Giving Back to the Community

Abstract

Each year in this space we offer our heartfelt thanks to the hundreds of volunteer peer reviewers who help us make the Journal an important part of the scientific community. It sounds cliched, but it’s absolutely true that without our reviewers, we could not produce a journal of such high quality and standing. They are the unsung heroes in the journal publishing process, working behind the scenes to ensure that the science behind the papers is sound and the results put forth are meaningful. Reviewers are really the ones who make sure that their colleagues and peers stay true to the principles of rigorous scientific research, and thereby help advance the environmental field. In other words: No peer reviewers, no Journal. It’s that simple. One thing we’ve come to fully appreciate in our 3 years as technical editors is that the Journal is a real community effort. The Journal’s community is large, international, and interdisciplinary, but we’re all striving toward the same essential goal: to add to the common understanding of what makes the environment what it is and how to resolve the issues facing it today. Knowing that we’re all contributing to a greater understanding is one of the rewards of working in this field, and one of the primary reasons we should all try to give back to our community. There are many ways to give back to the environmental/scientific community, but one of the best is to help review your peers’ work, to help them present the best science they can. Although we look over hundreds of manuscripts a year in our roles as Journal editors, we also heed the call when other journals ask us to perform peer reviews of their manuscripts. We believe in the power of our community, and hope you will do the same. If you’re reading this message today, we invite you to join our community. Please contact either of us directly to become a peer reviewer for the Journal, and encourage your colleagues to do the same.