• EFI Education Working Group Publication
• Ecological Forecasting Courses & Workshop Materials
• Macrosystems EDDIE Forecasting Resources
• A list of Inclusive Pedagogy Resources
• A compiled list of over one hundred educational resources related to Ecological Forecasting
• 2-page pdf overview of what ecological forecasting is and potential careers as well as examples of courses that is a starting point for students to learn more about the concepts and statistical and computational tools used in ecological forecasting
• Infographics to support teaching and learning biostats in R
• Example syllabi for ecological forecasting courses

Publication

Willson, A. M., H. Gallo, J.A. Peters, A. Abeyta, N. Bueno Watts, C.C. Carey, T.N. Moore, G. Smies, R.Q. Thomas, W.M. Woelmer & J.S. McLachlan. 2023. Assessing opportunities and inequities in undergraduate ecological forecasting education. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10001. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10001

Ecological Forecasting Courses & Workshop Materials

• Ecological Forecasting & Dynamics Course. A course on how ecological systems change over time and how to forecast how they will change in the future. Reading + discussion + R tutorials. This material can be used to independently learn about ecological forecasting or can be used and modified by instructors for course material. See Ernest et al. 2023, doi: 10.21105/jose.00198 for more details.
• Forecasting for Decision-Making: An Epidemiological & Ecological Perspective. A short course hosted by the Canadian EFI Chapter to build skills for producing more reliable and decision-relevant forecasts. Specific course topics covered included Bayesian model-fitting, forecasting with static vs. dynamic models, increasing model reproducibility, propagating uncertainties, incorporating decision-making priorities into forecasts, engaging with a lens of data sovereignty, and increasing effective communication.
  • 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.
• NEON Forecast Challenge Workshop.  Workshop materials used in a number of national conferences to demonstrate how to participate in the NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge with examples for the aquatics and terrestrial carbon Challenge themes. Learn how to submit forecasts, automate forecast workflows, and analyze forecast scores to understand how forecasts are performing. The material is dynamic and may change with future workshop presentations. The most recent archived version with a DOI is at: https://zenodo.org/records/8316966
• NEFI Short Courses. NSF-funded short courses adapted from the Ecological Forecasting book on topics of Bayesian statistics; fusing multiple data sources; forecast uncertainty propagation & assessment; iterative data assimilation; machine learning; decision science; and a range of ecological forecasting applications such as phenology, microbiomes, carbon, infectious disease, and aquatic productivity. These were in-person courses, but the hands-on activities from the courses are available here.

Macrosystems EDDIE Resources

Macrosystems EDDIE modules help students learn the foundations of macrosystems ecology through modeling and forecasting. Students simultaneously learn the core concepts of macrosystems science and develop the quantitative skill sets needed to conduct the next generation of environmental research.

Teach Ecological Forecasting in Your Class!

Are you looking for fresh curriculum ideas? Consider including a one to three-hour active learning module on ecological forecasting that allows students to explore key forecasting concepts using real environmental data. 

1) Module 5: Introduction to Ecological Forecasting (link to module; link to instructor materials)
2) Module 6: Understanding Uncertainty in Ecological Forecasts (link to module; link to instructor materials)
3) Module 7: Using Data to Improve Ecological Forecasts (link to module; link to instructor materials)
4) Module 8: Using Ecological Forecasts to Guide Decision Making (link to module; link to instructor materials)

These modules are part of the Macrosystems EDDIE series funded by the NSF Macrosystems Biology program. Modules are delivered through R Shiny applications for students who are new to coding, with Modules 6 and 7 also available in an RMarkdown format for students with coding experience. Each module uses NEON data to teach key forecasting concepts.

If you are interested in teaching these modules in your class, email Mary Lofton (melofton@vt.edu) or Cayelan Carey (cayelan@vt.edu).

QUBES Resources

HERE is a list of over one hundred educational resources related to Ecological Forecasting. You can also access this resource on QUBES.

• Resources include course material, videos, code repositories, modules, and online textbooks.
• Resources are organized around concepts of forecasting, basics of R, Python, ecology, and statistics, data sources, data skills, model building, the forecast cycle, applying forecasts, and using decision science or interpreting forecasts as end-users.
• Resources are categorized as Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced

• Alyssa Willson, Peters, J. (2021). Ecological Forecasting Repository of Online Educational Resources. EFI-RCN: Ecological Forecasting Initiative Research Coordination Network, QUBES Educational Resources. doi:10.25334/XAW7-JW16