<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}DSCN7726-300pxl.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right;" />Au Sable alum Heather Lumpkin found her dream job. Lumpkin works in a cutting-edge field in environmental education called citizen science. Citizen science programs combine environmental learning with civic engagement. A growing area of environmental education, citizen science engages participants not as passive observers, nor simply as hands-on learners, but as service-learners. For example, Au Sable recently began a citizen science <a href="/k12programs/stream_monitoring_program/">stream monitoring program</a> in which participants collect stream invertebrates to indicate the water quality at various sampling sites. This data can then be used by decision-makers to identify priority areas for watershed management projects.</p>
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	Lumpkin&#39;s position combines her skills in environmental research and environmental education, which she honed through two Master&#39;s degrees in those subjects at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lumpkin is a graduate of Bethel College and received a Naturalist certificate from Au Sable. We caught up with Heather to learn more:</p>
<p>
	<strong>What do you do in your current position?</strong></p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}DSCN4114-300pxl.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 218px; float: right;" />I coordinate the citizen-based research and monitoring program at the North Lakeland Discovery Center, a small non-profit nature center in beautiful Northern Wisconsin. My job is to find meaningful research and monitoring projects that will have a positive impact on volunteers, science, and the way that we steward the land. Sometimes I am out in the field with volunteers doing wolf howling surveys, shoreline bird surveys, bat monitoring, or salamander monitoring, and sometimes I am coordinating these projects behind-the-scenes, managing data or writing grants and reports. I really enjoy this blend of activities and am excited to use my training in ecology research and environmental education to build an effective research and monitoring program and help the community form a deeper connection with and become better stewards of God&rsquo;s Creation. &nbsp;</p>
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	<strong>Why is this work important to creation care? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the field of environmental education, researchers have discovered that it is difficult to have a meaningful impact on the actions and attitudes of participants with brief, one-time programs. One-time programs lack opportunity for an educator to facilitate meaningful and sustained connections between the participants and the land. Research and monitoring projects provide an opportunity to develop an involved community of volunteers who are connected to the land and committed to monitoring and caring for it. &nbsp;</p>
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	<strong>What about your work gives you hope?</strong></p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Picture1-300pxl.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 131px; float: right;" />This is a new position for both the Discovery Center and for me, and I am thrilled that the Discovery Center has made a commitment to citizen-based research, recognizing its value for public education, community engagement, and for advancing scientific research. Being a part of an organization and community of volunteers working together to care for and learn about Creation through monitoring and research gives me hope that we can be informed and responsible stewards of the Earth that we have been blessed with. &nbsp;</p>
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	<strong>What was most memorable and important to you about your time at Au Sable? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Au Sable gave me the opportunity to learn from like-minded peers, inspirational professors, and encouraging staff who were all dedicated to becoming better stewards of God&rsquo;s Creation. I kept coming back to this unique and important community, taking 20 credits of Au Sable courses in one summer, returning as an environmental education intern a few years later, and then becoming a graduate fellow. I&rsquo;m hoping that I will be able to continue to find excuses to keep coming back to Au Sable!</p>
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	<strong>How does your faith in Jesus Christ affect the work you do today? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Because of my faith I want to understand and care for God&rsquo;s Creation. I believe that research and education are both integral parts of caring for God&rsquo;s Creation. My faith has also helped define the way that I work. Colossians 3:23, &ldquo;Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.&rdquo; is important to me. &nbsp;</p>
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	<strong>How did your time at Au Sable help prepare you for what you are doing now? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Au Sable succeeded in getting me completely hooked on both field ecology and environmental education. Taking classes and becoming an environmental education intern gave me a solid background and experience in these two fields that I was able to use as a springboard for my graduate studies. The graduate fellowship gave me the opportunity to be a part of a supportive community focused on Christian environmental stewardship.</p>
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	<strong>Why do you think people should continue to study at Au Sable today? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Au Sable combines Christian faith and environmental science in an academic setting, and this is a combination that can be difficult to find. However, I think that what makes Au Sable unique is the community and culture that has developed in this place. Au Sable provides a place to learn and study, but it also provides a place to become a part of a group of people who believe that caring for and learning about God&rsquo;s Creation is important. Give Au Sable a try. I think that you will find a learning community that will help shape your future and that you will want to stay connected with for the rest of your life.</p>
