It is our pleasure to introduce you to Alice, one of our veteran GuardIAns. It is her mission to guide MOOC participants in their educational journey, diving into the key aspects of aquatic invasive alien species management, including prevention, early detection, prioritisation, management strategies, and impact mitigation, combining scientific knowledge with practical examples. Through each MOOC, she will not only lead and support you, but she will also provide valuable info, tools and advice. She will make sure you succeed in this journey!
If you have not met Alice the GuardIAn yet, or if you have seen her in GuardIAS MOOC 1 but want to know more about her, don’t miss this interview.
“Alice, you’ve been working through the material for these first two modules. Based on what you’ve seen, what would you say is the core mission we are trying to achieve with the MOOCs?”
I would say GuardIAS MOOCs contribute to two different missions at the same time. One could be considered a horizontal mission, a shared principle of free e-learning courses: democratising access to high-quality learning, lowering barriers to education and making it more accessible for everyone, regardless of geography, institutional affiliation and, to some extent, socioeconomic status (as it requires a digital support). MOOCs make learning adaptable and ensure access to continuous upskilling. The second mission aligns with that of GuardIAS: prevent the spread of aquatic invasive alien species (IAS), improve their detection, and manage their populations in order to mitigate their adverse effects. MOOCs are the selected educational tool to facilitate knowledge transfer to the society, ensuring that environmental managers and local authorities, policy and decision-makers, (environmental) educators receive the information needed to manage IAS at every stage of the bioinvasion process.
“For someone just starting out, what is the one most important practical skill they will walk away with after completing these modules—something they can actually use in the field?”
Alien species are not a new concept, people already know about them and the media talks about the issue, although usually with generic terms. However, bioinvasions are complex and I hope these MOOCs contribute to understanding the multiple sides of the phenomenon in all its complexity. Such understanding often leads to the key skill: competency. Participants who successfully complete the course will demonstrate mastery of technical terminology and the ability to apply acquired knowledge effectively in real-world contexts. When it comes to the management of bioinvasions, terminological accuracy is essential, as the correct designation of a species’ status (alien, cryptogenic, or native) and, in the case of alien species, the accurate identification of the stage of invasion, can directly influence the selection of appropriate management measures and, ultimately, determine the success of management efforts, e.g. control, eradication, mitigation, etc.
“In your review of the course data, did you come across a specific fact or case study about invasive species that you think will most surprise our students?”
Sometimes, managing aquatic invasive alien species is a matter of drastic measures, as the saying states “Desperate times call for desperate measures!”. In MOOC #1 on IAS prevention, we shared the case of Lake Elmo in Minnesota, where they actually drained the lake to eliminate Corbicula clams. It was a successful but very costly (economically and ecologically) physical measure that relied on habitat manipulation and deprivation. The lesson there is simple: prevention is always better than the cure. If we can promote the clean, drain, and dry habit through better awareness, we can protect both the environment and the economy from these last-resort scenarios.
“Alice, you’re the perfect guide for the platform, but the creators are the experts on the content. What is the #1 tip you’ve gathered from them on how to stay motivated and master this material?”
Science is an amazing thing, anyone can be mesmerised by it. The creators are passionate about what they investigate, by all the things yet to be learnt and there is no better fuel for motivation than that. Whenever they start telling you their stories and anecdotes on aquatic alien species, you would never stop listening to them. The team has been making huge efforts to translate that into the slides, in such a way that, rather than just traditional slides, they become a full narrative of their stories. My pro-tip would be to try to see beyond the idea of the slides and capture the story behind, click on all the sources they provide, dive into them and find your own examples by further exploring the contents you consider interesting.
“Finally, Alice, once a student finishes these modules and steps back out into the real world, what is the first thing you hope they do differently to help protect our ecosystems?”
Well, the audience of GuardIAS MOOCs is quite diverse and probably each participant will apply the learnt contents differently and in diverse aspects of their life. Overall, I am optimistic the first two MOOCs will contribute to grasp all the technical nuances of the relevant legislative instruments, their historical evolution and the reasoning behind. This aspect is particularly interesting for environmental managers, who, I hope, have also learnt some other new aspects related to management measures and monitoring approaches.
Besides, I believe that the MOOCs have served for inspiration for educators and to spark curiosity in many participants of other profiles, encouraging them to critically analyse actions, including their own, and see with other eyes their surrounding environment. And, of course, I hope the first thing they all will do once they complete each of the courses is to promote them within their circles and keep engaging with the upcoming ones!
