February 27 @ 12:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Part of the National Invasive Species Awareness Week series
Communicating about invasive species can get complicated! On February 27-28, in partnership with NAISMA for National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW), Sea Grant is proud to present The Invasive Species Language Workshop, bringing together invasive species researchers and science communication professionals to share best practices for communicating about biological invasions to scientists, stakeholders, and the public.
Day 1 (February 27) will feature a 2-hour NISAW webinar on communications issues in invasion biology, including inclusive language, effective use of metaphor, changes to species names, and more. These hybrid presentations will be available to watch online for free, and virtual attendees will be able to send in questions for discussion.
- 12:30 Welcome – Elizabeth Brown (NAISMA)
- 12:40 Workshop Background, Charge – El Lower (Michigan Sea Grant) & Tim Campbell (Wisconsin Sea Grant
- 12:45 Cliff Notes on Inclusive Language – El Lower
- 1:00 Words have Power – Sam Chan (Oregon Sea Grant)
- 1:20 ESA Better Common Names Project – Erin Cadwalader* (Entomological Society of America)
- 1:30 Renaming Spongy Moth – Leigh Greenwood* (The Nature Conservancy)
- 1:45 A Framework for Adopting More Inclusive Common Names – Megan Weber (University of Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center and UMN Extension)
- 2:05 Naming Presentations Q&A
- 2:15 Break
- 2:25 Standardizing Invasive Species Terminology for Stakeholder Education – Basil Iannone* (University of Florida)
- 2:45 Setting expectations for invasive species management through consistent terminology – Gadfly Stratton (University of Toronto)
- 3:05 Considering emotions when communicating and framing invasive species issues – Angie Gupta* (University of Minnesota Dept. of Forest Resources & Extension)
- 3:25 Invasive Species Message Frame Tests on Social Media – Tim Campbell and Laurel Downs* (The Nature Conservancy)
- 3:35 Just Language for invasive species communication – Neha Savant (New York City Parks)
- 3:55 Summary of Arc Network Problematic Jargon in STEM Workshop – Virginia Rhodes (ARC Network)
- 4:15 Framing and Terminology Q&A and Closing
Day 2 (February 28), held in-person in Washington, DC, will feature in-depth discussion to develop research topics and interventions to improve communication strategies in invasion biology, including the process for changing species names, harmonizing communications strategies across agencies and research groups, tailoring messaging to different stakeholder groups, and more. Attendance for this portion is limited: reach out to Tim Campbell (tim.campbell@wisc.edu) if interested in participating in person.
