Public Engagement

The Mankato (Minnesota) Free Press had an editorial yesterday about a particularly nice example of diverse partners collaborating on a useful piece of research. A parent wrote to the school district, concerned about spraying chemicals on school ground lawns and athletic fields. The district brought "a group of 20 parents and specialists together to oversee the project and secur[ed] a $40,000 grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency..." The University of Minnesota Extension Service set up a statistically valid design to test various alternative treatments. Corn gluten and dried distillers' grain will be used on some of the high school and elementary school fields instead of pesticides and traditional fertilizers. The editorial concludes "The Mankato school district and those involved in the project should be commended for doing something to make the school grounds safer for kids while also providing valuable research information about alternative lawn care."

It's not clear whether the kids themselves are involved in the research, for example by helping to monitor treatment effects. But this is a good example of how sophisticated, real-world research can not only serve public purposes, but can also be initiated and carried out through public-specialist-academic partnerships.

Thanks to Cathy Jordan for bringing this story to my attention.