Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP)

08/27/2025

How can understanding animal behavior help us handle today’s conservation challenges?

In this online course by instructor Dr. Stefanie Wilks, "Applied Wildlife Behavior for Conservation: Data, Design, and Decision-Making," you’ll gain hands-on skills for applying behavioral science to real-world conservation.

Learn how to:
* Design studies of animal behavior in the wild and in captivity.
* Collect and analyze data with tools like ethograms, camera traps, and bioacoustics.
* Integrate behavioral insights into conservation action plans, from conflict mitigation to habitat restoration.
* Consider the human side of conservation by identifying and assessing key stakeholders.

Along the way, you’ll work with real data and case studies that show how behavior can guide effective solutions for wildlife and people.

Learn at your own pace with instructor support! || Sept 2 – Nov 23
Sign up now: https://www.centerforwildlifestudies.org/courses/p/applied-wildlife-behavior-for-conservation-data-design-and-decision-making

More about the NCEP materials used in this course:

Parrots and Palms: Analyzing Data to Determine Best Management Strategies and Sustainable Harvest levels https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.linc.8.1.5
Bats in the City: An Exploration of Acoustic Monitoring of Bats https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.linc.10.1.6
Finding a Place for Panthers: Mapping Conservation Issues Related to Florida Panthers https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.linc.12.1.7 Globally endangered sea turtles of the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: a Focus on Scientific Analysis https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.ncep.0132
Human-Wildlife Conflict: Assessing the Complexity of Stakeholder Perspectives https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.linc.12.1.10

08/04/2025

Join us this Friday, August 8 to meet the authors of an open-access teaching resource on data analysis, community science, and more!

Through hands-on activities, this resource will have students practicing key data analysis techniques, just like professionals working to restore oyster reefs in NYC! Curious to learn more? Register now to learn how to access these resources and use them in your college classroom.

🗓️ August 8 | 11:00-11:30 AM ET
🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/e3hDP_aS

06/26/2025

Looking for innovative ways to teach conservation genetics? Dig into the DNA buried in museum drawers! The latest issue of Lessons in Conservation features a new open-access module designed to help students and educators explore how to formulate genetic research questions around museum specimens (i.e., museomics).

This module includes:
- A synthesis that introduces the foundational concepts and practical considerations for practicing conservation museomics.
- Two hands-on exercises: one in which students are provided real-world examples of how museum specimens can provide additional context to the broader field of conservation genomics, and another guiding students in designing their own museomics research project.

Download the module now: https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.ncep.0190
Check out all of LinC 14: https://www.amnh.org/research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/resources-and-publications/lessons-in-conservation/volume-14

Want more open-access teaching resources? Join the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP): https://www.amnh.org/research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/capacity-development/ncep/educator-registration?_gl=1*1s1mrt*_gcl_au*NjAwNTgxOTMyLjE3NDExMTg5ODE.*_ga*MTk5MTI3MDAzMy4xNzI1NDY2NTYx*_ga_J0SCEJCMH8*czE3NDc2NjE1MzAkbzQyMyRnMSR0MTc0NzY2NjI4MSRqMjYkbDAkaDk5NzY0MDkzMSRkSWJkRl8zTjZvcjVSOHBmczVjUl8xdEotTEsxTnQwUENCZw

06/24/2025

Join the Education Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology North America for their inaugural online Conservation Education Forum this summer, August 5 & 6, 2025! 🤩 Learn about how to use podcasts in environmental science, AI tools in out-of-school time education, and many more creative conservation education practices 🥳

The Forum will connect educators seeking to share and gain pedagogical support for fostering outstanding practices, and provide space for new connections.

Format:

🎤 2 half days. Each day will feature a combination of 5-min speed presentations followed by 1-hour workshops

🎨 A series of opening activities led by Nancy Lowe, an incredible artist who uses drawing & painting, fiber, and mixed media to explore themes of ecology and evolutionary biology, and will close each of our event dates with a group-based reflection session

🗓️ A full program will be released closer to the event

REGISTRATION OPEN NOW:

Join SCBNA's Education Committee for our first-ever Conservation Education Forum on August 5 & 6, 2025!

05/20/2025

Undergraduate and graduate educators, check out this this upcoming virtual symposium about how art + science can enrich each other in the classroom!

🗓 June 13 | 10 AM–2 PM Central
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eS__bT57

+

If you’re an educator looking for materials that integrate artistic approaches to science education, check out our new open-access educational resource: “Using a Field Journal to Enhance Observation Skills.”

Download now: https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.ncep.0188

05/19/2025

🚨Looking for hands-on conservation teaching materials? Check out our new open-access educational resource, “Data Analysis in R to Gain Insights for Conservation: Examples from Long-Term Ecological Research.”

This exercise is:
- Designed to introduce students to R & RStudio
- Uses real ecological datasets
- Guides learners through core data wrangling and visualization skills
- Great for undergrad and grad classrooms!

This material is just one of many in Lessons in Conservation (LinC) Volume 14, an issue packed with hands-on activities that build real-world conservation skills.

Download the exercise now: https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.ncep.0189
Register to access all of our open-access educational materials: https://lnkd.in/eiZW--RX
Check out all of LinC 14: https://www.amnh.org/research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/resources-and-publications/lessons-in-conservation/volume-14

05/07/2025

📢 New publication alert!

Lessons in Conservation (LinC) Volume 14 is now available online: https://lnkd.in/eU2DdW_5

The latest volume from the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP) is packed with tools for today’s conservation educators.

What’s inside:
- Practice direct observation skills using a field journal
- Analyze data using both monitoring reports and long-term ecological datasets
- Utilize remote sensing tools for conservation
- Develop genetic research questions using museum specimens—including an in-depth synthesis and two exercises
- Reflect on incorporating students voices in the classroom and teaching in challenging times

NCEP modules are free, adaptable, and created to support undergraduate and professional education worldwide.

Browse the other issues of LinC: ncep.amnh.org/linc
Explore our complete resource library: ncep.amnh.org

04/07/2025

📢 Calling all conservation educators! Are you looking for a space to share your teaching materials and connect with fellow educators? The Society for Conservation Biology North America (SCBNA) Education Committee is seeking proposals for the SCBNA Conservation Education Forum, on August 4-5, 2025!

This two-day virtual forum is designed to showcase engaging and effective conservation education modules—short sets of materials and practices that enhance student learning of key conservation concepts, methods, or focal case studies.

Submit your proposal by April 21st: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePeWVdXGS7QtgQey5s9f4ikw_NZe6r9jcDQuuW0nbD097b0A/viewform

04/03/2025

📣 Opportunity alert! Educators, check out this event to learn more.
🗓️ April 23 (2:00-3:00PM PT)
🔗 https://cei.sonoma.edu/LFTF-forest-restoration

**ATTENTION FACULTY** Grants available for all U.S. higher ed instructors!

Invite researchers & professors into your classroom to offer students a glimpse into the world of scientific inquiry - discover who they are, what sparked their interest in this field, and the questions they're exploring.

You'll also be introduced to a free, online resource library filled with learning modules on tropical Biology, filled with free instructor resources.

Our first event: Forest Restoration!

Made possible by a partnership between CEI, The Virtual Field ( https://thevirtualfield.org ) and OCELOTS ( https://ocelots.nrem.iastate.edu ).
Ann Russell

Click on the link to register.
https://cei.sonoma.edu/LFTF-forest-restoration
Contact Kerry for information about grants: [email protected]

04/01/2025

We’re excited to announce that Volume 14 of our journal, Lessons in Conservation (LinC), will be published soon! LinC showcases our teaching and learning resources, providing educators and students with high-quality conservation education materials.

Want an exclusive first look? Check out one of our pre-published exercises: Assessing Land Cover in Forest Reserves Using Remote Sensing Tools 🌍

Students will:
- Develop skills in Collect Earth Online, ArcGIS Online, and QGIS.
- Analyze satellite imagery to detect land cover changes.
- Identify potential deforestation hotspots within a forest reserve.
- Critically evaluate implications of land cover changes to inform real-world conservation efforts.

Stay tuned for the full LinC Volume 14 release!

Download now: https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.ncep.0187
Learn more: http://ncep.amnh.org/linc

03/24/2025

Attention undergraduate and graduate educators! NCEP has just released a new open access educational material: Oysters in the City: Analyzing Data to Guide Coastal Restoration in New York City.

Developed with real-world data from Billion Oyster Project, this OER helps students connect to visual and numerical summaries used in annual oyster monitoring reports. Through hands-on activities, students will practice key data analysis techniques—just like the professionals working to restore oyster reefs in NYC!

This is a great resource for educators, students, and anyone interested in urban restoration science.

Access it here: https://doi.org/10.5531/cbc.ncep.0186

Learn more about the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP): https://ncep.amnh.org/

- AN1STO276367 People may picture restoration ecologists working in the field, but in reality, much of their time is spent analyzing collected data in order to communicate progress to stakeholders and guide adaptive management strategies. Data must be summarized numerically and visually to provide i...