Going to ESA??? I have a very exciting announcement to make!For months now, myself, fell
Going to ESA??? I have a very exciting announcement to make!For months now, myself, fellow entomologists, Evan Waite, Abbey Hayes, and Christy Bell have been working on co-organizing a member symposium for the Entomological Society of America’s annual BIG meeting next Thursday Nov 19. Our symposium is alllll about public outreach and inclusivity for scientists and non-scientist alike!e-Entomology: inclusive outreach in a digital world.Our invited speakers include: Gwen Pearson (the original Buggirl blogger), Catherine Scott (Twitter’s “recluse or not”) as well as members: Kevin Wiener, Geevee Snow, and Sloan Tomlinson!!I am incredibly proud to be a part of the “Bugbook” and tumblr-bug community and for what we have all built together. And I look forward to sharing our talks with you in the weeks to come. If you are attending the conference - join us live!Here is the link to search for our symposium: https://www.eventscribe.com//2020/entomology2020/searchGlobal.aspHere is the abstract for my talk (note that I credit tumblr as inspiration to return to school!:Early on, I discovered my insatiable curiosity the world of entomology. My passion grew, but it took time to mature into a career. I spent my twenties working as a nightclub bartender but I could feel the absence and pull of the natural world and sought an outlet to satisfy it. In 2010, I launched an entomology-focused blog (buggirl.tumblr.com) to share my love of entomology with others. To my surprise, it received worldwide attention from over 170,000 subscribers, allowed me to crowdfund my Masters research, and ultimately led me to reach my current position as a PhD student of Zoology. My academic career remains influenced and integrated with outreach; I’ve founded an educational Facebook group (Spider/Bug Questions with Thebuggirl) that hosts 14,000 members. My online efforts go beyond education, we have built a community together, one that keeps me in touch with my inner-naturalist and serves as a constant reminder why I chose to become a biologist. The ability to excite so many people about entomology drives me to be a better scientist. I am proud to be a part of the ‘Bugbook’ community where we change the public’s perception on a group of organisms that most people fear. Social media is a powerful, novel tool that we can use to promote entomology, and now more than ever the general public is excited to be an active participant.Bugs ruleandreaPhoto cred: Dani Marie -- source link
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