The Role of Outreach Activities in Professional Growth as a Plant Scientist
What is Outreach?
Scientific outreach is an essential part of the sciences, because it bridges the gap between the general public and science as a whole (Kuske et al., 2025). Communicating research and complex topics effectively through outreach serves to build trust between scientists and the public and engage the public in issues relevant to them (Kappel & Holmen, 2019). Scientists play a key role in sharing up-to-date knowledge and explaining how their work impacts the world. Here, we will explore the communication skills strengthened through outreach and offer practical approaches for planning your own outreach events.
Outreach as a Tool for Improving Scientific Communication
Effectively communicating research and complex ideas is one of the most important skills a scientist can develop. Outreach activities not only help researchers engage the general public, but also provide valuable opportunities to practice communicating science in different ways. Explaining a concept like metabolic pathways to kindergarteners requires a completely different approach than presenting it to high-school students. Audience age, background knowledge, and interests all shape how information should be delivered. Tailoring outreach to the audience helps scientists explore new strategies for simplifying, reframing, and illustrating scientific concepts.
Outreach activities have been demonstrated time and again to improve communication skills. For example, in an outreach program titled “Present Your PhD Thesis to a 12-Year-Old,” participants showed measurable gains in both public speaking and presentation design after adapting their work for a middle school audience (Clark et al., 2016). These benefits seem to be universal for most outreach activities. One activity titled “Do You Think That’s Air You’re Breathing?”, delivered to students aged 14–16, led presenters to become more confident, more engaged with the importance of their research, and more aware of the fun and creativity involved in being a scientist (Illingworth & Roop, 2015). Ultimately, these case studies show that outreach offers a powerful, practical way for scientists to become clearer and more confident communicators.
Broadening your Network through Outreach
Organizing and conducting outreach activities can broaden a scientist’s network by building relationships both within the local community and across the scientific landscape. Outreach creates structured opportunities to collaborate with schools, community groups, and local organizations, helping to build trust, open pathways for collaboration, and deepen scientists’ understanding of community priorities. Sustained engagement strengthens these relationships over time, fostering mutual understanding and shared goals. As Illingworth and Roop (2015) note, scientists who consistently participate in outreach often develop long-term partnerships that lead to joint projects, citizen-science initiatives, and new educational programs. In addition to strengthening community ties, outreach also raises the visibility of a scientist’s work beyond academia, which can lead to new sources of research funding, invitations to speak, and overall establish their professional presence.
Engaging the Community
Outreach in plant science is most effective when it embraces co-creation rather than top-down delivery. For example, the concept of civic agriculture highlights how local food systems (e.g., community-supported agriculture, farmer’s markets) foster deeper social ties, volunteerism, and political engagement among community members (Obach & Tobin, 2014). In plant science context, this means partnering with local growers, extension agents, and community organizations to build trust and shared agency over research direction and implementation.
This kind of engagement is especially valuable while integrating farmers’ local knowledge, preferences, and constraints (Singha, 2025). By involving stakeholders through participatory workshops, community advisory groups, or farmer field schools, plant scientists can ensure that interventions (e.g., biological control, IPM) are socially acceptable and ecologically tailored.
Moreover, extension services play a crucial role in disseminating pest management innovations. In climate-smart pest management, for instance, new information is cascaded through hierarchical extension systems (from national to township levels), using training, meetings, phone/SMS alerts, leaflets, and mass media to reach farmers (Heeb et al., 2019). This helps ensure both speed of adoption and local relevance.
Ways to Organize Outreach
Multi-stakeholder training and peer-to-peer facilitation: As seen in behavior-change campaigns like Kenya’s “Ukulima True”, peer-led training (by trusted farmers or extension agents) is effective for translating research into practice, especially around safe use of chemicals.
Extension and communication networks: Use established extension hierarchies to deliver critical advice on different topics, like the integration of modern agriculture tools, etc. For example, climate-smart agriculture frameworks rely on coordinated national–subnational extension services to communicate early warnings via SMS, leaflets, village meetings, and broadcast systems (Heeb et al., 2019).
Community-based participatory research: Establish advisory boards with growers or run farmer field schools, enabling co-design of experiments and sharing local ecological knowledge (Singha, 2025).
Types of outreach activities
Field days and demonstration plots: Showcase integrated pest management (IPM) or biological control strategies in real farm settings. Advise farmers on effective water management systems and any other critical issues of concern.
Workshops in local communities: Co-develop plans of mutual interest with farmers, extension agents, and local stakeholders.
Citizen science/mass monitoring: Engage farmers or community volunteers in disease forecasting or sampling efforts; this builds capacity and generates data that can be used in the future.
Science communication materials: Produce fact sheets, infographics, SMS bulletins, or short videos explaining the importance of different processes like reduced chemical use, IPM, climate-resilient strategies, and adoption of scientific approaches.
These outreach modes not only enhance the adoption of scientific innovations but also build social capital, strengthen trust, and support long-term sustainability through community ownership.
Conclusion
Outreach is more than an add-on to the work of a scientist; it is one of the most meaningful ways plant scientists can shape the world beyond their research. Each time we attempt to translate complex ideas into accessible language or even invite communities to learn, question, and co-create knowledge, we sharpen our skills while strengthening public trust in science. Ultimately, the true impact of outreach lies in its ability to connect people (researchers, farmers, students, and families) and to remind us why our work matters. By stepping outside the laboratory and engaging with the world, we grow not only as scientists but also as communicators, partners, and agents of positive change. Outreach is like where plant science becomes human and where knowledge begins to take root.
References
Kuske, J., Martinez, C., Leathers, T., & Villagomes., D. (2025). What is science outreach and why is it important? UC Davis. https://www.ucdavis.edu/majors/blog/what-science-outreach-and-why-it-important
Kappel K and Holmen SJ (2019). Why Science Communication, and Does It Work? A Taxonomy of Science Communication Aims and a Survey of Empirical Evidence. Front. Commun. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2019.00055
Clark G, Russell J, Enyeart P, Gracia B, Wessel A, Jarmoskaite I, et al. (2016) Science Educational Outreach Programs That Benefit Students and Scientists. PLoS Biol 14(2): e1002368. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.100236
Illingworth, S. M., & Roop, H. A. (2015). Developing Key Skills as a Science Communicator: Case Studies of Two Scientist-Led Outreach Programmes. Geosciences, 5(1), 2-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences5010002
Obach, B. K., & Tobin, K. (2014). Civic agriculture and community engagement. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(3), 307–322. https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v31y2014i2p307-322.html
Singha, Arun (2025). ADVANCEMENTS IN PEST MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE. Academic Publication, Delhi-110090. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397940526_ADVANCEMENTS_IN_PEST_MANAGEMENT_FOR_SUSTAINABLE_AGRICULTURE
Heeb, L., Jenner, E. & Cock, M.J.W. Climate-smart pest management: building resilience of farms and landscapes to changing pest threats. J Pest Sci 92, 951–969 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-019-01083-y
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About the Authors
Muhammad Aamir Khan
Muhammmad is a 2024 Plantae Fellow, and is on a quest to create a healthier and more sustainable future. You will often find him exploring the realm of plant genetics and cereal mysteries. You can find him on X: @MAKNature1998.
Nathaniel Oragbon
Nathaniel is currently a graduate student of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany and a member of CEPLAS Graduate School, Germany and a 2025 Plantae Fellows.. His previous research focused on plant-nematode interactions and insect-nematode interactions. Nathaniel is passionate about science communication and hopes to further develop this skill. In his free time, he enjoys both watching and playing soccer. X: @NathanIgwe
Xavier Ozowara
Xavier is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech, and a 2025 Plantae Fellows. He is interested in the factors that shape secondary metabolism in fruit. For his dissertation, he is investigating the effects of management systems, regional climate, pests, and pathogens on apple and strawberry phenolic composition and diversity.
