This workshop was based on the active participation of teachers, researchers, students, early career professionals, and employers in multiple sectors (environmental sciences, education, social science, business, and more). Its goal was to generate a safe space to discuss socioecological problems affecting restoration, with an emphasis on empathetic and resilient solutions. The workshop explored barriers to education and knowledge transfer, in the frame of the several global crises we are facing that temporarily halted many international activities. What healing role can ecological restoration play in addressing the biodiversity and climate change crises and how can we ensure that we maintain momentum through times of momentous upheaval?
Knowledge in Ecological Restoration (ER) is not efficiently shared and used, hampering ER success. Adressing specific needs of educating for ER such as multidisciplinarity, best practice exchange and societal involvement can contribute for better restoration outcomes while promoting professional opportunities for future generations.
The objectives of this workshop are to:
- inspire hope for future restoration and opportunities for personal development, employment, and research
- create an opportunity for Young#ERs to present their work and share experiences between early career and experienced restoration researchers / practitioners
- discuss how to overcome barriers to international collaboration and knowledge exchange – and why we must
Young#ER Network members (from undergraduate, masters, early PhD students, and early career practitioners) will present the restoration projects they are involved in to the SERE community and will receive feedback from experienced practitioners. This provides an opportunity for knowledge exchange and communication amongst groups at different stages of their careers.
The workshop will be facilitated by the Young#ER network who will explain the network’s aims and explain how new members can join. This will be followed by presentations from members of the YoungER network and from keynote speakers and professionals in the field of ecological restoration and education.
As part of this workshop, the conference field trips will develop educational activities in order to promote on-site discussion and exchange of best practices in training of ecological restoration.
Programme
| Structure | Topic |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Young#ERs on the road for restoring ecosystems. |
| Invited speakers and roundtable | 1. Eva Rood (Centre for Eco-Transformation, Rotterdam, Netherlands) and Simon Moolenaar (Director Knowledge, Education & Innovation, Commonland), Wanted! Chief Ecosystem Orchestrators erood@rsm.nl; simon.moolenaar@commonland.com 2. Maria Melero (WWF), WWF Spain experience on participation in ecological restoration. E-mail: mmelero@wwf.es. 3. Esther Peña-Molina (Castilla-La Mancha University), Facing-Fire: service learning for education and training in wildfires. E-mail: esther.pena@uclm.es. 4. Patricia Maria Rodriguez Gonzalez (University of Lisbon). Knowledge transfer among sectors to improve good practices in European riparian restoration. E-mail: patri@isa.ulisboa.pt. 5. Alex Emerson (Eden Project Learning). Put on your thinking app: a digital platform to increase stakeholder engagement in ecological restoration. alexemerson0404@gmail.com. 6. Breanna Kaufman (Eden Project Learning). Challenges and opportunities for international collaboration in ecological restoration – learning from experiences in Puerto Rico. breanna.kaufman@cornwall.ac.uk. 7. Maria Sampere Medina & YOUNG#ER students. Experiences sharing: How YoungER’s are contributing to education & training in ecological restoration. maria.c.t.nolan@gmail.com; brunapaolinelli@gmail.com. 8. Generation Earth (Portugal). YoungER Opportunity Board. luisafragad@gmail.com. |
| Participatory discussion | Maria Nolan & YOUNG#ER (Chairs). YoungER’s on the road for restoring ecosystems. maria.c.t.nolan@gmail.com; brunapaolinelli@gmail.com Disscussion: opportunities for international and inter-generational knowledge exchange. |