The Field Safety Subcommittee and the LTER Network Office have collected this curated list of field safety resources, focusing on risks that arise in the various settings of the LTER Network. These may include remote, rural, urban, and ocean-going locations and risks may include weather, terrain, equipment, and other humans.  The LTER Network Office includes a Resource of the Month in every newsletter and we welcome contributed resources.

Mental Health and Fieldwork

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Mental Health and Fieldwork

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Successful fieldwork and fruitful academic careers hinge on acknowledging and managing our mental health. This paper discusses peer-support networks, secondary trauma, coping skills, therapy, and researchers’ mental health options before, during, and after fieldwork.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Not just muddy and not always gleeful? Thinking about the physicality of fieldwork, mental health, and marginality

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Not just muddy and not always gleeful? Thinking about the physicality of fieldwork, mental health, and marginality

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

This paper acknowledges that geographical fieldwork and fieldtrips can be deeply stressful, anxiety-inducing, troubling, miserable, hard and exclusionary for many colleagues, students and pupils. This paper draws on on qualitative data from research with UK university-based Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) academics who self-identify as having mental health conditions which substantially affect their daily lives. These data prompt reflection on the nature and experience of fieldwork in two ways. First, they require acknowledgment of fieldwork as not just ‘muddy’, widening disciplinary imaginaries of fieldwork accessibility to encompass marginalities in/of Human Geography fieldwork practice. Second, contrary to pervasive disciplinary idealisations, these data demand recognition that fieldwork and fieldtrips are not necessarily gleeful but can be sites of intense latent anxiety and intersectional marginality.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Report of the Workshop to Promote Safety in Field Sciences

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Report of the Workshop to Promote Safety in Field Sciences

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Report of the Workshop to Promote Safety in Field Sciences that was organized by CSU Desert Studies and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership on 24-26 March 2021. The workshop resulted in 52 recommendations targeted at improving field science culture change, as well as misconduct accountability, policy, and reporting. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) and trainings were additional cross-cutting topics. The recommendations focus on improving experiences for field participants of all backgrounds and identities. The recommendations represent a starting point, and we hope that the report will inspire and guide different audiences and actors in field science in implementing some or all of these recommendations, and to do so in a collaborative, community-based way.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

You are welcome here: A practical guide to diversity, equity, and inclusion for undergraduates embarking on an ecological research experience

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You are welcome here: A practical guide to diversity, equity, and inclusion for undergraduates embarking on an ecological research experience

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Written primarily for undergraduates considering a research experience, the paper recommends practical strategies for dealing with three common sources of anxiety: imposter syndrome, communicating with mentors, and safety in fieldwork.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

How Field Courses Propel Inclusion and Collective Excellence

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How Field Courses Propel Inclusion and Collective Excellence

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

This short paper in Ecology and Evolution outlines strategies for turning field experiences from exclusive experiences into channels for inclusion. A handy graphic and short video are also provided.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

In the Field

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In the Field

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

This curated set of resources presents recent research on how to ensure safe, accessible and inclusive field experiences, which center on the adoption and enforcement of rules for appropriate behavior.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Stopping Harassment and Assault

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Stopping Harassment and Assault

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

NSF’s statement on harassment and assault which includes requirements instructions on reporting misconduct.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Towards Safe and Inclusive Field Teaching Experiences

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Towards Safe and Inclusive Field Teaching Experiences

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

This document is a specific list of recommendations for safer and more inclusive field experiences from the Anti-Racism Action Committee from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, at the University of California, Davis.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

FieldFutures

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FieldFutures

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

More than half of field participants report experiencing sexual harassment while doing fieldwork, and one in five report assault. To combat this, FieldFutures offers a suite of interactive trainings developed by a team of field researchers at UC Santa Cruz.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Field Inclusive, Inc.

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Field Inclusive, Inc.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.

Learning and being aware of various social field safety issues that could arise for people who professionally work outdoors — but more specifically — for marginalized and historically excluded individuals is our goal. Social Field Safety Workshops cover the history of minorities in the outdoors, group brainstorming activities, and group discussions about solutions to common social field safety scenarios that could impact certain groups of individuals.

Chronicle of Higher education article with recommendations on centering accountability in DEI statements.