NEYEDC has a commitment to public engagement with science to help foster a better understanding of the biodiversity of the region and to ensure the sustainability of ecological data collection. NEYEDC is involved in a range of local and national science out-reach programmes.

• Training the Next Generation of Field Naturalists

• Science and Engineering Ambassadors

• Rural and Countryside Education

Training the Next Generation of Field Naturalists

Training the Next Generation of Field Naturalists is a joint initiative between the Yorkshire Naturalists Union (YNU) and NEYEDC. The initiative aims to identify the field naturalists of the future through supporting the sustainability and development of training in the region. The initiative has already lead to a major conference in November 2003, the proceedings of which have been published by the Union.

The initiative is also publicised through National Science Week, the largest public engagement with science event in the UK.

NEYEDC at York Festival of Discovery 2003

The planned outcomes for the initiative this year are as follows: -

• Production of a database of  trainers.
• Production of a directory of  training events in the Yorkshire and Humber Region
• Trainers days in June and September

For details of National Science Week contact the British Association www.the-ba.net/nsw and for the Festival of Discovery in York contact www.sciencecityyork.org.uk/discover.

Science and Engineering Ambassadors

Declining numbers of young people are taking up science and technical subjects as a career. The science ambassador programme is part of an initiative to halt this decline, by giving young people an opportunity to work with scientists and engineers. Science ambassadors contextualise the school curriculum through vocationally related workshops, mentoring guidance and work placements. NEYEDC offers Geographic Information Systems expertise to schools in support of the science and the geography curricula.

The science ambassador programme is coordinated in North Yorkshire by the North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership (NYBEP). www.nybep.org.uk

NEYEDC  working with York Young Archaeologists

Rural and Countryside Education (RACE)

RACE is a network of organisations, active in the countryside and in land management, who seek to promote a better understanding of the countryside among young people and the use of the countryside as an "outdoor classroom". The initiative is coordinated by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) and Farming and Countryside Education (FACE). For further information, visit RACE-YORKSHIRE.ORG.UK

NEYEDC at the Yorkshire Show 2003