Workshops SCCS-NY 2023
Ticket reservations are required. Facial coverings are strongly recommended. See Health and Safety.
Struggling with GIS? Still have absolutely no idea how to begin to make a map? This course is for you! Using both ArcGIS Pro and the R platform, you will learn the basic but important stuff on all the matters concerning spatial analysis. By the end of the workshop, we expect the attendants to have learned:1) how to correctly choose a coordinated system for your spatial analysis project;2) to know the differences between vector and raster data;3) to make good use of tools such as Define Projection, Clip, Intersect, Selection, Buffer etc.;4) how to export spatial data information into tabular data and vice-versa;5) to use proper statistics to analyze your spatial data;6) how to create beautiful map layouts using your data and results!This is a beginners guide to spatial analysis, so you don't need to have previous experience in ArcGIS Pro. However, at least an intermediate level on the R platform is required for a better experience.
Workshop leader: Clarice Mendes, State University of Rio de Janeiro
The workshop will explore the relevance of power relations in biodiversity conservation and restoration. Through an introduction to the concepts of discursive power; sovereignty, discipline and governmentality; and subject formation, we will examine how power dynamics emerge between practitioners, scientists, local communities and other actors. We will also analyze how colonialism and neoliberalism can be intertwined with these dynamics and discuss how this understanding can aid in the implementation of more effective conservation practices. To deepen our understanding of how these concepts are applied in conservation and restoration, we will use real initiatives as case studies, inviting attendees to analyze examples of practices such as buffer zones around protected areas; monitoring, control, and surveillance; behavioral change; forest councils; and community empowerment, through interactive tools. At the end, participants will be divided into breakout rooms, using a roleplaying exercise to incarnate different actors’ positions under a realistic-yet-hypothetical conservation project scenario, and then share their reflections in plenary. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to recognize power relations present in conservation science and practice, and utilize the above-mentioned concepts from social sciences to gain insight into potential outcomes of conservation projects, understanding why some succeed and some fail.
Workshop leaders: Gino Marcelo Rivera Bulnes, Connor Rockett, Jinsui Song, and Carol Carpenter; Yale School of the Environment
Tired of the limited scope of control and customizability available in PowerPoint or Canva? This workshop will leave participants with the design skills to take their research posters to the next level with Adobe Illustrator! Drawing on my years of experience working with this program, I will lead participants through the creation of a sample poster centered around a topic within conservation biology, that they can then use as a template or guide when creating their own scientific work of art. My general approach to designing research posters is to choose and incorporate a high-resolution image that will set a theme for the poster, develop a main graphic that will draw people in, and finally add those little details that make all of these elements come together beautifully. Attendees will learn to set up and familiarize themselves with the Illustrator workspace, create and manipulate shapes, and add text, figures and photos. The latter half of the workshop will focus on more advanced techniques: choosing a color palette, creating gradients, aligning text to shapes, and developing eye-catching figures. This workshop is open to anyone, but those new to Illustrator or poster design will benefit the most.
Workshop leaders: Claire Brandes, University of Texas at Austin
This session will be an opportunity for participants to reflect on their own academic and work history while exploring future directions, developing skills in career planning, networking, and self-promotion, and gaining a toolset for creating and holding space for themselves in the workplace. Interested in industry? Aching for academia? Never gonna give up non-profits? Pretty sure you're perfect for policy? Wooed by science writing? Then bring your curious self to our workshop where we'll do hands-on self-assessment activities, discuss varied options in conservation career pathways, and share in small-groups about the challenges and rewards of the work we aspire to do. And don't forget: the more, the merrier! We invite senior scientists and practitioners to speak about their experiences, post-docs and graduate students to group-share their goals, and undergraduates & high schoolers to discuss their developing ideas. Join us!
Workshop leaders: Mary Blair, AMNH; Christian Rivera, Princeton University; Nadav Gazit, AMNH
In this workshop, participants will learn how to generate and analyze genomic datasets from museum specimens (museomics, e.g., skins, skeletons, dry- and fluid-preserved specimens) for advancing conservation research. We will focus on how to leverage museomic datasets to understand historical and ancient biodiversity, with applications in spatial planning, population management, design of conservation interventions (e.g. management of wildlife trade), planning for conservation under future climate change, and much more. Topics covered will include an introduction to the fields of phylogenomics, population genomics, and museomics, an exploration of case studies, and the guided design of participants’ ideas for museum conservation genomics projects. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage in a hands-on practical exercise to learn key bioinformatics skills relevant to conservation museomics. The content and activities of the workshop are varied and designed to be relevant to a wide range of experience levels, from beginners to advanced conservation genomics practitioners who are interested in expanding into museum-sourced datasets.
Workshop leaders: Mary Blair, AMNH; Alex Salis, AMNH; Luca Pozzi, University of Texas at San Antonio; Anna Penna, University of Texas at San Antonio and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; Stephen Gaughran, Princeton University; Megan Wallace, AMNH; Lauren Clark, AMNH; Melina Giakoumis, AMNH; Suzanne Macey, AMNH
Visualization is a powerful means of enhancing our abilities to learn from data and to communicate results to others, especially when informed by insights into human behavior and social systems. Addressing complex and urgent environmental problems that involve diverse audiences involves understanding how to effectively communicate with data and is equally essential for researchers, policymakers, and the public alike.This course is for participants who wish to gain an understanding of the principles, tools, and techniques needed to communicate effectively with data. In particular, we will focus on how showing more of the data can increase understanding by the audience.In this short workshop, students will:- Understand variation in the 'graphicacy' of your audience- Consider the pros and cons of several common chart types (bar charts and box plots)- Consider the pros and cons of other charts that could be used instead (strip charts)- Learn how to create strip charts in R and Google sheets
Workshops leader: Simon Queenborough, Yale School of the Environment
Species distribution modeling (SDM) is an important tool for conservation as it enables scientists to estimate present species range limits and make range predictions in other geographic areas and time periods. Although advances in model building and evaluation are widespread in the ecology and evolution literature, most cutting-edge modeling methods are inaccessible to those who cannot read and write computer code, resulting in a ‘barrier to use’ for many potential users. The Wallace ecological modeling application, implemented in the R programming language as the CRAN package “wallace,” provides a graphical user interface that allows any user to implement advanced SDM methods. Each Wallace module provides extensive guidance text and references key papers from the literature to help both new and experienced users learn best practices. Each model-building session can be exported as a fully documented R Markdown script file, thereby enabling reproducibility, ease of reporting, and - for more advanced users - access to an easily-modifiable code script that extends Wallace’s functionality. In this workshop, we will go through the basics of SDM using Wallace. We will demonstrate (1) the key features of the modular software, (2) applications to conservation science, and (3) the utility of SDM outputs for IUCN assessments.
Workshop leader: Anna Thonis, Stony Brook University; Daniel López Lozano, AMNH
Changes in land use and land cover underlie multiple environmental, justice, and sustainability concerns, including conservation of biodiversity, impacts of climate change, climate mitigation through terrestrial carbon storage, urbanization, and watershed protection. To address these issues, this workshop provides a comprehensive overview of landscape analysis through satellite imagery interpretation.During the workshop, students will receive theoretical instruction in landscape analysis and will gain hands-on experience in working with data from their research landscape. The workshop will use Google Earth Engine as a platform for image analysis, which is a cloud-based platform that allows users to access, visualize, and analyze satellite imagery.The course aims to provide students with basic coding skills in the Google Earth Engine platform, equipping them with the necessary tools to study and analyze the Earth's surface. By the end of the workshop, students will have an understanding of the basics of Google Earth Engine and will be able to apply their new skills to their research or professional work.To participate in the workshop, it is recommended that you sign up to Google Earth Engine at least a few days in advance. You can do so by visiting https://signup.earthengine.google.com.
Workshop leaders: Shivani Agarwal and Anubhav Vanamamalai, Columbia University
Conservation leadership is not just about actions and decisions taken by top experts and senior managers. Leadership is demonstrated by every person through actions, big and small, in service of the common good. Each person at SCCS-NY 2023 is already a conservation leader, albeit at different stages, with a unique and dynamic style. This 60-minute workshop will unpack a framework that highlights four primary leadership styles. Through active participation and reflection, participants will learn more about their dominant leadership style, the strengths and challenges commonly associated with this style, and the value each style brings to this work. At the end of this session, participants will leave with greater awareness of themselves and how their teams function. The activity presented is an introduction to the field of conservation leadership that participants can continue to learn more about in their own time. With this knowledge, participants will leave more prepared and empowered to take meaningful leadership action for conservation. This workshop will also give participants more insight into their leadership styles in relation to other team members and colleagues.
Workshop leader: Leala Rosen, Wildlife Conservation Society
New York City has adopted a myriad of policies and regulations to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on its people and built environment infrastructure. Optimizing the co-benefits of policy implementation to urban sustainability and conservation requires consideration of applying various interventions at appropriate scales. In this workshop, participants will explore various proposals for adaptation and resilience in neighborhoods around the City to consider what options are appropriate priorities based on their capacity to preserve or elevate biodiversity conservation. Teams of three to five people will begin with an assigned neighborhood “site” and relevant background information on their study area. The teams will deliberate on various future opportunities and challenges faced by their assigned neighborhood because of policy adaptation and how these variables interact with biodiversity conservation. Each will act as a particular stakeholder in their discussions followed by a wider share out. The goal is that participants use this opportunity to learn more about the potential for and challenges of prioritizing biodiversity co-benefits in adapting the urban built environment to climate change.
Workshop leaders: Katherine Gloede Silverman, Kyle McDonald, and Terry Elkes; CCNY-CUNY