On September 18–23, participants from the 28 Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites, including Hubbard Brook, attended the LTER All Scientists’ Meeting at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. The meeting, which normally occurs every three years (but had been delayed an extra year due to the pandemic), gives colleagues across the LTER network an opportunity to strengthen relationships, learn from each other’s science, share perspectives in navigating challenges specific to long-term research, and generate ideas, in-person, for LTER network committees and synthesis working groups that meet virtually throughout the year. 

The All Scientists’ Meeting involved daily workshops, organized in four categories: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ), Education and Outreach, Scientific Research, and Information Management. From the Hubbard Brook contingent, Ruth Yanai led a workshop called “Better Monitoring through Uncertainty Analysis;” Charlie Driscoll co-led a workshop titled “Marine, Coastal & Urban Ecosystem Response to Climate Change” with Julia Jones and Brooke Penaluna from the HJ Andrews LTER (HJA); John Besley and Sarah Garlick led a workshop on evidence-based strategies for science communication, and Sarah Garlick co-led a workshop on co-production of knowledge, with scientists from the Central Arizona Phoenix (CAP), Minnesota-St. Paul (MSP), and Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER sites.

The overall theme of the meeting was “Generations.” Three plenary talks, one each morning, examined how LTER sites might take responsibility for the actions of past generations, build sustainable systems for future generations, and utilize the perspectives of researchers from all career stages. Dr. Christina Eisenberg of Oregon State University spoke on the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in long-term research, and the Iroquois philosophy of considering the next seven generations when making environmental decisions. Dr. Nandita Basu of the University of Waterloo shared an interdisciplinary approach to ecohydrology, noting the strengths of an multinational network in monitoring water sources for future human use and ecosystem preservation. The final plenary comprised a panel of speakers from three different generations: Dr. Anne Gilblin, a senior scientist and director of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Dr. Forest Isbell, a mid-career professor and Co-PI from the Cedar Creek LTER, and Xochitl Clare, a marine biology PhD student and filmmaker from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Each panelist noted the advantages they’d gained from working within the LTER network, and called attention to how the network can better support early-career researchers.

Evening social events encouraged participants to find common interests beyond the workshops. At a storytelling hour organized by Clarisse Hart of the Harvard Forest LTER, a panel of scientists, artists, and communicators of all ages spoke candidly about barriers they’d overcome throughout their careers. These barriers, invisible to the listeners, included serious health issues that prevented fieldwork, experiences of harassment, and imposter syndrome. Some audience members chose to share their own stories in response. 

The location for the All Scientists’ Meeting was the Asilomar Conference Center, which is right on the Monterey coastline. A boardwalk carried visitors through dunes, wind-blown conifers and massive boulders to a sandy beach and the Pacific Ocean. From the windows of a few of the conference buildings, surfers were visible in the distance long into the evening. 

The next All Scientists’ Meeting will convene in 2025.