EDSIN: Environmental Data Science Inclusion Network

Staff from the Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement, Lou Woodley and Camille Santistevan presented on their findings from their EDSIN member interviews and provide recommendations on next steps for the community. 

Alycia Crall provided an overview of the Culturally Responsive Education in Environmental Data Science (CREEDS) workshop that occurred on August 10 and 17. Following, there was a discussion on next steps to support this work among our members. 

This presentation was from EDSIN's August 2021 community call. Dr. Stephanie Russo Carroll presented on her work surrounding Indigenous data sovereignty and the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. 

The curriculum module “Spiders under the Influence” was created by by Chris Hawn and Aaron Curry and is published as part of the Data Nuggets project.

Introduction: People use pharmaceutical drugs, personal care products, and other chemicals on a daily basis. For example, we take medicine when we are sick to feel better, and use perfumes and cologne to make ourselves smell good. After we use these chemicals, where do they go? Often, they get washed down our drains and end up in local waterways. Even our trash can contain these harmful chemicals. For example, when coffee grounds are thrown into the trash, caffeine gets washed into our waterways.

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The curriculum module “Phenology Trends and Climate Change in Minnesota” was developed by Pamela Freeman and is published as part of Project Eddie.

Summary: Seasonal events, for example flowering, fruiting, and the return of migrating birds, happen at particular times of the year. Some of these events happen in relation to climate, while others are dependent on other factors. Phenology is the study of these repeating events in the lifecycle of organisms. As the climate changes, the timing of some events may change in some species. This exercise will help students evaluate how climate change has already affected species in Minnesota.

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The curriculum module “Graphing and Mapping Patterns of Air Quality in Los Angeles, California Through an Environmental Justice Lens” was developed by Dr. Adriane Clark Jones as part of the Social Justice and Community Change Faculty Mentoring Network.

Description: This is a three-part student activity that could be done in lecture or lab. Part 1 assigns a series of current popular press articles to read and a series of discussion questions. Students read and complete this section before the in-class activity. Part 2 takes place in class, students will be introduced to ESRI ArcGIS online and guided through a mapping activity using Living Atlas Layers. The students answer questions about their map. Part 3 is assigned as homework students select two Real-Time EPA AirNow Air Quality Monitoring Sites and download a year of data for the two locations from https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/download-daily-data. The students will use Microsoft Excel to plot the data from each location and then use the graphs to answer questions.

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The curriculum module “Quantifying the Drivers and Impacts of Natural Disturbance Events - the 2013 Colorado

Floods” was created by Dr. Leah Wasser and Dr. Megan A. Jones as part of the National Ecological Observatory Network.

Description: This lesson focuses on ways that scientists identify and use data to understand ecological disturbance events using data from five public datasets. The main lesson focused on interpretation of figures, while optional coding extensions teach R skills.

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The curriculum module “Implementing Demography from Cemetery Module” was created by Dr. Alexis Racelis and is built on the TIEE publication:  Cemetery Module.

Abtract: This lab provides a rich and flexible version of widely-used demography exercises that have been previously based on data collected from cemeteries.  This lab teaches life tables and survivorship curves.  Over two lab periods, small student groups develop and answer questions comparing the survival patterns of different groups of humans (e.g., groups that differ in  time period, gender, ethnicity, etc.).  Data on human demography can be gathered from tombstones in local cemeteries that provide ages at death.  Students may also compare survivorship curves on the same groups generated by different data sets.

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The curriculum module “Sustainability Metrics” was created by Dr. Natalie Hunt and is published as part of Project Eddie. 

Summary: Sustainability is a complex term applied to many different contexts in a variety of ways. As a result, it can be challenging to determine how sustainable something really is. In this module, students will use an analytical framework with publicly available data to formulate questions, analyze data, and report metrics of sustainability.

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This is a collection of materials that we are asking you to review in advance of the CREEDS meeting. We have set up a discussion forum (you will need to be logged in to read and post) where we can share ideas and questions about these readings in advance of the meeting. 

This episode of the Crowd and the Cloud, hosted by former NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati, highlights four community-led data collection projects. These projects focus on issues of air and water pollution and on how citizens have taken data collection into their own hands to promote awareness and enact change. Though all of these stories are excellent and you are welcome to watch the full episode, we have selected just one project for the pre-workshop preparation (Philly Unleaded), which ends at 21:42.

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This toolkit examines how data sharing and integration by governments can be more equitable and transparent and engage communities. The PDF linked above provides an overview of best practices at each stage of the data science process, from planning through dissemination. About a 15 minute read.

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In this 2013 paper, Cecilia M. Hernandez, Amanda Morales, and Gail Shroyer outline a model for culturally responsive teaching in STEM. Though you are welcome to read through this paper in its entirety, the model is well-summarized in Table 2. You can refer to this table periodically as you consider various approaches implementing culturally responsive pedagogy. See page 20 of the pdf. About a 5 minute read.

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Jennifer Gonzalez, the host of “The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast”, interviews Zaretta Hammond in this episode. Zaretta Hammon is the author of the book “Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Brain”. Jenniver and Zaretta discuss what is and is not culturally responsive teaching, helping to clarify common misconceptions held by faculty that prevent them from effectively implementing this teaching approach. The podcast is available on all major podcast apps or the transcript can be read at the link above. About a 45-minute read or listen.

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This guide, written by Jenny Muñiz, is based on the framework for culturally responsive teaching that was developed by New America in 2019. The framework consists of eight core competencies for culturally responsive teaching. Jenny Muñiz provides brief descriptions of and reflection questions for each of these competencies. About a 25 minute read.

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Drs. Nate Emery, Drew Hasley, and Ellen Bledsoe presented and led a conversation on their recent publication: Cultivating inclusive instructional and research environments in ecology and evolutionary science. Specifically, they focused on the following:

• The motivation for and development of the publication
• Overarching themes of: Empathy, Flexibility, and Growth Mindset
• Inclusive teaching practices (e.g. group learning, names/pronouns, syllabi and norms, and increased representation)
• Inclusive lab culture (e.g. recruitment practices, interpersonal interactions, and cultural norms)
• Inclusive fieldwork (e.g. advance prep, code of conduct, cost barriers, and accessibility)

Recorded on February 4, 2021. 

The Academic Data Science Alliance, an EDSIN network contributor, joined us to present on the work of ADSA's Ethics Working Group. They have been re-imagining the Data Science Lifecycle to incorporate ethical considerations into each stage of the data science workflow. Presentation was recorded on April 1, 2021. 

Abstract

Concerns about secondary use of data and limited opportunities for benefit-sharing have focused attention on the tension that Indigenous communities feel between (1) protecting Indigenous rights and interests in Indigenous data (including traditional knowledges) and (2) supporting open data, machine learning, broad data sharing, and big data initiatives. The International Indigenous Data Sovereignty Interest Group (within the Research Data Alliance) is a network of nation-state based Indigenous data sovereignty networks and individuals that developed the ‘CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance’ (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) in consultation with Indigenous Peoples, scholars, non-profit organizations, and governments. The CARE Principles are people– and purpose-oriented, reflecting the crucial role of data in advancing innovation, governance, and self-determination among Indigenous Peoples. The Principles complement the existing data-centric approach represented in the ‘FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship’ (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). The CARE Principles build upon earlier work by the Te Mana Raraunga Maori Data Sovereignty Network, US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network, Maiam nayri Wingara Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Sovereignty Collective, and numerous Indigenous Peoples, nations, and communities. The goal is that stewards and other users of Indigenous data will ‘Be FAIR and CARE.’ In this first formal publication of the CARE Principles, we articulate their rationale, describe their relation to the FAIR Principles, and present examples of their application.

Keywords: Indigenous, data sovereignty, data governance, data principles, FAIR principles

How to Cite: Carroll, S.R., Garba, I., Figueroa-Rodríguez, O.L., Holbrook, J., Lovett, R., Materechera, S., Parsons, M., Raseroka, K., Rodriguez-Lonebear, D., Rowe, R., Sara, R., Walker, J.D., Anderson, J. and Hudson, M., 2020. The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. Data Science Journal, 19(1), p.43. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-043

Dr. Christie Bahlai described a project she and some of her colleagues received funding to lead. They will be creating a series of podcasts on "the human sides of data science" that will consist of a long-form interview and accompanying curriculum materials for classroom use. They plan "to showcase diverse people, perspectives and approaches to data and information." The call had members provide feedback on the podcast, using the prompts:

• Is there anything you feel Christie and her team are overlooking with this project?
• Any ideas on how curricula materials can be formatted using these data stories?
• What questions should be asked as part of the interviews? Are there core areas that need to be addressed?
• Do you have recommendations on individuals to interview or would you be interested in serving as an interviewee?