Dr. Suzanne Lenhart (white T-shirt on left) and 14 middle and high school science teachers smile - they've just learned how to use Simpson's Index of Biodiversity!
Fourteen middle and high school science teachers learned how to quantify biodiversity yesterday when Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS Associate Director for Education, Outreach and Diversity, and Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education and Outreach Coordinator arrived at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. The teachers are taking part in the week-long Smoky Mountains Science Teacher Institute, whose focus this year is learning about parks and climate change. Earlier in the day the teachers collected data on salamander diversity. Environmental monitoring is important for understanding how biodiversity will be affected by changes in climate. The enthusiastic group come from Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia. The Quantifying Biodiversity education module used at Tremont and created at NIMBioS is freely available here.