The lab is committed to engaging in outreach with diverse audiences. Some recent projects include:
Finca Irlanda EcoDía
An annual event held at Finca Irlanda, Chiapas – where much of my dissertation research was done – to strengthen connections between researchers and farm residents, and engage farm youth with scientific and ecological thinking and activities. Organized in partnership with Fundación Peters and in collaboration with Sara González Herrera and members of the Vandermeer and Perfecto labs.
D-Town Farm BioBlitz
An annual event for youth to explore the natural world and learn about the plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of D-Town Farm, an urban farm and a project of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. In partnership with DBCFSN, and in collaboration with an amazing group of people including Tiffany Carey, Beatriz Otero, and Naim Edwards, I helped to organize and run this event from 2014-2019.
This project was awarded the inaugural University of Michigan EEB department’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award.
Bees in your backyard
I helped to organize and lead a series of workshops for diverse audiences, engaging the public with the impressive diversity of wild bees in urban and suburban southeast Michigan. Partners include: Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, Michigan Professional Stewards Network, Oakland County Audubon, Ann Arbor Natural Areas Protection, and Midtown Detroit, Inc.