Community Outreach

 

One of our obligations as a professional society is to reach out to the community to improve general literacy about environmental issues that will affect our lives. While many outreach programs focus on researchers, with a little practice all professionals dealing with development or application of science and technology can contribute by helping excite youth about science careers, helping the public better understand how science works and helping dispel some of the science myths permeating the news and internet. Opportunities for improving environmental literacy abound in the Houston area. The community needs your help so please consider how you might contribute.

 

The TAEP Board has decided to formalize our outreach program by developing a list of members willing to volunteer their expertise in the form of areas such as presentations to civic groups, schools or youth groups, judging science fairs, offering guidance to youth groups etc.  This list would be used to match member’s expertise with requests from the community.

 

To assist in developing our list of outreach volunteers and insure that members understand their obligations as representatives of the Association, the Board has developed a code of conduct for volunteers and a questionnaire to gather key information on expertise and the type of volunteer service members are willing to participate in.

 

The nation is projected to add close to 100 million citizens by 2050 and Texas is expected to represent about 20-25% of that increase. Consequently, the nation and Texas specifically are facing an increasing number of serious resource management and related infrastructure issues related to water, air, energy, waste management and climate uncertainty. Each of these will require an electorate with at least a rudimentary knowledge of what we know and what is uncertain related to these issues.

 

 

 

Glenn Buckley, Outreach Director

 

Texas Association of Environmental Professionals

Volunteer Application - [available for download hereMS Word Logo]

      please add "_[insert your name]" to the filename and  return to [email protected]

General Guidelines for Community Outreach Volunteers [available for download herePDF logo]