Public and Educational Outreach

An important part of the Mid-Atlantic RESAC activities is public and educational outreach, in which you are participating as your browse these web pages. Links and developments will be added on a regular basis so keep an eye on the « News » section. Most of the products are available to interested parties at no cost, or the cost of data reproduction. Those Mid-Atlantic RESAC products that are intended for commercial exploitation are handled by the appropriate partners. Outreach through popular media include news releases, reporter briefings, phone contacts, public service announcements, and opinion-editorial columns. Specialized magazines and journals for planners, farmers, resource managers and other potential user groups are targeted, as is UMD Learning Channel and NBC Channel 4 television programming for coverage of science and current affairs.

Educational outreach partners include the Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Initiative, GLOBE and the NASA Scientific and Educational Endeavors programs, (see an example product). These programs engage K-12 and higher education students in Mid-Atlantic integrated assessments and remote sensing applications. Outreach is also extended through SUNEI, a Federal-State national environmental partnership between all Land Grant Universities and US Department of Agriculture-Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES). SUNEI, which is located at UMD, concentrates on environmental education and outreach, water and watershed management, land-use planning, environmentally and economically sound agriculture, and environmental modeling and forecasting. The Cooperative Extension Service organizations have a proven capability to deliver unbiased, scientifically based, information to agencies, organizations and individuals in every State.

In order to facilitate effective scientific communication, a Mid-Atlantic RESAC Fellowship program provides a stipend for partners to spend time at UMD working on applications and outreach. The program facilitates staff-exchanges where Mid-Atlantic RESAC staff spend time at partners' institutions and vice-versa. Student interns from partners assist other partners and Mid-Atlantic RESAC staff.

Finally, data and image products generated from Mid-Atlantic RESAC activities are distributed using the UMD Earth Science Information Partnership (a NASA-funded UMD activity). The ESIP archive center not only delivers data and information services but also nurtures a community of users. The exchange of very large data sets between Mid-Atlantic RESAC partners is a significant issue that could consume large resources. The ESIP significantly reduces the startup time and resources required for developing a geospatial data and information distribution system and greatly strengthens the connectivity of the Mid-Atlantic RESAC to its partners and the Public.

Current activities include collaboration with the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Project, associated with the NAUTALIS RESAC.

Landcover Mapping   Ecosystem Modeling   Planning and Urban Growth   Land Manager Information System    Integrated Monitoring