Community Outreach

K-12 and community outreach activities will provide an opportunity for trainees to gain experience in the art of communicating science and technology to non-scientists of all ages. Two outreach activities are proposed and will be led by Rita Blaik (California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI) Education Manager and former NSF IGERT Fellow). The third activity will be developed through the FEWS communication course (Environment 241).

URBAN “FEWSING”

“Urban FEWSing” will take NRT trainees and faculty participants to select urban farms in neighborhoods throughout LA, with different demographics and socioeconomics, to analyze, develop, and implement sustainable FEWS practices as pilots. In particular, we will travel to food deserts in LA to initiate urban agriculture, clean energy, and watershed health projects for underserved communities. We will also visit schools and youth centers so that our youngest generation develops a critical understanding of issues surrounding FEWS.

CNSI K-12 EDUCATION

The NRT trainees will develop FEWS educational modules to present to K-12 schools across LA as part of the CNSI existing outreach program. In this free monthly program, NRT trainees along with a master teacher will train LA-area K-12 science teachers to utilize cutting-edge science to teach concepts of chemistry, physics, and biology and integrate these topics with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

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MEDIA SERIES “FEWS AND FAR BETWEEN”

Social media content will be developed by the trainees for major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter to help educate the general public about FEWS challenges and
innovative solutions related to their research and classes. Our goal is to produce up to three pieces of social media content per quarter in the form of blog posting, podcast, video, and link sharing. Some of them will be developed as part of the FEWS communication course. This approach will reach a diverse and young audience to encourage them to be an active part of the solutions and to inspire them to pursue careers in STEM and other FEWS-related fields.