksheets, videos, games, and team assignments.
Two videos are also part of the curriculum. One provides more information about the Black Butte Mine Superfund site, including its historical background. The other introduces students to careers in science, highlighting scientists from the university and EPA. View the videos.
Fostering collaboration and engaging stakeholders
“EPA has a strong commitment to ensure that communities living near Superfund sites are informed and have opportunities to meaningfully engage in EPA actions to protect human health and the environment. This is a model educational project and partnership with OSU, London School, and EPA that brings together environmental health science, local history, and a Superfund site.”
~ Alanna Conley, EPA Region 10 Superfund Community Involvement Coordinator
“The excellent work done by the OSU SRP in collaboration with EPA and the London School in Cottage Grove demonstrates how the pilot PTAP can bring expertise and resources into communities near Superfund sites to meet technical assistance needs and enhance overall community restoration and cleanup.”
~ Melissa Dreyfus, lead for the EPA Headquarters PTAP Pilot
“The PTAP project provided a structure to build relationships with EPA Region 10 and impact a community living near a Superfund site. The final products also included contributions from our SRP trainees. We hope the educational resources are models for other schools and future partnerships.”
~ Naomi Hirsch, OSU SRP Research Translation Core coordinator
The project has been well received, featured and shared widely on EPA social media platforms. In addition, the project was presented via a webinar to EPA Region 10 personnel.
On Oct. 16th, Dr. Paul Slovic visited Oregon State University to share and discuss issues related to risk communication with graduate students enrolled in the TOX 507/607 seminar. This term the seminar is co-lead by the Superfund Research Center’s Research Translation Core and Training Core.
Dr. Slovic, a founder and President of Decision Research, studies human judgment, decision making, and risk analysis. His research and expertise fit nicely with this term’s seminar focus on training students to communicate science and risk effectively to audiences outside of academia.
Some key points came out of the Q and A session with Dr. Slovic.
1) The importance of message framing.
After you publish a scientific paper, focus on how you will frame that information to the public.How can you help your audience conceptualize the bottom line of the research? The facts never speak for themselves, which is why scientists need to “frame” their messages to the public.
All information is conveyed with a frame. Framing in science and risk communication can be viewed as positive or negative depending on who the audience is and what kind of information is
being presented. There is rarely neutral framing. For that reason, it is important to have a clear message thoughtfully framed to invoke a desirable response by your audience.
Create messages that resonate with your audience.
2) The role of emotions and uncertainty.
Understand that risk perception comes from our gut feelings. How you share information makes a difference, creates an image, and impacts a person’s perception of risk.
Our emotions are often tied to our motivation, positive or negative. Information will lack meaning if it does not invoke emotion.
If something is uncertain, people can interpret it the way that they want. (Example: When scientists began sharing studies that cigarette smoking caused cancer, the tobacco industry wanted to cultivate doubt, so they could keep their profits.). With certain topics, industry and others want to emphasize the unknowns and cast doubt.
When research studies are not definitive, help the public understand the strengths and limitations of that study. Frame the information so it is not biased, focusing on what the science predicts and the implications of that prediction.
Be sure to present the data the best you can if you think people are distorting the data.
3) Visuals make research real and relevant.
Visual images are more powerful than statistics. Visuals help the mind process information. Make your research real and relevant by using visuals that invoke emotion and foster scientific understanding.
Find and share this seminar’s highlights and related articles on Twitter with hashtag#TOX607