Resources for ARC LTER PIs to Assist with Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Justice Issues

ARC DEI Committee, April 2023

A Work in Progress! We Welcome Ideas/Comments/Resources

General

1. LTER DEI Committee resources: https://lternet.edu/network-organization/diversity-resources/ 
2. Toolik Field Station DEI resources
3. Minorities in Polar Research: https://www.polarimpactnetwork.org/about
4. ESA’s DEIJ webpage: Resources For Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) – The Ecological Society of America (esa.org) 
5.  
6. Resources DEIJ in Nature, Ecology, and Conservation - Google Sheets
7. AmeriFlux Resource for Inclusive and Safe Fieldwork
8. 10 simple rules for building an antiracist lab

Webpages for Advertising Any ARC LTER Position

1. LTER Network Opportunities Page https://lternet.edu/opportunities/
2. Toolik Field Station’s Job Opportunities Page https://www.uaf.edu/toolik/outreach/opportunities.php
   • Submit opportunities through your myToolik Account or email hdunleavy@alaska.edu

Recruitment of Undergraduates

• Send notifications through STEM programs targeting underrepresented undergrads at our respective institutions.
• Cal Poly: BeaCON program  (diversity@calpoly.edu)
• Polaris Project (arctic IUSE project, undergrads, recent grads):  polarisalum@woodwellclimate.org
• SACNAS http://sacnas.org/institutions/advertising/web-ads (costs >$300 for 1 month advertisement)
• HBCU career posting https://jobs.thehbcucareercenter.com/ ($150 for 1 month ad)
• LTER Network Office REU/Undergrad opportunities page https://lternet.edu/education-and-training/undergraduate/
  
  • Email Gabe De La Rosa (delarosa@nceas.ucsb.edu) with listing
  • OR use the form at the bottom of this page https://lternet.edu/opportunities/
• Recruit Alaska Native or Alaskan resident students:
  
  • Alaska Pacific University career services: email Robin Brooks at careerservices@alaskapacific.edu to post on their job boards
  • Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) https://www.ansep.net/

Recruitment of Graduate Students

• Polaris Project alumni – requested list (Seeta)
• Polar Impact (Minorities in Polar Research) - Weekly opportunity thread

Recruitment of Postdocs and Technicians

Polar Impact (Minorities in Polar Research) - Weekly opportunity thread

Recruitment of PI Collaborators

• Need to help current PIs identify new potential collaborators

Pre-Field Season Packet (in development by ARC DEI Committee)

• Document from Sarah and Jason about Life at Toolik (to send for reference pre-season)
• Statement of Respect and Equity in the Field (for PI’s and technicians/students to read and sign)

• Emergency Contact / Health Form

Retention and Safety of Personnel (focused during the field season)

• Toolik mental health resources
• Safe fieldwork strategies: Safe fieldwork strategies for at-risk individuals, their supervisors and institutions | Nature Ecology & Evolution 
  
  • Safer Science: Strategies to protect at-risk researchers when conducting fieldwork | CALS (cornell.edu)
  • Equity & Safety Resources (forms/outlines of what happens when issues occur): https://benjaminblonder.org/equity-safety/
• INTERACT: https://eu-interact.org/publication/interact-fieldwork-planning-handbook/
• INTERACT: https://eu-interact.org/publication/interact-practical-field-guide/ 
•  
• Toilet stops in the field
• A key part of field safety is empowering your employees and students to call out unsafe conditions. Make sure you create and review a safety plan pre-travel and that everyone has access to it during travel. Does it explicitly state that safety, including mental health, takes priority over completing science tasks? Does it list mechanisms for reporting and potential responses?

Retention of Students (after one field season)

• End of season survey

Guidelines for working with Alaska Native communities

• NSF Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic
• Woodwell Climate Research Center Guiding Principles for Working in Northern Communities
• ARCUS Conducting Research with Northern Communities
• Melissa Shaginoff self-paced land acknowledgement workshop
• Inuit Circumpolar Council Ethical and Equitable Engagement Synthesis Report
• Circumpolar Inuit Protocols for Ethical and Equitable Engagement

Some Lessons Learned

• Personal connections in recruiting are important – beyond just posting on job boards
• Advertise in (field-course/related) classrooms at home institutions
  
  • UAF, Alaska Pacific, etc.
  • Bonanza, Beaufort Lagoon, and Northern Gulf of Alaska LTERs? Could we have a shared/pooled opportunities list or communications?
• Send representatives to meetings to recruit in person (SACNAS, others in Alaska, Arctic specific, etc)
  
  • e.g. in Canada, ArcticNet (https://arcticnet.ulaval.ca/) – recently had a meeting in December with a lot of relevant communities/stakeholders/researchers present
  • e.g. I know there is a meeting in Utqiagvik in the summer about Arctic Research that some Team Vole folks have attended? Regularly send folks to that to give a brief overview on the Arctic LTER?
• Host low-stake “practice” field activities at your institution—short hikes, walks, or plant ID,or anything low-stake that lets potential recruits get a chance to practice what they might do in the field, in their “local” home environment.Can also help them borrow, rent, or check out gear in these situations as well as appropriate.