Sawtooth Science Institute
Dedicated to the promotion of conservation education
Located in the heart of Central Idaho the Sawtooth Science Institute is an outreach field study center of Idaho State University and the Idaho Museum of Natural History dedicated to the study of the Northern Rockies.
SSI Goals:
- Serving the needs of all students of cultural and natural history: Teachers, community groups and other lifelong learners;
- Advocating for and supporting natural science education;
- Providing site-specific natural history information, materials, and resources;
- Encouraging and aiding in the integration of locally relevant cultural and natural history across disciplines in the K-12 classroom;
- Facilitating a re-connection for all with the natural environment and our unique intermountain heritage.
From the Director
From its inception in 1990, the Sawtooth Science Institute (SSI) has sought to identify and bridge gaps that exist between people and nature. In my view, this mission has never been more critical. As I write, Americans are re-considering their values on their way to one of the most important elections in history. As Bill McKibben writes in the revised introduction to a new edition of The End of Nature: “…we live in the oddest moment since our species first stood upright, the moment when we are finally grown so big in numbers and in appetites that we alter everything around us.” It is my fondest dream that we will respond with renewed passion for our own personal space and thus see the need for small incremental changes that might fuel momentum into a better world for future generations. I am hopeful that SSI can have a hand in nudging that sea change.
Times are certainly not getting easier for education in general and universities in particular. As director of ISU’s Blaine County outreach center, I continue my efforts in serving the needs of the community with upper division programs. Sadly, with nearly zero funds available to build this effort, it is taking far longer than I had dreamed. ISU has established an office at the Blaine County Community Campus but you will rarely find me there: 1050 Fox Acres Rd., Suite 403, in Hailey. I am always available by telephone: 208-788-9686 and 309-0901 (cell). The mailing address for SSI remains the same: P.O. Box 2167, Sun Valley, Idaho 83353.
I hope you will accept my invitation to learn more about Idaho’s natural world!
Chris Gertschen, Director