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Symbiosis is a fundamental aspect of all complex life on earth. Yet, its impacts are often overlooked and not well-understood. It stands to reason that something so important to life on our planet needs to be better explored through research, education and outreach efforts.
Research Symbiogenics undertakes basic research related to plant-microbe symbiosis to address global issues associated with conventional, organic and subsistence agriculture. We also pursue research to enhance habitat restoration, recover degraded soils, manage invasive species, enhance the cultivation of food and bio-energy crops, and mitigate impacts of climate change on plant communities. Education Symbiogenics is committed to disseminating scientific knowledge related to symbiosis and its importance in plant and animal physiology, ecology, and adaptation. We seek to educate students, educators and the general public. Our goal is to recruit an "army" of citizen scientists by training high school science teachers to incorporate elements of symbiosis research into the classroom, emphasizing agricultural and natural systems. Therefore, we have developed a multi-day Symbiosis Workshop to educate high school science teachers about symbiosis to help them to teach it in their own classrooms. Outreach Symbiogenics is interested in developing demonstrations to allow the general public, government agencies, industry and non-profits to visualize, first hand, the importance of symbiosis in our lives. To this end we have brought symbiosis to the public through Seattle Science Center events and are developing agricultural demonstration projects throughout the U.S., and restoration projects in the states of Washington, Utah and Michigan. |
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