For the AAPG Foundation, the hits keep coming.
“Hits,” as in impacts, that is. As in – impacting members, and geoscience education, and the future of the profession. Even as in impacting the general public.
All of that continued in late August as the AAPG Foundation Trustees, during its quarterly meeting, finished the summer season exactly how it began the new year – by approving a variety of proposals and measures intended to have fast yet long-lasting impacts.
Included in that list are:
- Program adjustments that will sharpen the Foundation’s focus of geoscience support
- Organizational moves designed to make work on projects more cooperative and effective
- Creating new communication avenues to increase the feeling of community and networking
- Project approvals that will extend the Foundation’s influence into the general public
“Yes, it’s been a busy time for us, and that’s good, because there’s a lot we want to do,” said Foundation Chair Jim McGhay.
“Our mission is to support and promote our members and the geosciences,” he said, “and the trustees have worked diligently this year to identify areas that could be improved, expand the way we approach our goals and then respond to some great opportunities.”
Admittedly, some of those efforts have focused on internal challenges – “simply by modifying how we’re structured and how we communicate will help our efforts and, as a result, our effectiveness,” McGhay noted.
One example of that, McGhay said, is how the Foundation recently adjusted and expanded its committees and organizational structure, “which we hope will encourage more people to bring their experience, wisdom and energy to the team.
“We looked at our organization with an eye toward making us more effective,” he added, “and to get more people involved.”
Start Spreading the News
One new emphasis is enhanced communication with those who support the Foundation – not just for Trustee Associates, but also for AAPG members as well as the general public.
The trustees at their meeting approved a communications approach suggested by Foundation consultant David Curtiss that is intended to foster “community and engagement” with the Trustee Associates and current and prospective donors.
Also, the initiative will be crafted to “engage, inform and inspire” a new generation of geoscientists and the public about “the importance of geoscience to society.”
The communication channels will include the EXPLORER for updates on Foundation actions and activities; various newsletters; an annual report (scheduled for release this fall); and an enhanced profile on social media.
Social media is seen as an increasingly valuable avenue for sharing news about the Foundation and the geosciences, and as such is getting a larger focus.
Currently, the Foundation can be found under its own business page on LinkedIn; on Instagram, with its focus on visual storytelling, which is and will be used to share general interest in geoscience and the earth; and on Facebook pages created for both the Trustee Associates and the general population.
“First, we want to create a sense of community for the Foundation and our supporters,” McGhay said, “but we also want to let people beyond our walls know about and share in the excitement of the geosciences.
“We want people to know what we’re doing.”
Foundation Gifts at Work
The trustees approved three specific proposals during its meeting, all to ensure that Foundation funds are used to effectively promote the geosciences in a public way.
Those projects are:
- Approval of $50,000 for Dinosaur Ridge, the award-winning and popular outdoor museum just west of Denver, where more than 250 fossil tracks can be found.
The museum is seeking funds for the building/creation of a new exhibit space called “Deep Time Detour,” which will be located in the Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center.
The immersive and interactive exhibit is designed to make “complex geoscience topics, such as paleoenvironments, landscape evolution, sedimentology and fossil preservation accessible and engaging to learners of all ages.”
The exhibit will invite visitors “to explore the fossil-rich landscape” of Colorado through 300 million years. “By exploring themes like fossilization and deposition, the exhibit introduces foundational geologic concepts in ways that spark curiosity and wonder.”
“Deep Time Detour” is planned to open in mid-year 2026.
- Approval of $10,000 for the Junior Geologist Program at GSA Connects 2025.
JGP, hosted as part of the annual conference of the Geological Society of America, is a youth-centered, hands-on science initiative designed to introduce K-12 students to the geosciences.
Specifically, JGP brings students, educators and geoscience professionals together in an interactive, half-day event “to spark curiosity and cultivate early interest in earth science careers.”
GSA’s annual meeting will be held Oct. 19-22 in San Antonio.
Foundation funding will be used to support production of student field books and other costs for the teachers involved.
“This program gets geoscience in front of quite a few kids,” McGhay said, “and that’s a good thing.”
- Approval of $5,000 for the 2025 Switch Competition, an international educational initiative where university students compete virtually for prize money as they develop solutions to energy-based challenges.
Now in its sixth year – it has had more than 3,600 participants from 58 countries to date – the program matches students with mentors from the energy sector to help educate the participants about energy poverty through structured research, mentorship and solution-oriented teamwork.
The program is hosted by the Switch Energy Alliance and is designed in part to advance the AAPG Foundation’s mission “by equipping university students with the knowledge, mentorship and global perspective needed to tack complex energy challenges.”
For more information on the AAPG Foundation – or to contribute its efforts to ensure the future of geosciences – visit the AAPG Foundation website, or email [email protected].