BBFF: Creating a foundation for safer and more equitable fieldwork

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 Building a Better Fieldwork Future (BBFF) trainer Dr. Amanda Adams lead workshop participants through some sobering statistics (64% of field participants reported experiencing sexual harassment while in field, 22% reported physical harassment or assault, with women, racially marginalized groups, LGBTQIA+ people more likely to experience those in the field), and also shared easily implementable tools to prevent and respond to harassment and assault.

“Organizational climate is the single most important factor in determining whether sexual harassment is likely to happen in a work setting.” according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dr. Adams continues "Degrading jokes are really the most common form of harassment reported in the field, and there's been a rise in the level of harassment." When this continues to be repeated, and the severity increases, it can have a huge impact on not just the target, but on the whole group.   "One of least harmful [types of harassment] but because it so common, can have the biggest impact."

What makes field sites such a high risk environment for harassment and assault? Factors include:

• Sites can be isolated, with limited outside communication or ways to leave
• Graduate field training is loaded with power asymmetries and dependencies on leaders.
• Long hours, close working and sleeping quarters, blurry boundaries

The BBFF Workshop aims to prevent instances of harassment and assault through positive organizational climate, early training, comprehensive and accessible community agreements and field safety plans to facilitate conversations, have a clear course of action when problems arise, and empower team members to respond.   Participants worked through 4 scenarios, determining what when wrong, brainstorming ways to intervene or respond, and also considering what steps could have been put in place earlier to prevent the incident from happening or escalating. 

Safety plans should include communication plans, how to access copies of fleet keys and maps so that team members aren't reliant on a single individual for resources, and list whom to contact in the event of an emergency. At least two people should be designated to receive reports.  Documents should be accessible, not just on someone's hard drive or back on campus. If someone is incapacitated, at least two people should accompany them.   Daily group check-ins cultivate a culture of open, honest communication so that everyone feels its safe to communicate.

Make use of a Community Agreement, a collaboratively created agreement that includes items such as task sharing, privacy, roommate assignments, alcohol and drug use, and how to change work partners or sleeping quarters. Community Agreements ensure everyone is on the same page.  It can be verbally discussed and shared on a board, or through an electronic document.  It should be accessible by everyone, and regularly revisited. Regularly checking in on the community agreement with the entire group reminds folks of its existence without calling out any specific bad behaviors, and furthers normalization of conversation so that when issues do arise, team members are more prepared to address.

Participants were also briefed on the "5 Ds" of bystander intervention:  Direct, Distract, Delegate, Document, and/or Delay. Look for more comprehensive workshops for more information and opportunities to practice.

Dr. Amanda Adams is the Conservation Research Program Manager, Bat Conservation International and Lecturer in Biology at Texas A&M University.  She is a member of the first cohort of certified BBFF trainers.  

This was a presentation of ESF's Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions (WiSE Professions) and a collaboration of the ESF Women's Caucus, ESF Choose Action Network, UC Santa Cruz, Risk & Safety Training University of California Center, and the Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities (CAMINO)@USCS.  Earlier in this year's series, BBFF Coordinator Melissa Cronin discussed the origins and growth of this program to increase field work safety and planning, and to make programs more equitable and welcoming.   A summary of "Scenario-Based Bystander Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Assault in Field Settings" written by PhD student Jenna Zukswert is available at http://esfwomen.blogspot.com/2021/04/building-better-fieldwork-future.html and includes a link to a full recording. For more information about WiSE Professions, please visit https://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/speakers.htm, or contact Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.  

Improving access through transit infrastructure: Conversation with Veronica O. Davis PE

As Director of Transportation and Drainage Operations for the City of Houston, Veronica O. Davis is responsible for maintaining and improving infrastructure across 671 square miles. She chatted with ESF on Earth Day about challenges in designing roadways for equitable transit through her lens as a civil engineer passionate about transportation and community development.

Veronica O. Davis.  Click for video

Houston is the 4th largest city. Its physically large, but is not contiguous because of its growth through annexation.  Houston's road system and bike lane are used to channel rainwater to prevent property drainage.  Both are swept to prevent debris blocking drains.  

Houston is seeking not just infrastructure, but "really good infrastructure" through better public transit and measures "to live with water.  Houston's highest point is only 100' above sea level.  So, biking is easy, but drainage is difficult."  The city has a big goal of 25 miles/yr of "High Comfort Bike Lanes" plus 50 miles of sidewalk.  These lanes are also called "protective bike lanes", which are bide, protected from traffic by a buffer, and have dedicated travel lanes.  Her office benefits from an "enterprise fund" from a drainage fee on water bills, sales tax on Metro, rather than on the general budget.  She also notes that they benefit from dedicated crews, working to expand their capacity.  Botanists are consulted to choose plants suitable for the ebbs and flows along drainage paths.

Half of roadways are concreate, rather than asphalt, which is cooler.  The city also uses cool pavements, which are gray and permeable, which helps with both heat retention and drainage. Other ways to make biking safer include reducing instances of speeding through better designed roads.   Coupling bike lanes with better public transit also improves bikability, as it helps address "what happens if I need to go far?"

For students nearing graduation, Davis notes that there are lots of opportunities in Houston. 

Ms Davis has 20 years of experience in engineering and transportation planning.  She co-founded Nspiregreen in Washington DC, which manages Community, Multimodal Transportation, and Environmental planning and consulting.  While at Nspiregreen, she led the Vision Zero Action Plans for Washington, DC and the City of Alexandria.  She also co-founded Black Women Bike, an organization and movement that builds community and interest in biking among black women.  She was named a Champion of Change  by the White House (2012) for these accomplishments and advocacy. Davis  earned a Bachelor of Science from University of Maryland College Park and a Master of Engineering and a Master of Regional and Urban Planning, Land Use and Environmental Planning from Cornell University.

This presentation was part of ESF's Earth Week Celebration, and an installment in the College's annual WiSE Professions Speaker Series.

Personal Finance and the Impacts of COVID: Conversation with John McGraw

Mr. John McGraw, Visiting Instructor of Accounting at SUNY-ESF, met with the graduate student seminar “Perspectives on Career and Gender” last Wednesday, May 5th to facilitate a conversation about personal finance. McGraw emphasized the importance of planning and implementing personal finance goals and provided actionable tips and suggestions for students first beginning their journey into saving and investing on limited incomes. He is cautiously optimistic that the economy has began to recover after being harmed by COVID but acknowledges that recent graduates may take longer to find their first job than in the past. Students were then able to ask questions about investing and planning for retirement, topics that are rarely taught at SUNY-ESF.  Participants received a budget template, nett

Suggestions include:

• paying down credit card purchases as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of interest due "the time to pay back should not exceed the period the item is of use."
• Improving credit scores through the use of "good debt" such as student and car loans.
• Don't skip insurance
• Take advantage of matched savings
• Save as you can, and invest. Look into Mutual Funds and IRAs, which can be opened even with small amounts.

For students interested in learning more about planning their personal finances, Professor McGraw teaches Personal Finance in fall semesters covering net-worth, budgeting, goal setting, debt, insurance, taxes, saving and investing, housing costs, transportation costs and other aspects of personal financial literacy.

McGraw received his MBA from LeMoyne College in Syracuse and worked for many years as a licensed CPA for public and private accounting firms. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Child Care Solutions and the Landmark Theater within the Syracuse community. 

For more information about the Perspectives on Career and Gender seminar, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus.  For upcoming public events, please visit ESF’s College Calendar at http://www.esf.edu/calendar.   

As part of the requirements of Perspectives on Career and Gender, students take turns summarizing class discussions. The above was prepared by Gwenyth Wildrick, MPS student in the Graduate Program in Environmental Science.

Race, class and gender in the workplace: a conversation with Dr. Lizette Rivera

Dr. Lizette Rivera facilitated a conversation on the topic of diverse perspectives on gender and science at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) via ZOOM on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 as part of SUNY ESF’s seminar of “Perspectives on Career and Gender”. 

                Dr. Rivera discussed a variety of topics including but not limited to cycle of socialization, "decolonizing the minds", racism and "white fragility."

In particular two videos were presented and comprehensively discussed in the session. In the first video, a woman of color was asking a white male to respect her title and he refuses. Furthermore, Dr Rivera said “that has happened to me at least five-six times at ESF.” Students then shared their personal experiences and thoughts and tied the issue to socialization. The second video was focused on “mansplaining”, or the practice when a (generally male) person  explains (often in a condescending manner) to another (usually a woman) about a subject on which the latter is more knowledgeable."  The video presented a suggested cure for the practice, much as would be presented in a pharmaceutical advertisement. Discussion continued on making the treatment widely available, as well as introducing the related phenoma “hepeating” and "bropriating" (a term used when ideas are not well received until repeated by a male voice, who is often then credited with the idea. Additionally, other examples of socialization were also discussed. The example of anti-bias training was expressed to make the points very clear for students.  Dr. Rivera also shared instances of using such training to interrupt and address a variety of statements that "are not OK."

Dr. Rivera has bachelor’s degree in Sociology, master's degree in Public Administration and doctorate degree in Community College Leadership. Her research is on research on transfer program between 2 years and 4 years school. She serves as the Director of Student Inclusion Initiatives and Special Assistant to the Chief Diversity Officer at SUNY ESF.

For more information about this and similar topics on inclusion, diversity, and equity, please visit www.esf.edu/ide. For upcoming lectures, please visit ESF’s College Calendar at http://www.esf.edu/calendar. Any questions or concerns can be addressed to Dr. Rivera at lrivera@esf.edu.  

As part of the requirements of FOR 797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students take turns summarizing class discussions, for more information, visit: https://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/Seminar.htm.   The above was prepared by  Shayan Mirzabeigi, a PhD student in the Department of Sustainable Resources Management.  For more information about this graduate seminar, ple