Engaging faith-based communities in forest ecology

IntroductionScience and religion are often thought of as being in conflict (e.g., evolution vs. creationism); however, many faiths promote stewardship of the Earth and reference nature in sacred texts. For example, references to trees and forests frequently appear in the Bible, the Talmud, the Qu’ran, and Buddhist scriptures. Although ways of understanding the world may differ, this appreciation for the natural world is shared by both religious communities and ecologists. I am a forest ecologist who grew up in a mixed religious household, where I developed an appreciation for diverse beliefs and ways of knowing. I sought to draw on my interests to bridge faith-based organizations and the scientific community.MethodsTo inform the engagement format and content, I spent several months attending religious services, building relationships with congregants, meeting with clergy, and studying religious texts. During these “immersion visits” I noted the customs of each congregation (e.g., sacred areas in places of worship, service format) and references to trees and forests. Based on my immersion visits, I identified a sermon as an appropriate communication format that would fit seamlessly into the ongoing activities in many places of worship. I drew on references to trees in religious texts when preparing the sermon (Nadkarni 2002, Nadkarni 2007). I shared a draft of my sermon with clergy at the Unitarian Universalist Church for input and was given permission to take the pulpit to deliver the sermon. ResultsThe first sermon was delivered at the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Olympia, Washington to 75 congregants. Clergy later recommend me to leaders at other places of worship. The Trees and Spirituality sermon was ultimately delivered to 41 congregations including Episcopalian, Baptist, Unitarian, Zen Buddhist, Jewish, Catholic, Methodist, Unitarian, and interfaith organizations. I extended this work based on input from clergy and congregants to also include discussions in Bible study groups and Sunday schools. I participated in church tree plantings on invitations from congregants and my graduate students became involved by working with church members to create a guide to trees on church grounds (Schencker, 2012).DiscussionThis engagement activity demonstrated that an ecologist can draw on shared values (i.e., the significance of trees both ecologically and spiritually) to effectively engage outside traditional informal science learning venues (e.g., outside museums, science centers). The approach inspired the development of the STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP), a training program to guide scientists in carrying out engagement activities in non-traditional venues to engage those who do not or cannot participate in science through conventional outlets. Since STEMAP began in 2016, the program has trained 65 scientists who have engaged over 2,300 people in 50 venues including correctional facilities, senior centers, and cafes (Nadkarni et al., 2019). STEMAP training formalizes the process I followed to engage religious communities by integrating the impact identity framework (Risien and Storksdieck, 2018) with the Design Thinking process (Goldman, 2017), and Portal to the Public science communication training (Selvakumar and Storksdieck, 2013). STEMAP guides scientists in integrating their research, personal interests, experiences, and values to develop an “impact identity.” They then identify a community or “focal group” that resonates with their impact identity. For example, I identified religious communities as a focal group based on my personal experience growing up in a mixed religious household and shared appreciation of the ecological and spiritual significance of trees. After identifying a focal group, the scientist conducts an immersion visit to learn about the group. The scientist then applies the Design Thinking process to brainstorm engagement activities that are specific to the focal group based on information gathered during the immersion visit. The scientist builds communication skills through participation in training modules adapted from Portal to the Public to implement the engagement activity. Outcomes and scientist reflections are disseminated via the STEMAP newsletter (www.stemap.org).