{"id":695732,"date":"2024-08-30T17:29:52","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T00:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&#038;p=695732"},"modified":"2024-10-04T16:37:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T23:37:14","slug":"dig-dino-sidebar","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring Excitement about Earth Sciences"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[471981,24982],"tags":[338612,488842],"arcuser_issues":[490002],"class_list":["post-695732","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-survey123","category-end-notes","tag-earth-science","tag-fossils","arcuser_issues-au-summer-2024"],"acf":{"short_description":"The story of Thomas Hebert\u2019s journey from selling insurance to digging for fossils full-time. \r\n\r\n","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":695742,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"When Thomas Hebert decided to go from selling insurance to digging for fossils full-time, he wasn\u2019t interested in starting a for-profit business to organize excavation trips. There were already plenty of those, he said. He started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":695762,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cI love the excitement of other people who discover something as they\u2019re digging. It\u2019s infectious,\u201d he said. \u201cMy goal is to try and keep it as affordable and accessible as possible.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe foundation offers free trips\u2014so long as funding is available\u2014to children 16 years old and younger and to veterans. He sees dinosaur fossil excavation as a magnet for getting more people, especially children, interested in earth sciences in general. For adults who aren\u2019t veterans, Hebert said his foundation charges $100 per day to dig, which he said is less than what others typically charge.\r\n\r\nThe organization currently has five board members. Ladd Nelson, sales director for Esri partner Carlson Software, is the past chair and current treasurer. ESF also has several college interns and as many as 40 volunteers at any given time. They assist with the foundation\u2019s mission, helping build museums to house found fossils and catalog specimens with RFID and GIS technology.\r\n\r\nHebert said ESF can act ina consultant capacity, teaching museum staff how to dig and track specimens with RFID technology, or ESFcan handle the entire process. For cataloging several hundred fossils for the Museum of Discovery at Sheridan College, Hebert was compensated for his travel and materials. He sees his work as innovating with technology to increase knowledge of ancient life on Earth.\r\n\r\nHe estimates that the foundation has had about 1,500 children and 450 adults join digs since 2021. He sees the impact the program is having.\r\n\r\nIn addition, he said he\u2019s made presentations to about 10,000 children at schools in the intervening years. His group has also made it a goal to take veterans on site excavations. Since 2021, two digs have included a total of 12 veterans. The foundation covers all costs including travel, lodging, and meals. This amounts to about $2,500 per veteran for the whole week.\r\n\r\nGetting funding to cover more trips has been a challenge. Hebert points to many other veteran organizations with greater recognition and longevity than his relatively new program. Much of his funding so far has come from grants. Hebert and his wife contribute to any shortfall.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe would love to do more,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nHebert has felt the peace and serenity of a fossil dig site and thinks the act of careful, diligent digging might be therapeutic to task-driven individuals. Hebert said he first got the idea to invite veterans to dig sites when his father, a Vietnam veteran who fought with the 1st\u00a0Cavalry Division of the US Army, joined him on a family dig. A few hours into the dig, his father had found something\u2014a T-Rex tooth.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve never seen my father smile like that before,\u201d Hebert said.\r\n\r\nFor more information about Earth Sciences Foundation Inc., including how to make a tax-deductible donation, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/letsdig.org\/donate\">letsdig.org\/donate<\/a>."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Promoting Earth science study<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thomas Hebert started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs and uses GIS to track fossils.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inspiring Excitement about Earth Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thomas Hebert started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs and uses GIS to track fossils.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-04T23:37:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/earthSci_banneradobestock-284562200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Promoting Earth science study\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-08-31T00:29:52+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2024-10-04T23:37:14+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Thomas Hebert started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs and uses GIS to track fossils.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Inspiring Excitement about Earth Sciences\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/82e5143bcdebadf8fd64d84e503ca468\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Monica Pratt\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Monica Pratt\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"description\": \"Monica Pratt is the founding and current editor of ArcUser magazine, the executive editor of ArcNews magazine, the editor of Esri Globe and head of the Publications team at Esri. She has been writing on technology topics, specializing in GIS, for more than 30 years. Before joining Esri in 1997, she worked for newspapers and in the financial industry.\",\n\t            \"sameAs\": [\n\t                \"https:\/\/x.com\/ArcUser\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"url\": \"\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Promoting Earth science study","description":"Thomas Hebert started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs and uses GIS to track fossils.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inspiring Excitement about Earth Sciences","og_description":"Thomas Hebert started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs and uses GIS to track fossils.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","article_modified_time":"2024-10-04T23:37:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/earthSci_banneradobestock-284562200.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar","name":"Promoting Earth science study","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-08-31T00:29:52+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-04T23:37:14+00:00","description":"Thomas Hebert started his nonprofit, Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF), in 2021 to broaden access to fossil digs and uses GIS to track fossils.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/dig-dino-sidebar#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inspiring Excitement about Earth Sciences"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/82e5143bcdebadf8fd64d84e503ca468","name":"Monica Pratt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg","caption":"Monica Pratt"},"description":"Monica Pratt is the founding and current editor of ArcUser magazine, the executive editor of ArcNews magazine, the editor of Esri Globe and head of the Publications team at Esri. She has been writing on technology topics, specializing in GIS, for more than 30 years. Before joining Esri in 1997, she worked for newspapers and in the financial industry.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ArcUser"],"url":""}]}},"sort_order":"14","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser\/695732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/arcuser"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser\/695732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695732"},{"taxonomy":"arcuser_issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser_issues?post=695732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}