SS 33 - Open Sharing Session: Stories of Ecology, Community, Restoration, and Hope

Session Description: This special session seeks to provide a platform for all participants to share their favorite stories rooted in restoration, community, ecology, and hope. The intention is to bring together people from all walks of life within the ESA community to share some of their favorite and most meaningful stories. All stories are welcome. Stories can impart lessons through the sharing of life/career pathways, an unusual or unbelievable encounter in the field, or maybe a favorite successful project or study. We hope for this session to be fully inclusive, enriching, and inspiring. Participants are limited to 5 minutes of sharing. Those who wish to share will raise their hands and the moderator will call on them.

The inspiration for this session came from some of the fascinating stories and findings we discovered while researching the recently published book, Biodiversity Islands: Strategies for Conservation in Human-Dominated Environments. Springer, Cham. 2022. We hope to share some of these stories and hear some of yours!

Everyone is welcome to join. We will open the session with a little group exercise. All those who want to share a story will be invited to add their name to a piece of paper put into a hat. When a name is pulled the person can share their story. Stories should not exceed 5 minutes and the moderators will keep time if a storyteller goes over. The session will be a collaborative discussion of stories from all people and all walks of life. Dr. Florencia Montagnini and Brett Levin will first introduce some of the stories and inspirations that arose from their research and book. The floor will then be open to others who will share stories from the field, of mentorship, inspiration, career pathways, community, and hope through their work in ecology. Minimal preparation is needed, as we are encouraging sharing from the heart.  By creating an open forum for sharing, we believe this session can strengthen community relationships within ESA and help guide the younger generations to the immense breadth of opportunity and experience that exists within the field of ecology.

Examples of storytelling may include:

• Sharing of unexpected, unusual, or unbelievable discoveries.


• Notes from the field: How has being in the field shaped you and your perspectives? What are some of your most impactful stories?


• How does your work in ecology inspire your hope?


• Where do you see the future of ecology research?


• Who have been some of your mentors? How did they shape your work and pathway?

We look forward to hearing your stories!

Moderators will ensure that ESA's code of conduct is followed. If the moderators feel the code of conduct has been broken, a presenter will first be warned and if necessary, they may be asked to stop their sharing.