Tuesday, October 9, 2018

In September FIU-Fairchild graduate student Nichole Tiernan, attended Science Engagement Week at Phipps in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was part of the Botany in Action Fellowship (BIA) through Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Nichole, along with five other fellows from other institutions, received the award in March. The BIA program hosts the fellows for a jam-packed weekend where they receive training to augment their science communication skills. Workshops are tailored to communicating with different audiences, eliminating jargon, and public speaking. As Phipps is a satellite partner for The Fairchild Challenge, the week starts off with the first challenge of the year—EcoChallenge!, where fellows are interviewed by middle and high school students about what it’s like to be a scientist. Fellows present their research at the yearly Peak Behind the Petals members event followed by a more informal tabling session at the Tropical Forest Cuba Festival. Fellows received a workshop with Ashley Cecil, artist-in-residence at Phipps who advised on incorporating art into science engagement with the public. Special guests also included Ann Gibbons, author and correspondent for Science magazine, who coached the fellows on science blogging. Maintaining a monthly blog is a requirement of the BIA fellowship, and you can find Nichole’s blog here.