Canopy In The Clouds: Achieving Broader Impacts in Graduate Student Research

Federal science funding agencies are mandating that broader impacts associated with grant making are implemented because of the critical need to enhance scientific literacy and public perception of the roles science plays in society. As emphasis on broader impacts increases, scientists at all levels will need to incorporate explicit education and outreach activities into their programs. This will include a need to train and facilitate graduate student participation in outreach. For instance, the NSF includes broader impact statements in both their graduate research fellowship program and in their doctoral dissertation improvement grants. Here we present a collaborative science educational multimedia project initiated by a graduate student. Canopy In The Clouds uses interactive and immersive media designed around a tropical montane cloud forest as a platform for K-12 earth and life science education. Presented free of cost via the web in English and Spanish, Canopy In The Clouds has resources for students, educators and the general public. This includes a growing body of lesson plans standardized to current National Science Education Standards. We discuss the opportunities, challenges, and rewards associated with balancing research and outreach, interdisciplinary collaboration, and obtaining funding as a graduate student for such an effort. Finally, we consider how graduate student programs in the sciences can consider formalizing training in broader impacts and outreach. Canopy In The Clouds provides an example of effective science outreach, as well as a template for considering future best practices.