METHODS FOR INCORPORATING IDENTITY, PLACE, AND CULTURE INTO A "VIRTUAL" UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: THE REU ON SUSTAINABLE LAND AND WATER RESOURCES DURING THE COVID19 PANDEMIC

Like most NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs, the REU on Sustainable Land and Water Resources (REU SLAWR) had to choose between a virtual experience in summer 2020, or cancellation of the program due to the Covid19 pandemic. The REU usually takes place at three locations (Salish Kootenai College, MT; at the Univ. of Minnesota in Mpls. and Duluth, MN). The program is centered on tribally-focused Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR), and is a place-based REU. The REU SLAWR has always incorporated a virtual experience designed to create cross-team socialization, community-building, and widen participants’ interest and knowledge about projects incorporating tribal CBPR. Summer 2020 immersed students, mentors, and tribal partners in a virtual learning environment and doubled the number of participants through partnership with the Indian Natural Resources, Science & Engineering Program (INRSEP) + Diversity in STEM at Humboldt State University (HSU), a Minority Serving Institution (MSI). In the weeks leading up to the program, the REU SLAWR institutional and community partners and mentors collaborated to redesign the program as a remote modular REU designed to keep our central goals of place-based, tribal participatory, and culturally-responsive training in STEM research. The science mentors and tribal partners were creative in redesigning the research projects they had planned to adapt to remote participants. A seminar series brought in speakers from across the country. We added 9 topical workshops led by researchers and tribal partners and attended by all participants on topics such as “Understanding Data” and “TEK and Tribal Data Sovereignty” to support participants in learning beyond research skills. All participants also joined in an “All-Team” project to make GIS Story Maps highlighting their own place and culture. Herein we share the results of this experience.