Ecological Forecasting Initiative | Forecasts to understand, manage, and conserve ecosystems

	The third round of the Statistical Methods Webinar series for 2023 is starting soon! The series is co-hosted by EFI and the ESA Statistical Ecology Section. See the schedule and register for the calls HERE. Each seminar is 1.5 hour in length and is led by an invited speaker with expertise on a given topic or statistical method. Speakers spend the first part of the webinar presenting a project where they used the method, followed by sharing R code or packages related used for the statistical method. Presenters walk through the code, taking time to describe common pitfalls or stumbling blocks for performing the method and visualizing results. Upcoming topics or R packages include: mvgam, HMSC, aniMotum, spatiotemporal modeling, and SpaDES
New Blog Post! Transporting Models Between Systems	This new blog post is another example of a project that was developed at the EFI 2023 Unconference. The post explores the challenges of transporting ecological models across multiple systems and the ability to train a model with one set of data and apply it to a new set of data. The project group used a case study with NEON forest data and similar datasets generated under the Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) program to applying ecological models developed for one dataset to another. This project is in the initial stages of development and input from the community is welcome!
Blog Post! Reenvisioning the EFI RCN NEON Forecast Challenge Dashboard Visualization	This blog post follows up on a project from the EFI 2023 Unconference which describes the work in progress to update the dashboard for the EFI NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge. The post describes a prototype for the updates dashboard that will include the ability to synthesize forecasts submitted to the Challenge, provide summary metrics, and a self diagnostic platform for individuals and teams that submit to the Challenge.
Save the Date! EFI 2024 Conference	Date: June 11-13, 2024 Location: Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland This 3-day community-wide EFI meeting on 11-13 June 2024 aims at bringing together scientists, agencies, industry, and stakeholders to build a community of practice and to advance research, applications, and collaboration around near-term (subdaily to decadal) ecological forecasts. Find more details and updates on the EFI 2024 Conference webpage. - See the Keynote Speakers. - Submit proposals for workshops, panels, short courses, and socials before, after, or during the conference.
Oceania EFI Chapter Monthly Seminars	The Oceania EFI Chapter (OEFI) is hosting monthly seminars in 2023. The upcoming calls are on 21 September, 2 November, and 14 December at 3pm AET, noon AWT, and 5pm NZ. Drs. Natalie Briscoe and Michael Kearney, both from the University of Melbourne, will present on 21 September on “Forecasting environmental responses with physics and physiology.“ Register for the call at https://bit.ly/3EbuLLK. Details about this presentation, links to register for upcoming calls, and recordings from previous presentations can be found on the OEFI webpage.
European EFI Chapter Monthly Seminars	The European EFI Chapter (EEFI) is hosting monthly seminars in 2023 on 13 September, 11 October, 8 November, and 13 December at 1pm CET. Dr. Vicky Boult from the University of Reading is presenting on 11 October on "Forecast-based action for conservation: Developing early-warnings of human-elephant conflict." Register here: https://bit.ly/3PBCZDL. Details about the speakers, links to register for upcoming calls, and recordings from previous presentations can be found on the EEFI webpage.
Short Course Resource Available	The Canadian EFI Chapter hosted a week-long short course in July 2023 titled “Forecasting for Decision-Making: An Epidemiological & Ecological Perspective" The main purpose of this course was to build skills for producing more reliable and decision-relevant forecasts. In the spirit of having the course be as open as possible, the course materials are available including lectures, exercises, and forecast modelling materials for three case studies: Infectious Disease Control, Fisheries Management, Water Quality Monitoring. The playlist of the lectures is available on the EFI YouTube channel here and the exercises and case study materials are on GitHub here.
	The EFI-NEON Research Coordination Network is an NSF-funded grant to create a community of practice that builds capacity for ecological forecasting by leveraging NEON data products. The first round of the NEON Ecological Forecast Challenge begins in 2021. The Challenge revolves around five theme areas that span aquatic and terrestrial systems, and population, community, and ecosystem processes across a broad range of ecoregions that uses data collected by NEON.
Opportunity to Get Involved! EFI Distributed Leadership & Governance Committee	The Distributed Leadership & Governance committee helps EFI to delegate tasks, distribute leadership across the organization, and cultivate new leaders to promote open, clear, and consistent communication with the EFI membership about what EFI is doing. EFI is seeking expressions of interest from individuals from a range of backgrounds and career stages who are interested in contributing as stewards of change to the governance and operational needs of EFI. The Distributed Leadership Committee will be comprised of 3-4 individuals and will provide opportunities for mentorship and leadership within EFI. Additional details about the Distributed Leadership Committee can be found on page 17 of the Strategic Plan. Interested individuals can fill out this form to provide a short description (200-300 words) of your interest in participating on the committee and the skills and viewpoints you will bring to the committee. The EFI Steering Committee will review expressions of interest during their June call and will follow up after that.
	About: Mission Statement, Shared Values & Principles, Member Profiles and Forecasting Projects
	Working Groups Organized Around Seven Cross-Cutting Themes: Theory; Statistical Methods & Tools; Cyberinfrastructure; Education; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Translation and Actionable Science; Standards for Forecast Output and Metadata
	Resources: Publications, Educational and Multimedia Resources, Videos
	Stay Connected: Our Listserv shares high-level announcements, our Blog highlights forecasting activities going on, you can follow us on Twitter @ecoforecast, or you can request to join our community of forecasters on Slack (send request to eco4cast.initiative@gmail.com)