Outreach as part of research!

I am Gabriela Quesada-Ávila, a tropical ecologist going through one of the most challenging, and transformative moments of my life. A few years ago, I decided to pursue an academic career and joined the graduate program at the Integrative Biology Department at the University of South Florida as a PhD student. Now I’m in my third year, after completing two major experiments, and I’m getting ready to submit a paper that will be the first chapter of my dissertation.

This journey has been anything but straightforward. I have overcome grant and fellowships rejections, logistical complications that delayed my fieldwork, and even some painful personal losses along the way. But there have also been bright moments that reminded me why I chose this path and kept me moving forward. All these moments kept the spark of science alive inside me.

One of the bright moments was receiving the Botany in Action Fellowship, granted by Phipps Botanical Garden in Pittsburgh. This fellowship made it possible for me to complete the first field season of the work that would be the second chapter of my dissertation, a project I carried out this summer and fall at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. The Botany in Action Fellowship gave me something just as valuable as the opportunity to do research: the chance to discover that I genuinely love outreach and science communication. This fellowship offered training and opportunities that unlocked skills I didn’t know I had, and showed me how meaningful it is to share science beyond the academic world.

Tabling for the "Science engagement week" at the Phiips botanical garden in Pittsburgh. Photo credits: Maria Wheeler-Dubas.

From theory to practice

Thanks to the training I received as part of the Botany in Action Fellowship I recently participated in a couple of outreach spaces and activities. First, I participated with the Forest Biology Laboratory in the “Gamboa Bat Night”, an outreach event created by the Bat Lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), led by staff scientist Dr. Rachel Page and research manager Gregg Cohen. The Gamboa Bat Night began as a bilingual initiative to share knowledge about bats with the general public, demystify common misconceptions, and raise awareness about the ecological importance of these flying mammals. Now these nights give the opportunity to researchers working in diverse topics in tropical Ecology and Evolution to share their science with the public. I was fortunate to recently join them and share my research findings about seeds, and their responses to global warming.

The Forest Biology lab, which is hosting my stay at STRI, focuses its research on understanding how tropical plants respond to temperature. Broadly, we investigate questions such as:  How do rising temperatures affect the physiological performance of tropical trees?”, “How plastic are growth responses to elevated temperatures when plants approach their thermal limits?”, or “How does temperature influence germination success and speed, and do these effects vary among species?”

Tabling at the STRI "Gamboa Bat Night". Photo credits: Alicia Sanjur.

On the Gamboa Bat Night our team decided to present my first dissertation chapter on tropical tree seed germination responses to elevated temperature. My experiment consisted of exposing seeds of 15 different tree species to 5 different temperature regimes 20/18°C, 26/24°C, 32/30°C, 38/36°C, and 44/42°C and assess germination responses. We set up an interactive table showcasing the seeds of the species used in my study, allowing visitors to touch and explore them. I also prepared a whiteboard with simplified visual summaries of key results to make the science accessible, and we displayed germinated seeds under a dissecting microscope. Overall, visitors showed great interest in the table and the different learning elements we offered.

Explaining my research at the STRI "Gamboa Bat Night". Photo credits: Alicia Sanjur.

During my outreach activities, I engaged with a wide range of participants, including families, couples, and large school groups. Among these interactions, one individual was particularly noteworthy: Osmir Suárez, a member of Familias Homeschool, a Panamanian homeschooling organization that supports students from pre-kindergarten through high school. Thanks to her enthusiasm, I was able to organize a second outreach activity with a group of middle and high school students.

For this session, I wanted to implement a more dynamic and hands-on activity. So, I designed an activity that mimicked the way we prepare seed samples for germination experiments in the lab. The idea was simple: the students would set up their own experiments and then collect germination data from their samples for six weeks.

I had three main goals in mind:

1. Show them how we prepare samples and collect data in a systematic way.

2. Help them become more aware of the tropical tree species that surround them every day.

3. Inspire a sense of care and curiosity about nature.

To do this, I brought all the lab materials we normally use: petri dishes, paper towels, tweezers, droppers, tape, markers, and seeds from two native tree species: Ficus insipida and Luehea seemannii. I also put together a simple instruction sheet and a small form for them to enter their observations.

Instruction guide for the germination workshop with the Familias Homeschool kids.

Each student worked individually, following the steps while I guided them whenever they needed help. By the end of the session, every student had set up two petri dishes with 20 seeds of each species. Their “homework” for the next six weeks was to monitor their seeds, score how many seeds germinated, and choose one seed each week to draw so they could observe its development over time.

Germination workshop with the Familias Homeschool kids. Photo credits: Pascual Figueroa.

It was incredibly rewarding to see how engaged the kids were throughout the activity. Some were completely focused and meticulous as they followed each step, while others had a more playful energy but were still genuinely interested. A few were determined to learn the scientific names of the plants, which I found especially adorable. It was wonderful to witness all these different learning styles and to see how each student connected with a different part of the activity.

Sharing science with people: lessons learned

Sharing my research with the general public has taught me that people feel far less intimidated by science when it’s presented in a friendly and accessible way. Simplifying science doesn’t mean “dumbing it down,” it simply means finding clearer words to describe complex biological processes. This is easier said than done. What worked for me was first asking whether someone had any basic knowledge of the concept, building on what they knew, and then introducing the scientific term.

My first real experience with teaching was when I started graduate school three years ago, and it made me realize how much I enjoy helping people learn and watching them grow. Although outreach activities are different than teaching undergraduates, the principle remains the same: use scientific knowledge to educate, inspire, and create awareness about the natural world around us.

Unfortunately, modern life has distanced us from nature. We often forget that our survival depends entirely on the stability of ecological systems. The intricate interactions between plants, fungi, bacteria, birds, reptiles, mammals, insects, and countless other organisms have existed for millions of years and made our own evolution possible. It’s time we start caring about these interactions and questioning how our daily actions affect them. I truly believe that education is a powerful tool for change. Awareness leads to concern, and concern can grow into meaningful actions. This is why I believe outreach should be an essential part of our academic work. As scientists, we generate so much knowledge that often stays confined within our circles, completely unknown to the broader public. We need to share it, so people don’t feel so disconnected from science. Only then can we work together, using knowledge as a tool, to make this world a better place for everyone.