Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program
Grants Awarded
The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) will utilize funding to provide outdoor education for 200 K-12 students from low-income Title I schools, focusing on the collection of 276 pieces of field data over the year. This initiative will engage students in tracking long-term ecological changes in the Middle Rio Grande bosque, fostering environmental stewardship while supplying valuable data to local and federal agencies for informed resource management. By connecting students to their local ecosystem, BEMP enhances community awareness of environmental issues and promotes a sustainable future.
The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) seeks funding to enhance outdoor education for 200 K-12 students from low-income Title I schools, enabling them to gather critical data on bosque ecosystem health, such as water quality. This program aims to empower students through hands-on learning experiences while providing valuable information to local and federal entities for improved resource management and environmental stewardship.
BEMP offers an authentic science experience for K-12 students, primarily those from Title I schools, to engage in outdoor environmental education focusing on the conservation of local ecosystems such as the bosque. The program uses hands-on fieldwork to deepen knowledge, foster interest in stewardship, and challenge the notion that scientific contributions can only come from advanced degree holders or professionals. The curriculum, consisting of data analysis, field visitations, and discussions about ecosystem health and pollution impact, is designed to stimulate understanding in both Spanish and English and inspire students to apply interdisciplinary skills to their daily lives while preparing them for potential life-science careers.
The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program’s mission is: Community Science, Education, and Stewardship: Equitable and inclusive hands-on student research essential to the management of the Rio Grande ecosystem. The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation registered in the state of New Mexico that partners with the University of New Mexico (UNM) Department of Biology. Each year, K-12 students and teachers from 30-50 schools in New Mexico participate in long-term bosque research at 33 different monitoring sites. Findings are used by government agencies to manage and make informed decisions about the bosque. As of June 15th, 2023, 4,261 students and 807 adults throughout Bernalillo and Sandoval counties connected with their local ecosystem through direct, hands-on, outdoor participation in BEMP activities throughout the 2022-2023 school year through in-person trips to the bosque. An additional 4,462 students accessed online, self-directed, printable and virtual activities to engage with the ecosystems in their own neighborhoods, communities and backyards; this is a 92% increase from the year previous! Over thirty-three schools were served through this array of programming, 57% qualifying as Title I. BEMP education continues its commitment to better support the diverse needs of New Mexico’s students, teachers and families by offering a multi-level educational pathway to engage with BEMP programming. Several top accomplishments over the last several years: – Began initiative to reach every 7th Grader in the City with priority given to students from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences due to racial, cultural, and economic inequities and those represented in Title-1 schools. – 120,000+ students in New Mexico participated in our applied science programming – see our 100,000 milestone celebration: https://bemp.org/bemp-celebrates-its-100000-bemper/ – Collaborating with long-standing community partners, BEMP completed 24 years of continuous collection of millions of data points measuring ecosystem health along the Middle Rio Grande – Inclusively accommodated and engaged diverse K-12 student populations in scientific inquiry – 65% of students from Title I (low-income) schools