Biodiversity Institute seeks to provide engaging and rigorous educational opportunities for all of Wyoming's students, from kindergarten through college and beyond. Some of our goals for biodiversity education are:
to establish an undergraduate curriculum that allows students to become leaders in the field of biodiversity science,
to engage younger students in biodiversity science in ways that lead to an appreciation of the diversity of life and the complexity of the natural world,
to provide all students with opportunities to gain understanding of, and familiarity with, the biodiversity of Wyoming and the world, and to encourage an ethos of conservation.
This curriculum is a cross-disciplinary program for undergraduates, which brings together coursework in biological science and the humanities, and allows students to examine biodiversity from scientific and social-cultural perspectives. The curriculum will be administered through the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. Students achieving this degree will have unique qualifications enabling them to become leaders in the efforts to conserve biodiversity.
This program is under development.
Wyoming has tremendous natural bounty, and serves as model for conservation. However, students should experience organisms and ecosystems not found in Wyoming, in order to develop an appreciation of the world’s biodiversity, and to gain understanding of how different cultures value and interact with their natural environments. There are a number of courses already on campus that study biodiversity abroad; the Biodiversity Institute will facilitates these courses through financial support.
> Click here to see the (closed) announcement about BI support for International Courses
K-12 Biodiversity EducationThe Biodiversity Institute provides K-12 Biodiversity Education opportunities for students, with workshops and activities at the Berry Center, at schools, and in the field. Institute staff work with educators to design activities to meet curriculum needs and engage students in biodiversity science. In 2012, we interacted with nearly 700 students, teachers and counselors from more than 17 Wyoming schools. We will continue to provide these experiences and expand the depth and topics of offerings.
