Abstract
The School Malaise Trap Program (SMTP) provides a technologically sophisticated and scientifically relevant educational experience that exposes students to the diversity of life, enhancing their understanding of biodiversity while promoting environmental stewardship. Since 2013, the SMTP has allowed 15,000 students at 350 primary and secondary schools to explore insect diversity in Canadian schoolyards. Students at each school collected hundreds of insects for an analysis of DNA sequence variation that enabled their rapid identification to a species. Through this hands-on approach, they participated in a learning exercise that conveys a real sense of scientific discovery. As well, the students contributed valuable data to the largest biodiversity genomics initiative ever undertaken: the International Barcode of Life project. To date, the SMTP has sequenced over 80,000 insect specimens, which includes representatives of 7,990 different species, nearly a tenth of the Canadian fauna. Both surprisingly and importantly, the collections generated the first DNA barcode records for 1,288 Canadian species.
Highlights
Within just 3 years, School Malaise Trap Program (SMTP) participants have collected nearly a tenth of the estimated 94,000 insect species that occur in Canada [29], which is a remarkable number since sampling is restricted to 2-week periods in the spring and fall, mostly in urban environments
The fact that collecting activity for the SMTP occurs in early spring and fall, at times outside most academic research, may explain the high proportion (15%) of new barcode records
Given the simplicity of its design, the SMTP could be implemented in schools around the planet if the current cost (C$1,000 per school) for its delivery could be reduced
Summary
In an attempt to better support teachers, some universities have launched outreach programs aimed at improving both science education for students and the approaches employed for environment, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (E-STEM) in the classroom [5,6,7,8,9]. This project allows senior secondary school students (grades 11 and 12) and their teachers to extend parameterization of the global DNA barcode reference library.
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