TERC’s Martha Merson at the George Wright Society Conference
ANNOUNCEMENT
Contact:
Ken Mayer
ken_mayer@terc.edu
617.873.9670
April 7, 2017
The 19th George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites gathered people who care about and manage protected land. This year’s conference allowed PhD students to share research on everything from snowmelt to equity in park use. It is the place to hear about priorities and progress toward preservation of both cultural and natural resources in a changing landscapes. Martha Merson, of TERC, led the session ‘The Goldilocks Syndrome and Park-Based Research: Brokering outreach opportunities that are just right’ with Gulf Islands National Seashore’s Brent Everitt and included contributions from Paul E. Super (Appalachian Highlands Research Learning Center) and Jim Pfeiffenberger (Ocean Alaska Science Learning Center), also from the National Park Service. The focus of the session was on brokering relationships with scientists. Participants discussed challenges like complexity and funding, shared promising practices, such as tailoring outreach products to different audiences, and made recommendations for scientists presenting to various audiences.
Merson’s poster included highlights from an ongoing study of the features interpreters find appealing and useful in research briefs.