THE NURTURE NATURE CENTER

SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH: A SIGNIFICANT PART OF NNC'S WORK CONSISTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH NATIONAL PARTNERS, INCLUDING GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, UNIVERSITIES, SCIENCE MUSEUMS AND OTHERS. THE RESEARCH FOCUSES ON FINDING THE BEST TECHNIQUES FOR COMMUNICATING ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS, INCLUDING CLIMATE AND WEATHER-RELATED HAZARDS, AND FOR APPROACHES FOR BUILDING COMMUNITY RESILIENCY. NNC'S WORK IN THIS AREA ALSO INCLUDES FOLLOW UP TO DISSEMINATE AND HELP PUT INTO PRACTICE THE RESEARCH FINDINGS. MANY OF NNC'S RESEARCH PROJECTS ARE FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (NWS) ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE FLOOD AND WINTER FORECAST PRODUCTS IT USES IN COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC. NNC (CONTINUE ON SCHEDULE O)HELPS IMPLEMENT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BY DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND PARTICIPATING IN TRAINING WITH NWS NATIONWIDE. IN 2024, NNC WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER TO ANALYZE FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH RELATED TO THE URBAN RAIN RATE DASHBOARD AND DEVELOPED AND HOSTED A SEPARATE SET OF FOCUS GROUPS ON RAINFALL FORECAST PRODUCTS. NNC ALSO HOSTED FOCUS GROUPS RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLOOD INUNDATION MAPPING AND COMPLETED ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FROM FOCUS GROUPS ABOUT THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF HIGH-VULNERABILITY FLOOD PRONE COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION, NNC COLLABORATED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA ON AN EXTREME WEATHER AND SOCIETY FLOOD SURVEY AND COMPLETED A RESEARCH PROJECT ABOUT A NEW WINTER FORECAST PRODUCT FOR ALASKA, ISSUING A FINAL REPORT AND PUBLISHING A JOURNAL ARTICLE.

ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY: AT ITS FACILITY IN EASTON, NNC OFFERS A VARIETY OF ART AND OTHER EXHIBITS AND ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO FOSTER DIALOGUE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. NNC'S PERMANENT EXHIBITS INCLUDE NOAA'S ACCLAIMED "SCIENCE ON A SPHERE," FOR TEACHING ABOUT EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE; AN SOS EXPLORER TOUCH SCREEN KIOSK; A LARGE LIVING LOCAL MURAL INCORPORATING 80 ENVIRONMENTAL TALKING POINTS, AND AN INTERACTIVE WATERSHED EXHIBIT. IN ADDITION TO THESE PERMANENT EXHIBITS, NNC HOLDS ROTATING ART SHOWS ON ENVIRONMENTAL THEMES WITH PRESENTATIONS BY THE ARTISTS. IT ALSO OFFERS SPEAKING EVENTS BY EDUCATORS, FILMS, WORKSHOPS, AND CLASSES ON A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS, AND MAINTAINS AN URBAN GARDEN THAT IT USES FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. OUTSIDE ITS (CONTINUE ON SCHEDULE O)FACILITY, NNC CONDUCTS LOCAL AND REGIONAL OUTREACH IN MANY FORMS, WITH PROJECTS DESIGNED TO BUILD RESILIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS. IN 2024, NNC WORKED WITH SIX MUNICIPALITIES IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY AS PART OF A FEDERALLY FUNDED CREATE RESILIENCE RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY LEARNING HUB" PROJECT AND COMPLETED AN EXHIBIT OF ILLUSTRATIVE RESILIENCE MAPS FOR EACH MUNICIPALITY ALONG WITH AN ONLINE RESOURCE ABOUT RESILIENCE. NNC ALSO ENGAGED IN OUTREACH AND EDUCATION FOR A CREATE CONNECTIONS PROJECT THAT FOCUSED ON CLIMATE ACTION PLANS FOR EASTON AND BETHLEHEM; WORKED WITH COLLEGE INTERNS ON ADDITIONAL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THOSE PLANS; AND HOSTED ITS 5TH ANNUAL YOUTH CLIMATE SUMMIT IN APRIL WITH OVER 120 STUDENTS ATTENDING. NNC HELD A TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP IN JUNE, AS WELL, FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER PARTNERS AS PART OF A SCIENCE AND ART INTEGRATED CURRICULUM DESIGN PROJECT (FEDERALLY GRANT FUNDED).