Critical Skills to Scale Up Ecology

Organized in partnership with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the ESA-SEEDS Critical Skills to Scale Up Ecology Workshop provides critical skills for graduate students interested in working with multiple spatio-temporal datasets to address ecological questions.  Knowledge and skills learned in the workshop apply to ecological data from many different sources, including NEON.  

Blog post by Jessica Guo on this workshop:
https://datascience.cals.arizona.edu/news/2021/10/data-science-skills-workshop-seeds-ecologists 

Virtual Format

Originally designed to be a 40-hour workshop, this workshop was offered over two months in fall 2021 from September 2 to October 26. Participants completed both the Data Carpentries segment and the NEON data exploration segment. 

Benefits

• Acquire core data science skills with a focus on reproducible methods including:
  • Code documentation, sharing and reproducible workflows.
  • Using version control (GitHub) to support collaborative method development and to backup work.
  • Documenting and publishing methods and workflows.
• Learn how to access and work with a wide variety of NEON data
• Learn how knowledge and skills gained may be applied to ecological data from many different sources
• Expand your network of data scientists and other professionals
• Connect with a diverse community of peers 

Requirements

• Commit to at least 80% of each segment. 
• Must attend preworkshop orientation and introductions
• Complete all assigned coursework in a timely manner to fully participate in the next session
• Be prepared to use Slack and Google folders to communicate and access materials
• Deliver a presentation based on an independent project using NEON data 
• Access to internet and computers 
• Abide by ESA’s Code of Conduct throughout the workshop and when interacting with participants, instructors and program staff

Eligibility

Students selected for the original workshop will receive priority acceptance in this virtual format. 

New Applicants must:

• Be enrolled in a graduate program at a US institution.
• Demonstrate either prior work in ecology or related field or interest in connecting your disciplinary background to ecological questions.
• Address how your participation contributes to diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented scientists in ecology