Cultivating STEM Synergies: Partnership for Re-Imagining Informal Environmental Science Learning

Urgent socio-ecological challenges, such as extreme droughts, wildfires, and cultural and environmental destruction, draw attention to the interconnectedness of the natural environment and historical injustices in these places, and the need for transformative educational approaches rooted in community engagement and equity. This Partnership Development and Planning project is a collaborative effort between four organizations in California's Sierra Nevada region that strive to cultivate a trusting and mutually beneficial partnership to do this work. The goal of this partnership is to generate ideas for informal STEM learning experiences that (1) focus on socio-ecological issues, such as human-caused climate change and its local impacts and (2) integrate Indigenous knowledge and Western environmental science. The STEM learning experiences conceptualized by the team will focus on developing place-based, intergenerational, and intercultural learning activities that are accessible to the broader community. The Sierra Streams Institute, California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project, Bear Yuba Land Trust, and SRI Education explore how to forge an equitable partnership and attend to power dynamics using the Six Rs of Indigenous Research framework (Relationships, Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Representation) across all project phases. The primary objectives of the partnership are to: a) establish a generative and community-based partnership based on mutual benefit, trust, responsibility, power-sharing, equity, and shared understanding of core issues and concepts; b) engage in exploration and idea generation for future informal environmental science learning experiences that are embodied, place-based, intergenerational, and inclusive of diverse cultures, populations and contexts; and c) document and synthesize ideas and questions related to the partnership (challenges, resolutions, and key takeaways); and d) create a roadmap for implementing future informal learning experiences that can be proposed for AISL implementation and other funding programs. The project will investigate: 1. Are the Six Rs of Indigenous Research principles authentically guiding project activities and documentation? 2. Do project structures and processes facilitate power sharing, equity, and effective collaboration? 3. Is the partnership meeting its stated goals for each of the project phases? This Partnership Development and Planning project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.