Executive Summary
Conservation and equity are intrinsically intertwined topics that have often been treated as two separate areas of study. Science, conservation, and management not only benefit from having a diversity of stakeholder perspectives informing projects, but the effects of management and scientific policies extend more broadly than the ecosystems they impact. This seminar will highlight the importance of cross-cultural collaboration and competency in science. In this seminar series and course, we will investigate a series of research projects or conservation initiatives that have the unifying theme of 1) having a conservation-oriented objective, 2) being led by or integrally involving indigenous groups or underserved communities throughout the project, and 3) diversifying the participants in the process leading to the successful implementation of a conservation or research policy. Talks will have a scientific backbone while also highlighting the diversity of participants, the equity of these stakeholders in planning, barriers that exist to participation, and how this format of engagement led to conservation success. This seminar fits with the proposed goal of increasing communication and cultural competency among faculty, staff, and students across UW.