Hi Guys,
So we're setting up a new way to help link scientists and science support staff to schools – letter writing! The plan is that schools will be able to email one letter per class with questions/drawings from the kids. We will then send out the letters we receive to our motley gang of volunteers for them to write a reply, scan and send back to the school. Should be a really easy way to connect with schools, without the need to give up too much free time or travel. The school teachers we have spoken to so far seem very keen as a way to connect their kids with real scientists and support staff.
So, we need your help, are you able to respond to the occasional letter? At the moment we are not fully publishing the idea, just to make sure we don't get more requests than we can handle. And as long as we have plenty of volunteers, then should only be perhaps a letter month that we'd expect volunteers would need to reply to. Could even just be a few a year.
That's right, it sounds like a great way to give some outreach a go, but from the safe distance of your own home or office ;)
See attached the blurb we will be putting on the website and giving to some schools, and see what you think.
Please email education@polarnetwork.org if you are keen to be part of this polar pen pal initiative, then we can give more information about how we plan to manage letter requests. It would be great to get a nice range of people across disciplines with various levels of experience so we can field all types of questions about science and life working in the polar regions. And hey, if you like drawing, I'm sure schools would love some artwork back, or fieldwork photos :)
Thanks in advance for your excitement and enthusiasm to volunteer for this project ;)
Anna
Dr Anna Belcher | Ecological Biogeochemist| British Antarctic Survey
High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET
Email: annbel@bas.ac.uk |Tel: +44 (0)1223 221281
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