Michael Jabot's students participating in the Smithsonian Tree Banding Project

By Georgie Fu, '12

SUNY Fredonia has begun partnering with the Smithsonian Institution in its global Tree Banding Project through a course taught by Education Professor Michael Jabot, "Teaching Science in the Elementary School Class" (EDU 403).

With a special teaching interest in science education, particularly how students make sense of the physical world around them, Dr. Jabot said, "We are banding and doing baseline measurements right now and the project will continue in the future."

The point is to promote the idea of citizen science, Dr. Jabot said. “Involvement of the Tree Banding Project allows my EDU 403 students to have direct experience with the concept of 'Citizen Science,' which we work on in class and which they also can implement in their own classrooms,” he said.

The Smithsonian Institution's Tree Banding Project is a citizen science program that contributes to research about tree biomass and tracks how trees respond to climate. The program depends on volunteers-- students and teachers worldwide--who collect vital data to the ongoing ecological study. Students at Fredonia will be among those who monitor the growth rate of local trees, learn how the rate corresponds to the Smithsonian's research and compare results with other student participants.

The Tree Banding Project is also part of Shout, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution, TakingITGlobal and Microsoft Partners in Learning.