We are a committee of graduate students, staff, and faculty members (at least one from each division) that works to make ESPM field work safer.
The current members of the committee include:
Dr. Benjamin Blonder (benjamin.blonder@berkeley.edu)
Dr. Kristen Shrive (kshive@berkeley.edu)
Dr. Alastair Iles (iles@berkeley.edu)
Nicole Lowy (nlowy@berkeley.edu)
Mel Baldino (melbaldino@berkeley.edu)
Raphaela Floreani Buzbee (refb@berkeley.edu)
Rosario Torres (rtorres87@berkeley.edu)
Since our creation in Fall 2023, we have taken on a variety of tasks to create a culture of safety and provide resources that make being safe easier.
Spring 2024
We created a set of departmental recommendations for ESPM.
We created a field safety plan template.
We collected and redacted example field safety plans.
We surveyed over 400 faculty, staff, and students about field safety to create our Report on 2024 Field Safety Surveys.
We created a website to collect and host field safety resources, which has since been transitioned into this website.
Fall 2024
We revised the departmental recommendations, and they were approved.
We created a “best practices in teaching with fieldwork” document to share with faculty and GSIs.
We applied for the Be Smart About Safety grant that would fund 15 satellite communication devices for use by the ESPM community and safety trainings.
We created a “know your rights” document for graduate students.
We created a faculty FAQ regarding the new departmental recommendations.
Spring 2025
We created a graduate student FAQ (this document) regarding the new departmental recommendations and field safety in general.
We are hosting a town hall to educate faculty, staff, and students on the new recommendations and our current work.
We are offering three graduate student specific field safety workshops led by Mel Baldino: general safety, crew member management, and identity-based risks.
We are working with the instructors of ESPM 201A to create field safety curriculum.