This time on The Children’s Hour we learn how everyone can contribute to active scientific research by participating in Community Science with groups like BEMP: the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program. We also provide tools to learn more, like a learning guide, and instructions on creating your own community science project, no matter where you live.

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This time on The Children’s Hour, we meet two members of the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program, Zoe Wadkins Daniels, the Education Manager, and a BEMP environmental educator Anne Montes. Learn how they engage students of all ages in learning more about the bosque over a school year and how that data is used.

The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program or BEMP, studies the riparian forest along the Rio Grande in New Mexico as it travels from Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, down to the Gulf of Mexico in El Paso, Texas. Students in BEMP work with the program as part of their school science curriculum, taking multiple field trips to the bosque to collect data, from counting insects, to measuring leaf litter. 

When the kids collect their data, they are participating in community science. In order for scientists to understand as much as possible about our climate, soil health, endangered species, weather, and so much more, they need to get as much information as possible. Members of every community are needed to collect certain kinds of data from wherever they may live. BEMP helps teachers make that effort part of a day at school. 

More than 100,000 New Mexican students have worked directly with BEMP. The video below describes what BEMP does, and we hear from students about what the work they do means to them, and to their communities.

This episode was written and produced by Katie Stone, our Executive Producer and our Senior Producer, Christina Stella, with production support from Sarah Gabrielli and Thaniel Lentz, our Intern. Our Learning Guides are written by Amber Shiel. Chad Scheer engineers for us at Outpost Performance Space, in Albuquerque New Mexico. Many thanks to Zoe Wadkins-Daniels for providing so many additional resources for us to share with our listeners.

The Children’s Hour radio show is distributed by Native Voice One: The Native American Radio Network.

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