What we do

At Openscapes, we champion open practices in environmental science to help uncover data-driven solutions faster. Regardless of research question, environmental scientists are united by the need to analyze data — and to do so in a way that is efficient, reproducible, and easily communicated. With tools specifically created to meet modern demands for collaborative data science, we help create a positive open culture to enable better science in less time. Our approach:



Engage

We build awareness and excitement. We engage scientists with the possibilities of open data science with empathy, art, and storytelling, using narratives like our own path to better science in less time.

Empower

We help build confidence and skills. We empower scientists by connecting them with existing open software and communities that meet them where they are so they can develop the skills they need.

Amplify

We build champions and communities. We amplify scientists’ efforts through academic seminars as well as blogs and social media to increase the visibility of open practices on campus and online.

Champions Program

Openscapes Champions is a mentorship program that empowers science teams with open data science tools and grows the community of practice in the research group, organization, and beyond. Read how the 2019 Openscapes Champions have supercharged their research, and contact us about participating in the Champions program.

Incubated by Mozilla and NCEAS

Openscapes bridges data-intensive environmental science with the open movement. Learn more about us.

    

From our blog

Blog posts are both Openscapes stories and advice snippets for the community. Some are cross-posted on Medium.com. Also, see our media page for media, presentation slide decks, and publications.

How coaching skills have made us better open data science mentors

By Tara Robertson, Stefanie Butland, Julie Lowndes on May 17, 2023

February through May 2023, Openscapes Mentors from across governments and academia came together for some hands-on learning and practice that had a profound effect on the way we will teach and lead going forward. We learned coaching skills that can help us as professionals – skills like listening rather than solutioneering, asking open-ended questions that empower people to find their own agency and meet their needs. This is a program designed and facilitated by Tara Robertson, a Certified Professional Co-Active and International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach.

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Introducing pathway of cloud computing to the NASA user community

By Xiaohua Pan on May 11, 2023

This post is by Xiaohua Pan, from NASA GSFC/Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). Pan participated in the 2021 Cloud Hackathon, led by NASA Data Center (DAAC) staff who are part of the NASA Openscapes Mentor community. Following this first hands-on introduction to NASA Earthdata in the cloud, Pan continued to experiment with transitioning her workflow to the cloud. Sharing her experience through posters, talks, and here in this blog post, she is a research scientist, a data curator, and a bridge-builder between data centers and the user community.

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Openscapes Newsletter #7: Inviting you to the Reflections Program

By Julie Lowndes and Ileana Fenwick on May 2, 2023

Welcome to Openscapes’ seventh newsletter! If you’re interested in seeing these infrequent updates in your inbox, please sign up here (linked from our get involved page). And! If you have signed up but did not see this in your inbox, please check your spam folder! Hello! We are so excited to announce a new program starting next week: Openscapes Reflections! Details follow below - we’re responding to a need we’ve heard and are experimenting with a format we’ve forked from professional leadership coaching.

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Community building for Black environmental and marine researchers: Pathways to Open Science

By Ileana Fenwick, Alex Davis, Aneese Williams, Stefanie Butland, Julie Lowndes on April 26, 2023

Welcome to Pathways to Open Science, a remote event series for Black environmental & marine researchers to build community for the future of data intensive science! What you will read here includes numbers and facts we’ve reported to our gracious funders, but more than anything we provided an inclusive onramp for open science in an intentional way that will continue to inspire more equitable open science programming moving forward. The Pathways team is so excited to report that this series provided tangible skills that will accelerate the science of incredible Black researchers across the globe (we even had international participants!

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