Novel tools and best practices for education about invasive alien species
Laura Verbrugge, Murray I. Dawson, Lyn A. Gettys, R.S.E.W. Leuven, Hélia Marchante, Elizabete Marchante, Petri Nummi, Annerie H. M. Rutenfrans, Katrin Schneider, Sonia Vanderhoeven
Abstract
Increasing public awareness is a prerequisite for successful management of invasive \nalien species (IAS). Environmental education can play an important role in this process \nby providing relevant learning outcomes and experiences for youth and students, as \nwell as professionals in different sectors associated with introduction pathways or \nwho are involved in mitigation and eradication of IAS. This paper responds to the \nurgent call for the inclusion of the IAS topic in education through the development, \nimplementation and evaluation of novel and user-friendly educational materials. \nThe aim of this paper is to describe best practices in IAS education and to share the \nlessons learned from eight educational projects from seven different countries. We \ndiscuss four challenges for IAS education, related to (1) inconsistent and ambiguous \nterminology, (2) communicating risk, (3) implementation of education materials, and \n(4) evaluation of learning effects. Examples of best practices are the use of smartphone \napplications and gaming elements, place-based education and exhibitions. We also note \nthe importance of open access publishing of education materials to make them easily \navailable. We intend this discussion to serve as a source of inspiration to researchers, \nscience communicators and teachers and to spur the development of new teaching \nmaterials worldwide.