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REVITALIZING AND FOSTERING EDUCATION IN NATURAL HISTORY

Conservation biology is, as we all know, a synthetic science that requires the inclusion of numerous biological disciplines. One of these disciplines is natural history, the study of the more-than-human world with an intentional, focused attentiveness to patterns of diversity in all aspects of nature. Over the past several decades, the importance of natural history as a legitimate domain of scientific practice has faded, and with it has gone much of the effort to teach natural history to the young, on who will fall much of the responsibility for conserving biological diversity in the future.

To help stem this erosion in educational focus, we are pleased to announce the creation of a new publication, the Journal of Natural History Education -- a peer-reviewed, online journal by and for practitioners of natural history education. We hope to provide an engaging, thoughtful, and thought-provoking forum to foster the practice of natural history at all levels -- K-12 schools, community nature centers, academia, and everywhere in between. Submission guidelines and editorial policies are posted at www.naturalhistorynetwork.org. We have attempted to make it as easy as possible to contribute to the journal, while retaining the rigor and high standards of peer review. The first article, "Natural History Renaissance," is available now through the journal's Web site.

The journal is the first endeavor of a newly incorporated organization, Natural History Network. The mission of the Network is to promote the value of natural history through discussion and dissemination of ideas and techniques on its successful practice to educators, scientists, artists, writers, the media, and the public at large. Over time, we will build more Web-based resources toward these ends.

We welcome your participation in this renaissance of natural history. Consider submitting an article to Journal of Natural History Education. Please call this announcement to the attention of any interested colleagues, and post a link to the journal on appropriate Web sites.

Steve Trombulak

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