There is an alarming shortage of qualified STEM teachers in American PK-12 schools. The COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate this crisis and consequently affect who participates in future STEM innovation. At three points during the pandemic, we surveyed early career teachers who were supported by the National Science Foundation as they began teaching in high-needs school districts. Teachers who felt connected to their professional and academic communities reported intentions to remain in the profession, while those who felt isolated reported intentions of leaving. It is critical for STEM academics to maintain professional relationships with graduates who pursue STEM teaching professions after graduation.

As the pandemic began to disrupt school systems in March 2020, teachers were expected to quickly modify their instructional approaches. We recruited science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers who were recipients of National Science Foundation scholarships based on their high-quality academic record and commitment to working in high-needs school districts to participate in a longitudinal survey study. Participants (n = 153) graduated from universities or colleges in the Mountain West or western region of the Midwest. Through a series of three surveys administered throughout 2020 to all participants and follow-up focus group interviews with a subset (n = 42) in early 2021, we examined participants' perceptions and beliefs about the educational system's response to COVID-19. Participants perceived that the continuation of instructional delivery was the highest priority and that their professional needs were the lowest priority.

Introduction Citizen science efforts involve the general public in various aspects of the scientific process (Bonney et al. 2009a). However, there are different degrees to which volunteers can participate (Shirk et al. 2012). Citizens hire scientists to answer local questions in contractual projects, whereas volunteers collect or analyze data for professional scientists in contributory ones. In collaborative projects, volunteers and project managers work together on certain parts of the project, whereas co-created projects involve collaboration between volunteers and project managers throughout the entire project (from asking scientific questions to sharing results). Finally, in collegial projects, citizen scientists perform research independent of professional scientists. While many papers have anecdotally noted that most projects tend to be top-down, contributory projects (e.g., Pocock et al. 2017), few have documented this through research (Bela et al. 2016; Groulx et al. 2017). Volunteers have many diverse motives for participating in citizen science. Studies have investigated motivation for participation in individual projects (Raddick et al. 2013; Domroese and Johnson 2017) and across multiple projects (Alender 2016; Geoghegan et al. 2016). Both types of studies indicate participant motives that include contributing to science, to conservation efforts, or to the community; connecting with nature or with a specific place; socializing; furthering a career; exercising; having fun; and learning. The quality of overall volunteer participation in citizen science is defined by how well project outcomes align with volunteer needs and motives (Shirk et al. 2012). Participating in citizen science programs can result in various outcomes, but one that has received attention in the literature is learning. Multiple citizen science stakeholders, including volunteers, community members, and scientists, can learn about scientific inquiry and environmental issues when engaging in citizen science projects (NASEM 2018). This paper focuses on learning outcomes of volunteers specifically. Participating in citizen science can increase volunteer scientific literacy (Bonney et al. 2009b). Knowledge gains, engagement in inquiry-based reasoning, and changed conservation attitudes and environmental behaviors are all documented learning outcomes in citizen science (NRC 2000; Trumbull et al. 2000; Jordan et al. 2011; Toomey and Domroese 2013). Scientific literacy has important benefits for both individuals and society (Laugksch 2000). Here, we define the highest level of literacy as the ability to make an evidence-based decision that alters one's behaviors (UNESCO 1978; Balgopal and Wallace 2009). Individuals empowered to engage in scientifically informed behaviors can make decisions in their personal lives that also result in economic or

Climate change is devastating global agricultural and economic systems. Nature-based solutions that promote conservation agriculture can address these challenges while mitigating climate change. We propose a pilot crop insurance and research program in the U.S. Northern Plains to promote practices that enhance farm soil health, income, and resilience while mitigating climate change. Such a program could inform nationwide adoption of such practices. We specifically propose eliminating requirements for fallow to insure wheat, funding development of regionally-adapted leguminous crops, and incentivizing whole farm insurance over single-crop yield-focused offerings to promote economic growth and climate-resilient practices. The policies extend across a spectrum of cost, legislative burden, political capital, and time-scales for implementation and impact, offering a balanced and gradual transition to conservation agriculture. Adopted jointly, these recommendations improve farm resilience to climate change by promoting soil health and crop diversification while reducing emissions.

High-quality mentoring relationships can be pivotal to recruitment, retention, and long-term persistence in ecology majors and careers. The graduateundergraduate student mentoring relationship can become uniquely important during activities like ecological fieldwork. However, graduate students often