CIRES Girls* on Rock program finds new footing in 2024

Christine Chang and her research partners, Mia Daniel-Morales and Rachel Davison, stood tall and confident in front of their slide show projection. One at a time, they presented their scientific research using photos and graphs to a small in-person and robust online audience. The trio reflected on their research project, how slope and aspect affect wildflowers in the alpine environment, and explained the process of conducting field research in Colorado's mountains.

After they clicked their last slide the audience applauded their work. Before heading offstage, the group fielded questions from researchers and eager parents and relatives online. One asked: How did science in the field differ from science classes in school?

"A lot of the science I do in the classroom is on paper. I love the environment and I love science; it's good to know these two things can go together," said Chang. "I can spend time outdoors anddo science."

Chang and her two group mates participated in CIRES' 2024 Girls* on Rock expedition. Presenting research findings is the final step in completing the 12-day summer course, a free wilderness science education program for high school youth ages 16-17. The program welcomes cisgender girls, transgender, agender, Two Spirit, nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer youth.

Part of Inspiring Girls* Expeditions, Girls* on Rock was started in 2018 by three CU Boulder graduate students who shared a love for science and the outdoors. Housed in CU Boulder's Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE), a part of CIRES, the program hobbled through the pandemic and a few years of patchy funding. This year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) granted the program an award that will fully fund three years.

"I am so excited that the NSF funding allows the team to build a strong program that will provide ongoing career support for the participating youth and inspiration for the youth," said Anne Gold, CIRES Fellow and CEEE director. "We are building on a strong foundation of volunteer-led work and are now able to take next steps in the program design and participant support."

Girls* on Rock seeks to support participants who have experienced barriers to science education or outdoor experiences. Melisa Diaz, lead PI of the NSF grant and assistant professor at The Ohio State University, is inspired to help others have an experience she didn't know was possible when she was young.

"The first time I had ever camped outside was when I was on the Greenland Ice Sheet as a young scientist," Diaz said. "To have this experience as a teenager is really cool."

Last year, lead investigators Pacifica Sommers, Diaz, and Gold, wrote the NSF grant. When Diaz moved to The Ohio State University, Girls* on Rock expanded into two homes and broadened its reach with the potential to recruit participants from the Midwest. The program logistics and evaluation remained with CEEE to maintain easy access to the program's field locations.

Prior to 2024, the program was mostly volunteer-run and lacked a consistent curriculum. Diaz and team designed a new base-level model they plan to tweak over the next few years after acquiring feedback from the 2024 cohort as well as future cohorts. Diaz based the new curriculum off of the strata of Rocky Mountain foothills, focusing the science of how depositional environments build on one another. Each summer CEEE evaluators run focus groups to determine how well the program has met its learning objectives, and understand its impact on participants.

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