Jornada Basin Schoolyard LTER: Inquiry-Based Ecology Education for the K-12 Community

More than 102,000 people have participated in the Jornada Basin schoolyard LTER’s hands-on ecological science programs since 1999 thanks to an effective collaboration between three entities that run the Jornada sLTER (the nonprofit Asombro Institute for Science Education, the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, and the Jornada LTER). The program’s primary focus is on K-12 students, and 88,751 of them have participated in field trips, schoolyard programs, and other events. The 4,984 teachers who have gone through teacher workshops have affected several thousand more students.

One key to the Jornada’s success is flexibility that allows teachers to pick the program(s) and involvement that best meet their needs. A wide variety of programming for each grade level is available, including

1. Schoolyard science studies with all the necessary equipment and supplies
2. Field trips
3. Inquiry-based classroom presentations by Asombro staff
4. Teacher workshops
5. Family science events.

While the programs are diverse, several key characteristics unite them all:

• Programs are tied to current and past LTER research on the environmental causes and consequences of desertification in semi-arid Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems.
• All programs are hands-on and inquiry-based. Students learn current science by participating rather than simply hearing about it.
• Program staff align each activity with New Mexico and Texas state education standards in science and math, making them age appropriate and useful to teachers.