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