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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
INSTITUTE Failure in Madrid; European Green Deal Adopted CCC Board of Governors Adopt Climate Change and Sustainability Goals Doomsday Clock Set at 100 Seconds to Midnight SEI Proposes Network of Weather/Air Quality Stations Air Pollution Worsening in Los Angeles Region New Climate Corps Fellow at City College In the Classroom: Resources from Carleton College UC Certificate for Citizen Scientists News Briefs |
UC Certificate for Citizen Scientists
By Steve Tarnoff The California Naturalist Program is a certificate program of the University of California (Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources) designed to “introduce Californians to the wonders of our unique ecology and engage the public in study and stewardship” of natural resources. It’s designed for teachers of all grade levels, but also for natural resource professionals, docents, and just plain nature enthusiasts. CalNat, as it’s called, is both academic and community based. Participants enroll in a course with one of forty-five partners, which range from environmental organizations to community colleges and universities. CalNat provides materials, training curriculum and guidelines, as well as a website where activities and projects can be shared. The path to certification entails forty plus hours of combined classroom and field experience in “science, problem-solving, communication training, and community service.” Projects are diverse, spanning various aspects of the earth and life sciences, and there’s a real dedication to “citizen science,” that is, science conducted by non-professionals. As a matter of fact, I first heard of the program not from a colleague but from a young musician friend and camping enthusiast who had enrolled in a CalNat course at Pasadena City College. While LACCD does not currently partner with CalNat, efforts are underway by biologists Vered Mirmovitch at West and Shannon DeVaney at Pierce to incorporate the certificate program into existing biology field courses. But colleges might also create stand-alone CalNat courses for those who just want to broaden their knowledge of their local environment. Faculty should jump at the chance to work with CalNat, as it’s a great way for students to learn about sustainable environmental practice. They come away with new skills, opportunities, and incentives for future volunteer work and professional development. And district sites such as Gold Creek in Little Tujunga Canyon and the Van de Kamp Center near the Los Angeles River would be terrific places for “citizen science” in practice. CalNat is currently developing another certificate, this one focused on climate change. It will be called Climate Stewards for California Communities, and we’ll have more to say about it, once it’s finalized. Raising public awareness will be crucial to defending our environment. CalNat is there to help us meet that challenge. |
