Keeping in Touch with Ecology

The BES is keen to promote good ecological teaching from primary to university and is keen to help and encourage science teachers whether they regard themselves as 'ecologists' or not.

But do you consider yourself to be an ecologist?

If so you might like to consider:

• Going to the BES Winter Meeting. This is held on a University campus. In December 1999 it was at the University of Leeds and the next will be at the University of Birmingham in January 2001. You don't need to be a member to attend nor to claim a teacher support grant. There are many parallel sessions of short papers and most are about academic ecological research. You may be the kind of person who would find the atmosphere, rubbing shoulders with leading research ecologists from around the World and hearing what is going on in ecology very stimulating. There is an education session at which you might present a paper yourself and where you will meet other people who share your interests. You will find that the BES has other meetings during the year and you may be eligible for support to attend those too.
• Becoming a BES member. If you become a member you receive the BES Bulletin and you have the option to receive one or more of the Society's internationally respected journals. These are not light reading and not every teacher's cup of tea but for those who are really interested in keeping in touch with research ecology the membership fee is outstanding value for money.
• Becoming even more involved. The BES sees education as one of its important responsibilities yet it has relatively few teachers amongst its membership - and it needs more. There are teachers who serve on the Education, Training and Careers Committee and these include the Chair who also sits on Council. There are plenty of ways practicing teachers can become involved in the work of the Society. The BES also has a long tradition of supporting initiatives put forward by its membership. Ways you could get more involved might include writing material for the Newsletter, attending the Winter Meeting, reading a paper at the Education Session, helping to produce or edit publications, providing material to develop this website, organising a meeting or providing an INSET workshop at ASE, being prepared to serve on the Education Training and Careers Committee and perhaps standing for election to Council. We need teachers who like what the BES is to want to get involved. There is enormous potential for doing interesting and worthwhile things in education within the Society.