Center for Community & Citizen Science Blog

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CCSiC Fellow Spotlight: Reflections on Project Phoebe

Collaborating with community scientists to understand impacts of urbanization on a songbird species

Community scientists play an essential eole in studying urban wildlife. As our world becomes increasingly urbanized—over half the world’s human population currently lives in cities, with that percentage expected to grow to 68% by 2050— cities are often home to fewer animal species than natural areas. The species that do live in cities face a variety of challenges that may limit their survival and reproduction, including

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Project Update: Caring for Clear Lake project closing reflections

Looking back at the last two years

With the Caring for Clear Lake project coming to an end this July, the UC Davis team reflects on collaborating with Tribes and the community in co-developing environmental education materials that integrate local participatory science projects. We share how the community engagement process evolved and guided the frameworks used for structuring the materials.

Blog entry Peggy Harte

Environmental Superheroes of the ELA Classroom Podcast Series

The Environmental Superheroes of the ELA Classroom podcast collection highlights stories of California TK-12 educators who teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking through the lens of environmental literacy and justice, giving a glimpse into what this type of work might look like in TK-12 classrooms.

The Center’s Peggy Harte co-developed these podcasts and snapshots with other CAELI members, Tara Kajtaniak and Cheney Munson.

Blog entry Heidi Ballard

Dispatch from Heidi Ballard

Where in the world is Heidi Ballard, you might wonder? I’ve been extra privileged to be spending my several months of sabbatical this spring learning and sharing about how community and citizen science is institutionalized, designed, implemented, and evaluated all over Europe…especially in the United Kingdom, Austria, and Denmark where I’ve been based for a few weeks or months each.

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M.V. Eitzel appointed Associate Professional Researcher at UC Davis Feminist Research Institute

We are pleased and proud to announce that Dr. Melissa (M.V.) Eitzel has been appointed as an Associate Professional Researcher at the UC Davis Feminist Research Institute. This career step is a fitting reflection of Eitzel’s high quality academic scholarship, as well as her deep commitment to collaboration. Eitzel first joined the Center for Community and Citizen Science as a postdoctoral researcher, and has since worked with us on a variety of projects, including MPA Watch data analysis, and dam removal and watershed restoration.

Blog entry Tali Caspi

CCSiC Fellow Spotlight: Learning about coyotes in San Francisco from their scat

In recent decades, humans and animals have increasingly co-occurred in high densities in urban areas. Although declines in biodiversity are associated with urbanization, numerous species have adjusted to and thrive in cities. The success of urban animals is largely attributed to the expansion of their diet to include human-provided food, resulting in frequent conflicts with people. These conflicts have wide-ranging financial, health, and ecosystem-level consequences, necessitating a deeper understanding of organismal adaptation to human resources.

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City Nature Challenge 2024 Recap

Another City Nature Challenge is in the books! We love to see the iNaturalist participation across the Sacramento Region and share in the excitement of discovery. This year’s official results are:

7,218 observations 
1,602 species
686 observers

Post Jadda Miller

CCSiC Fellow Spotlight: Cultivating Youth and Community Resiliency

A Community Science Approach to Land Stewardship for Wildfire Mitigation in Maui, Hawaiʻi

Project overview

In August of last year, I submitted a proposal to the Citizen Science in Conservation Fellowship program. This collaborative project is titled “Cultivating Youth and Community Resiliency: A Community Science Approach to Land Stewardship for Wildfire Mitigation in Maui, Hawaiʻi”. Through this project, we seek to address a global environmental and social issue -wildfire- through a place-based, culturally responsive, and culturally sustaining, curriculum. 

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Project Update: Training Presents Drafted Environmental Education to Support Clear Lake Stewardship

Inspiration and next steps

In March, the UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science and Center for Regional Change facilitated a two-day training in Lakeport with educators and partners from across the region as part of the Caring for Clear Lake project. The training is a milestone for the two-year project, approved by Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake and funded by the California Natural Resources Agency.  

Post M.V. Eitzel Solera

Grant from CALFIRE for participatory modeling and mapping to plan for fire resilience in Tuolumne County

April 2024 will mark the start of a four-year CALFIRE grant to the Center, on science synthesis and decision support for community fire resilience.  MV Eitzel (Center Researcher) will lead the effort, with Ryan Meyer (Center Executive Director), Emily Schlickman (UC Davis Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Design), and Craig Konklin (Tuolumne County Fire Safe Council).

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Fresh Faces

Welcoming Our New Interns

As we enter winter quarter, we are delighted to welcome both familiar faces and newcomers alike to the Center for Community and Citizen Science. This season always brings a buzz of excitement and anticipation and with the arrival of our new undergraduate interns, Elly Dai and Kelsey Farhit, we’re diving headfirst into another exciting chapter of collaboration and growth!

Blog entry Peggy Harte

Spring Staff Sightings

Follow the Center's trainings, webinars, and presentations

Catch us if you can! Find our faculty, staff, and students at these events this spring.

Blog entry Peggy Harte

Project Update: Connecting Classroom Content in Spinning Salmon Field Trips

“Bye, Spaghetti!” waved one high schooler as a tiny Chinkook salmon, so named Spaghetti, swam out of a plastic cup and into the murky Sacramento River. Across the boat ramp at Riverbend Park in Oroville, students said their farewells to the alevin in their own cups. This was the last chance for students to get an up close of the fish they spent raising in their classroom over the last 6 weeks.

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