Listening to all of the speakers in the plenary sessions, I was struck by the variety of positive and creative uses that scientists, conservationists, and educators have developed for and with the Internet in order to promote conservation and biodiversity. I decided then and there that the next issue of “Conservation Perspectives” would be devoted to the theme of conservation biology and the Internet. After all, without the Internet I would be out of an editorial position.
Several of the Symposium participants agreed to edit their discussion sessions into articles for “Conservation Perspectives,” highlighting the versatility of the Internet as a positive force in conservation biology. Rob Stevenson, from UMass Boston, (Electronic Field Guides and Citizen Science: Steering Society in a More Earth-Friendly Direction) has developed the Electronic Field Guide Project in order to promote citizen science by helping to demystify the natural world and to bring out the sense of wonder in all of us. Gillian Puttick and Harold McWilliams from TERC (GLOBE: A Hands-On Environmental Science and Education Program) teach students in grades K-12 to use the Internet to gather real, scientific data about the atmosphere, hydrology, soils, and phenology and share their results internationally; the next generation of scientists, growing up totally computer-literate, will be inspired by programs like GLOBE. Janice Stone, from MassGIS, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (Priority Natural Vegetation Communities and Other Free Data for Conservation Planning) informs and empowers local citizens and officials to manage conservation and community planning through Smart Growth with her article about effectively using the Commonwealth of Massachusetts GIS datalayers..
NESCB wishes to thank all of our Symposium panelists: Paul Cavanaugh, Manomet Center of Conservation Sciences; Nancy Cole, Union of Concerned Scientists; Larry Master, NatureServe; Sharon McGregor, contributor to Conservation in the Internet Age; Dan Perlman, Brandeis University; Mike Powers, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Rob Stevenson, UMass Boston; and Janice Stone, MassGIS. And special kudos to Charles Chester for his vision and hard work in bringing together such a dedicated and diverse group of panelists.
Speaking of Charlie’s vision and concerns for future generations, be sure to read his guest editorial about “the box in the bedroom” vs. “the box in the basement” where he ponders the effects and influence of the Internet on today’s students and preschoolers who grow up cruising the Information Superhighway more skillfully than most of the adults in their lives. And if spinning your wheels on the Information Superhighway gets to be exhausting or discouraging now and again so that you wish that John Donne’s line “No man is an island” didn’t ring so true in our Information Age, escape it all with a good read – “Islands: Portraits of Miniature Worlds” reviewed by Karlene Schwartz.
The views and opinions expressed in all articles that appear in "Conservation Perspectives" are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of NESCB.