Project Duration
2022-2024
Location
Lake County, California
Background
Informed by robust Tribal and community ecological
knowledge and priorities, environmental education materials
were developed to engage youth in local scientific efforts
to restore Clear Lake. The materials integrate the work of
partners, analyze locally-sourced data, utilize participatory
science projects, and integrate culturally relevant perspectives
on restoration and caretaking.
The Caring for Clear Lake project is led by the UC Davis Center
for Community and Citizen Science and Center for Regional Change,
approved by the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of
Clear Lake (BRC). The BRC is a local leadership organization
consisting of leaders from the environmental, economic, and civic
sectors, including representatives of the seven tribal
governments of the Clear Lake region. The BRC is funded by the
State of California’s Natural Resources Agency through Assembly
Bill 707 (AB 707). AB 707, authored by Assemblymember Cecilia
Aguiar-Curry, directs state funding to promote applied research
and education for rehabilitating Clear Lake’s water quality and
environmental health, and promoting the well-being of the Lake
region’s residents and communities.
The BRC expressed a need for regionally accessible and culturally
relevant environmental education (EE) materials that support
existing non-formal education programming providing opportunities
for youth stewardship. These materials support the goals of the
BRC toward revitalizing the lake and its surrounding communities
by:
- Actively partnering with area Tribal governments and
residents in the development and implementation of materials in
ways that respect traditional ecological knowledge and current
culturally-relevant approaches to caring for the lake and its
communities.
- Building a stewardship ethic among youth by engaging them in
real science projects taking place in the Clear Lake
region.
- Promoting existing programs that actively engage learners in
hands-on scientific discovery and provide pathways to academic
and professional achievement.
- Ensuring that Clear Lake non-formal educators have the
curriculum and training needed to be effective in utilizing the
newly created educational materials.
- Sharing our resource findings and EE materials in a variety
of easily accessible formats.
- Orienting all activities around supporting local capacity for
long-term sustainability.
Project Timeline
Year One, July 2022-2023
The project team worked with key local partners (including Tribal
nations and government agencies, non-profit organizations,
educators, and others) to identify existing environmental
educational (EE) and participatory science resources and programs
in the region. This includes projects and programs of Tribal
Nations, community-based organizations, and other local
government departments. An initial web scan created an inventory
of the publicly available information on environmental educators,
projects, programs, and curriculum from community-based
organizations. The project team then met with individuals to
discuss their personal and organizational perspectives on
environmental education in the region.
The conversations and information from the web scan provided an
initial understanding of the region’s strengths, challenges, and
environmental concerns. The project’s initial findings (documented
here) provide background on the region’s unique natural and
cultural history, and current environmental issues and solutions.
In addition to the local resources (archived
here) and conversations with over 50 Tribal and community
members (listed
here), the project team learned about the region’s needs and
priorities during local organizational and public meetings,
outreach events, and presentations. This process supported the
BRC’s goal for the project to integrate the region’s existing
projects, programs, and curriculum.
Year Two, July 2023-2024
To ensure robust and respectful Tribal engagement in the project,
the UC Davis team convened leaders from the Tribal nations around
the lake as a Tribal Environmental Education Advisory Committee
(TEEAC). The members of five Tribes (Big Valley Band of Pomo
Indians, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, Middletown
Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians,
Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians) accepted the invitation. The
TEEAC met four times in 2023-2024 to advise the development of
the materials. This feedback is integral in ensuring that the
materials are culturally relevant, accessible, accurate, and
address Tribal priorities for EE in the region. The BRC and the
UC Davis team strongly place Tribal support and participation as
integral to the success of this project, and the TEEAC was one of
multiple places Tribes have generously informed this project. The
initial draft was also shared with Tribal and community members
who spoke with the project team in year one.
Both the TEEAC meetings and invited individuals’ feedback were
incorporated into a second draft of the materials. The second
draft of the materials was then organized onto a Google site
(linked
here), used during a training for interested educators in the
region. Outreach to the project’s contact list, with additional
help from others, resulted in an attendance of 17 educators
representing non-profit organizations, schools, and agencies, who
were offered compensation for their time. Some participants of
the educator training offered in March agreed to receive
additional compensation for their time piloting the materials in
their educational setting and providing feedback through an
evaluation survey. The final draft of the materials addressed the
feedback from the educators who participated in the training and
piloting. This process ensured that the project’s materials were
not only relevant to the programming for educators, but also
broadly easy to use and adapt to a variety of educational
settings.
A discussion at the BRC’s Socio-Economic Subcommittee April 2024
meeting provided guidance for long term community ownership and
maintenance of the project’s materials. A fourth TEEAC meeting
held in June 2024 determined the responsibilities for maintaining
this project’s materials, desired next steps within the
community, and a partnership for housing the materials. This
ensured that this project’s product is owned by the community,
has dedicated oversight on keeping materials up-to-date, and can
have local leadership expand upon it in the future if
desired. All present members of the TEEAC expressed their
interest in continued use and contributions to the educational
materials. The materials themselves are hosted by the Lake County
Office of Education (available
here).
Funders
California Natural Resources Agency
Partners
UC Davis Center for Regional Change, Blue Ribbon Committee for
the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake