Making Environmental STEM Education Stick

A citizen science project tests whether a small wasp can restore native habitat. It also shows the benefits of firsthand experience for high school students.

By M. Nikki Grant-Hoffman and Anjelica Spencer

About this article

This article was originally published in the "Educate & Interpret" section of Park Science magazine, Volume 37, Number 1, Summer 2023 (July 31, 2023).

Citizen science is a great way for communities to help manage public lands. It’s a form of collaboration where people take part voluntarily in the scientific process. In the National Park Service, citizen science refers to activities done at the request of a land management agency or program, while community science projects are initiated and led by the community. The Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act&num=0&edition=prelim) codifies the activities of citizen science participants, who may design experiments, collect data, analyze results, and solve problems.

For the past three years, the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, has worked with its partners and a local high school to advance shared goals. Through citizen science, they’re using a small wasp to control an aggressive, invasive plant in McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. The National Environmental Education Foundation, also known as NEEF, made this work possible.

The Greening of STEM Education

NEEF has a science, technology, engineering, and math—STEM—program that aims to make environmental issues more relevant and accessible for educators and learners. Called the Greening STEM program, it facilitates partnerships between educators and land managers. The purpose of these partnerships is to engage students in real-world situations. This is because environmental issues resonate more with learners who experience them firsthand.

“Greening STEM projects give students an opportunity to apply concepts they learn in class to actual scientific investigations.”

Spencer Powell is an environmental science teacher at Central High School, a program partner, in Mesa County, Colorado. Powell said, “Greening STEM projects give students an opportunity to…apply concepts they learn in class to actual scientific investigations.” He said not only do students “have a lot of fun,” they also “make real connections to the content they've been learning all year.“

Without NEEF’s funding and support, it would have been difficult for all partners to develop a program like this. NEEF awarded the first BLM pilot Greening STEM project grant to McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area in 2020. NEEF awarded an additional two grants in 2021 and six in 2022 to BLM sites. Through NEEF, the National Park Service and Forest Service have also used Greening STEM grants for citizen science projects on public lands. McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area manager Amber Koski considers citizen science “an essential tool for land managers,” because through community participation, the agency is “addressing real-world issues and building climate resilience.”

Rock Arches, Rugged Country, and a Major River

Home to the second largest concentration of natural rock arches in North America, McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area was created by an act of Congress in 2000. Its purpose is to preserve the unique natural, cultural, and recreational features—and activities like cattle grazing—that residents of the area and visitors have enjoyed for decades. Encompassing 123,430 acres of land, including a 75,000-acre wilderness area, the national conservation area lies in the heart of the high desert canyon country of western Colorado. A 24-mile stretch of the Colorado River runs through it.

Along the river, there are areas heavily infested with Russian knapweed, a noxious, invasive plant that is poisonous to horses.

In the riparian habitat along the river, there are areas heavily infested with Russian knapweed, a noxious, invasive plant that is poisonous to horses. Russian knapweed grows quickly, roots deeply, and produces large numbers of seeds. It chemically inhibits other plants from growing. This rapidly changes the makeup of an area, creating a monoculture—an environment dominated by one species—containing few other plants. As a result, insects, birds, and other animal communities that rely on these plants suffer.

A Nasty Weed Meets a Tiny Adversary

The rugged, sensitive, riparian habitat in the conservation area is hard to reach for conventional herbicide treatments. But the Russian knapweed gall wasp (Aulacidea acroptilonica) is a biological control—a living organism that preys on a specific pest plant or animal. It requires less equipment and access than herbicide application. It is an approved, nonchemical way to counter the weed in hard-to-reach areas.

The wasp hampers Russian knapweed’s growth, flowering, and seed production by laying its eggs in the stems of the weed, causing the plant to develop small swellings—galls—when the larvae hatch. The larvae feed on the plant, depriving it of nutrients, stunting its growth, and limiting its ability to spread. The wasp feeds only on the invasive plant, doesn’t sting, and is harmless to people, wildlife, and other plants.

Students finally saw heavily galled stems and wasps laying eggs to create new galls on Russian knapweed.

In May 2021, the BLM collaborated with Colorado Canyons Association, the Palisade Insectary, and Central High School on a Greening STEM project to release the gall wasp and assess how well it works. This project was started with NEEF funding and continues with community support.

In 2021 and 2022, during an annual spring overnight river trip, students released gall wasps in a part of the conservation area infested with Russian knapweed. Students also recorded data on invasive knapweed quantity, gall wasp presence and abundance, and vegetation cover. The unpublished 2022 data showed that gall wasps had not yet established in the area, and the amount of Russian knapweed appeared stable. But in May 2023, students finally saw heavily galled stems and adult wasps laying eggs to create new galls on Russian knapweed.

Calibrating the Data

As part of the Greening STEM project, students learn about management issues and practice monitoring techniques with their teacher before each trip. The conservation area’s ecologist then trains them further at the site and calibrates their work, checking to make sure the data are accurate and usable before the students collect any more data.

This is an important aspect of citizen science, which isn’t simply an educational exercise but real science.

This is an important aspect of citizen science, which isn’t simply an educational exercise but real science. The information gathered by these young citizen scientists will help the BLM track wasp populations and the effect they have on Russian knapweed. In time, the BLM expects to see the weed’s dominance decrease along the Colorado River in the conservation area. This will allow native plants and animals to return and create a more resilient riparian environment.

Working for Change in Their Communities

In their roles as citizen scientists on this project, Central High School students consistently provide useful data to the BLM and the Palisade Insectary. All partners are looking forward to future school groups monitoring native and non-native species and helping to shape the management of this site along the river. Lisa Boyko, Colorado Canyons Association river program manager, said, “This program empowers students to…make decisions based on the data they are collecting.” They help create “a healthier landscape in their community and [solve] an invasive species problem.”

“There is no better way to inspire the next generation of stewards than through authentic engagement in the stewardship process.”

“I love how this project empowers local students to participate in the management of our public lands,” added Annie Carter, the association’s land education program manager. “There is no better way to inspire the next generation of stewards than through authentic engagement in the stewardship process.”

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