Welcome to the Thriving Earth Exchange’s (TEX) blog space. The purpose of the blog is to inspire thinking, open-participation and discussion on particular topics or themes. We encourage you to leave comments on any blog post by clicking through to each post and sharing your thoughts at the bottom.
Community Leader Highlight: Mirella Gallardo and Rafael Schmitt Tell us about your Thriving Earth Exchange project. Cuéntanos sobre su proyecto de Thriving Earth Exchange. This project supports the community of Miraflores, located in Yauyos Province, Lima Region, Perú, in strengthening its resilience to climate change by developing the first geological trail within the Yanacancha-Huaquis Cultural […]
The Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N) and AGU’s Thriving Earth Exchange have been working together since 2018 and formalized the partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021. Today, the organizations are building on their shared commitment to community-driven problem-solving by broadening access to data, expertise and networks to help even […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our May 2025 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities across the United States, Mexico and South America to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges […]
Restoring Our Own Truth through Education and Demonstration (ROOTED) Community Science Project, Willington (McCormick), SC Project Team: Dr. Rev. ErNiko Brown, Dr. Agnes Pasco Conaty & Mr. Samuel Bamidele The Willington, South Carolina project, “Restoring Our Own Truth through Education and Demonstration (ROOTED)” has undertaken the restoration of a historically segregated school building. This project […]
The article below is in both English and Spanish Community Lead Highlight: Ana Karen Novoa Rodríguez A native of the community of Coatepec, Mexico, Community Lead and General Manager of FIDECOAGUA, Ana Karen Novoa Rodríguez, joined the 2024 May cohort of AGU Thriving Earth Exchange with the hope of finding the tools and technical skills […]
The article below is in both English and Spanish Fellow Highlight: Elvira Lafuente After living in more than five different countries and furthering her academic research in evolutionary biology, Elvira joined the September 2024 fellow cohort. Originally from Spain, Elvira is a scientist with a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology, and her academic research explores how […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our September 2024 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities across the United States, Mexico and South America to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges […]
We know here at Thriving Earth Exchange that water, how much of it is available to whom, where it travels, and what contaminants it carries with it, impacts people everywhere. Roughly one third of Thriving Earth Exchange projects are around the topics of flooding or contamination. Frequently, these issues most affect those who have […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our February 2024 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities across the United States and Mexico to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges related to […]
Vice President of Community Science Raj Pandya started Thriving Earth Exchange in 2013. _____ This month, I am leaving AGU and Thriving Earth Exchange. I wanted to use this last blog to say thank you, reflect on our accomplishments together, and talk about what is next. First, thank you. Thriving Earth Exchange is a team […]
By Marina Cox In the past decade, science communication has acknowledged the urgent need for diversity, equity and inclusion in its practices, methodology, audiences, and organizations. Language is a crucial tool to promote access and inclusion to STEMM, but it is often overlooked. Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the Inclusive SciComm Symposium […]
Thriving Earth Exchange at 10 Years: A Q&A with Thriving Earth Director Natasha Udu-gama 2023 marks 10 years since the founding of Thriving Earth Exchange. It’s a milestone worth celebrating! It’s also a great time to step back and take stock of where we’ve been and where we’re going. To reminisce and reflect, we recently […]
Raj Pandya is Vice President for Community Science at AGU and previously served as founding director of Thriving Earth Exchange So, you want to be a community scientist or incorporate community science into your work in a big way. Congratulations! I say that because I have found in community science — the chance to […]
Blog post and photos by Liz Crocker Figure 1 View from the rooftop of the Mediterranean Conference Center. Finding ways to ensure communities have access to the benefits of science and can mobilize science to solve their local priorities is currently a global topic of conversation amongst scientists, institutions, educators, museums, and communities. Last month, […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our June 2023 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the United States and Mexico to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges related to […]
In Western European and North American academic sciences, standardized seasons and calendars allow for experts to communicate about specific dates and periods with clarity. But nature is not a homogenous grid to which all environments conform. Our own experiences can confirm that the muggy thick heat of summer can seem endless in some regions while […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce the March 2023 cohort of Community Leads! They will work with Community Science Fellows to launch 14 community science projects in the United States, Brazil and Jamaica! Stay tuned for more information about the impactful projects to come and the communities who lead and inspire them! Braco, Jamaica […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our March 2023 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the United States, Brazil, and Jamaica to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges related […]
When I joined Thriving Earth Exchange in 2014, it was only the second year of the program’s existence. To be honest, at the time I wasn’t entirely familiar with the notion of ‘community science’. I had spent the previous decade neck deep in the world of community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), vulnerability and capacity assessments […]
September of 2020, Thriving Earth Exchange launched a cohort of 16 projects with support from the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation. This cohort was focused on projects that had potential policy-related outcomes and in 2022 an evaluation was conducted by the Beverly Group to better understand the impacts, opportunities and lessons learned from this cohort. […]
Are you geoscience faculty with experience in justice and equity, active-learning practices, and working with communities? Take a look at this paid opportunity to contribute your expertise to co-develop learning materials. Advancing Justice-Centered Community Science in the Geosciences Community science is the equitable partnership between scientists and community members to use science to advance justice […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our October 2022 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the United States and Jamaica to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges related to […]
There is a growing awareness about the connection between time spent in nature and our mental health. At the same time, there is a growing concern about the mental health of teens, who spend less and less time outdoors, and more and more time in front of screens. In many historically marginalized communities, a […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our July 2022 cohort of Community Leads! They will work with Community Science Fellows to launch 16 community science projects. Stay tuned for more information about the impactful projects to come from this launch and the communities who lead and inspire them! Adel, Georgia: Concerned Citizens of Cook […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our July 2022 regional cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the United States and Mexico to launch impactful community science projects. The partnership will connect communities with scientists and technical experts and support them as they work together to tackle local challenges related […]
Challenges like climate change, pollution and natural hazards know no borders. Thriving Earth Exchange has long facilitated community science beyond the U.S., and our international activities are accelerating even more thanks to new opportunities and partnerships. Here are six ways for communities, scientists & organizations to engage: Join our WhatsApp group: Our Global Community Science […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our April 2022 regional cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the state of Wisconsin to launch impactful community science projects. We are thrilled to be working with University of Wisconsin’s UniverCity Alliance and EPIC-Network to launch a cohort of community science projects in […]
At their core, many community science projects revolve around one critical question: What decisions can make life better in this community? It’s a tough question, made tougher by the increasingly complex economic, social and environmental issues many towns and cities are facing today. It also happens to be one of the questions government finance officers […]
In the past two years, the interwoven issues of climate and environmental justice have started to get increasing attention in the scientific community. It’s about time. Or maybe it’s too late. Maybe it’s 150 years too late to prevent climate change and the impact it will have on those who are both most vulnerable to […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our February 2022 cohort of Community Leads! They will work with Community Science Fellows to launch impactful community science projects. Some projects in this cohort are launched in partnership with the American Meteorological Society, and some are with communities who are members of the Anthropocene Alliance and ecoAmerica. […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our February 2022 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the United States to launch impactful community science projects. We are pleased to partner with the American Meteorological Society to launch this cohort, and welcome communities from the Anthropocene Alliance network. Stay tuned […]
How can scientific institutions like AGU be better partners to communities? AGU’s 2021 Fall Meeting took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. While we were there, Thriving Earth Exchange visited several communities where Thriving Earth community science projects have taken place or are still in progress. We met community leads, learned more about their projects and […]
Thriving Earth Exchange recently welcomed Community Science Fellow coordinator Maria Sharova and manager of community lead engagement Blake McGhghy , and since then, they’ve been vital members of the team. To kick off a new year of commitment to community science, we held a Q&A with them to learn more about them – and their […]
2021 followed a year no one could have expected. Yet even as we continued to respond and adapt to the new reality of the ongoing pandemic, Thriving Earth Exchange found innovative ways to advance community science and spark new collaborations in the United States and around the world. This year, we launched a record number […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is to share our 201 video featuring photos, written testimonials and videos from many of our wondering Thriving Earth Exchange participants — including community leads, scientists and Community Science Fellows, and partners in the U.S. and around the world! A huge thank you to everyone who contributed for the opportunity to hear […]
When Glastonbury, Connecticut’s health officials and town leadership suspected uranium contamination in residential wells, they partnered with Thriving Earth Exchange to investigate. The project uncovered key information the town needed to advise residents, summed up in a thorough report written with the community in mind – all amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. What’s in your water? Glastonbury, a community with a history of agriculture and fruit orchards, is a town of about 35,000 people, and a suburb of the city of Hartford. “We take a lot of […]
Thriving Earth Exchange and AJGES team up to bring community science to Senegal In the latest expansion of Thriving Earth’s impacts beyond the U.S., a new partnership with a group of scientists in Senegal provides an opportunity to bring the community science approach to local environmental issues in the West African nation. The Association of […]
Share your Story! Have a passion for community science? Share it with us to be featured at Fall Meeting 2021! Each week until Nov. 29, we’re sharing a new prompt to get your creative juices flowing. This Week’s Prompt: Why Is Community Science the Future of Science and Society? Tell us where community science going. […]
AGU’s Thriving Earth Exchange and ecoAmerica are thrilled to announce a new partnership to support projects that help communities respond and adapt to the impact of climate change on public health, the environment and infrastructure. Thriving Earth Exchange connects communities with scientists and technical experts to help them explore priorities related to natural resources, natural […]
Thriving Earth Exchange is pleased to announce our October 2021 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from across the United States to launch impactful community science projects. Three projects in this cohort are launched in partnership with the National Park Service, and five are with communities in the Anthropocene Alliance network. […]
Nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Coast, Clark County, Washington, is a largely rural, forested area rich in both natural beauty and natural resources. Outdoor enthusiasts are drawn to the sweeping river views and bountiful fishing afforded by the Columbia and Lewis Rivers, while industrial interests are drawn by the region’s stores of […]
An assistant dean reflects on the role of academic administrations in advancing community science For environmental chemist Christopher Spiese, PhD, science doesn’t stop in the lab. “If I think about my scientific heroes, I think about people who did excellent science in the lab and brought it out into the wider world,” says Spiese, […]
Small town seeks to cultivate fruitful connections in the wake of disaster The Australian town of Tallangatta knows a thing or two about change and resilience. Tallangatta, population 1,100, today sits on the edge of Lake Hume. In the 1950s, the entire town was relocated to its current spot, when the dam creating Lake […]
For environmental scientist Katherine Meierdiercks, collaborating with communities is part of the job You could say coming to Siena College as an assistant professor was a watershed moment for watershed expert Katherine Meierdiercks, PhD. Having long approached science as an expression of service, Meierdiercks found in the college the mix of encouragement, opportunities and […]
Capacity is often in short supply in local government. It can be hard to know where to turn to find much-needed support, useful resources, and innovative ideas, particularly when it comes to research and science. Two organizations are partnering to change that. The Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N) program and AGU’s […]
Back-to-school is an exciting time, whether for elementary-school students or PhD candidates. As classes across the nation start up this month – some in-person, some virtual – we have an opportunity to take a fresh look at the relationship between our classrooms and our communities. With issues like health and climate top of mind in […]
Thriving Earth Exchange would like to extend a warm welcome to our July 2021 cohort of Community Science Fellows! They’ll be working with communities from Alaska to the Bahamas to launch impactful community science projects. Stay tuned for exciting news from this group! Tatiana Eaves (she/her) is an ecologist by training who currently works […]
