Research

Konza Environmental Education Program

The Konza Environmental Education Program (KEEP) is located on the Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) and provides on-site programming to K-12, youth, teachers, and adult groups. Since its inception, KEEP has served hundreds of community members and volunteers, dozens of classroom educators and thousands of school children by providing public programs, docent training, professional development workshops, science education, and field trips. KEEP offers curriculum-based activities that cover a wide range of topics in science, mathematics, and social studies. Some of KEEP's current educational projects include:

  • Docent Program - ecosystem and education training for community volunteers who become active through service projects and as program guides;

  • Teachers' Workshops - professional development for science and math teachers, grades 5-12, to incorporate ecological research and data collection into the classroom curriculum in conjunction with science education standards;

  • Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research (SLTER) - student participation in long-term research and data collection on Konza Prairie (partially funded through National Science Foundation LTER);

  • Science Adventures on Konza Prairie - web resource for students featuring prairie ecology, ecological research projects and student-generated databases;

  • Prairies Across Kansas - expansion of KEEP SLTER to teachers and students across the state who would not be able to visit Konza Prairie due to distance or cost.