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By Amy Cannon, Ph.D., Executive Director and Co-Founder, Beyond Benign
In the 16 years I have led Beyond Benign, my favorite projects have been the ones where we collaborate closely with the community. Ever since the loss of the GEMs database, we have heard educators yearn for a central place to find and share resources. We have also heard community members ask for ways to stay connected with peers they met at conferences or workshops over the years. We have so many talented green chemistry leaders in the community, and such tremendous opportunity to learn from one another.
This is why years ago, we sat down with ACS GCI and decided to embark on designing a community space, an online hub for everyone in the green chemistry community to share, connect, learn, and grow together. After years of work listening to and partnering with education leaders from around the globe, we are excited that on October 10, 2023, we officially launched the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC)! In true Beyond Benign spirit, this platform was designed “by the community, for the community”. Our Senior Program Manager, Jonathon Moir, explains, “We created the GCTLC alongside passionate educators, industry partners, and stakeholders within the green chemistry education community to ensure it truly serves everybody. Because we cultivated this platform together, the GCTLC is both a teaching and learning platform and a living testament to the unity and collaboration underpinning our community.”
Designed with K-12 educators, higher education faculty, and student leaders in mind, the GCTLC serves as a central meeting space for green chemistry enthusiasts to connect in real-time. One of the leadership committee members, Dr. Glenn Hurst, Associate Professor of Chemistry Education at the University of York, explains how he sees the role of the GCTLC. “The GCTLC fills a big gap, particularly in the education space. The challenge to transform our community and make a real difference in the widespread integration of green chemistry into education is one the GCTLC is perfectly placed to address.”
The GCTLC is a one-stop shop for everything green chemistry. Key features include:
- a robust community space where users can locate and connect with other community members based on profession, institution, and other key identifiers;
- an extensive library of valuable educational resources and curriculum materials from community members from across the world;
- forums and groups, allowing users to delve deeper into specific green chemistry topics and seek advice from their peers;
- and continued learning opportunities, including courses and special events.
We envision the GCTLC as a catalyst for our movement, providing a place for ideas and knowledge to flow freely in real-time. We are excited to join educators and leaders throughout the world in this hub, where we will have the opportunity to accelerate our impact. Already, we have had over 450 faculty, teachers, and industry members join us within the first month of our launch! There are over 150 resources in the community resource library and we have already seen over 300 downloads. But we are just in the beginning stages! We are excited for community members to share their resources, post their events, and chat with their peers in forums. There are still more functionalities currently being built out in the platform as well, including group spaces where community members can collaborate on projects. We can’t wait to launch this part of the platform early in 2024.
Come join us and share your voice! We know from experience that the green chemistry community is incredibly powerful when we unite to empower and inspire one another. Let’s see what we can accomplish together to bring green chemistry to classrooms and laboratories across the globe. I’ll see you online in the GCTLC!
Access the GCTLC and create your free account today: https://gctlc.org/
