Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Project SummaryGiven the increasing need for a robust and innovative scientific workforce to address climate change, Pepperwood is committed to creating a pathway to STEM for Sonoma County students from elementary school through high school and college. This project serves the Need Areas of Student Experiential Learning and Student Recruitment, Retention, Mentoring and Educational Equity. Our programs are designed to increase the number of qualified applicants for STEM careers, particularly women and ethnic minorities, by introducing conservation science to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders through our Students Conducting Environmental Inquiry (SCENIQ) program, rural high school students through our TeenNat program, and college students through our Conservation Science Internship program (CSI).We aim to increase eco-literacy, inspire participants to pursue advanced education in STEM, and provide students with resources to support pathways to STEM fields. We offer several engagement opportunities, including field trips to our 3,200-acre nature preserve in Santa Rosa, California and 1-week and 5-week on-site Institutes for teens. We offer Summer Education Assistant positions to place TeenNat Alumni in leadership positions with younger cohorts. We provide environmental education workshops and training with on-the-ground stewardship of habitats, implementation of field research techniques, engagement with professionals in STEM fields, and networking for STEM career development. Our project partners include Point Blue Conservation Science, Sonoma Water, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, local elementary schools, high schools, Santa Rosa Junior College, and more.This program serves the rural populations of the Cities of Rohnert Park, Windsor, Healdsburg,Sonoma, Cloverdale, Sebastopol, and others across Sonoma County.Participants work on biodiversity initiatives, invasive species control, native plant restoration, and wildfire fuels reduction projects. At least 50% of selected participants will be BIPOC (Black,Indigenous, People of Color). Based on our 2019 survey, 95% of responding TeenNat alumni who have chosen a major are pursuing STEM majors.Annually, this program serves 2,182 students.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Pepperwood is committed to creating a pathway to STEM for Sonoma County studentsfrom elementary school through high school and college. This 2-year grant will help us with our mission to inspire conservation through science in the ways outlined below.Our programs are designed to increase the number of BIPOC (black, Indigenous, People of Color) and femalestudents who will go on to pursueSTEMcareers. We do this through 3 key programs at Pepperwood: SCENIQ (Students Conducting Environmental Inquiry), a field trip program for students in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades; TeenNat, a program for rural high school students ages 15-18, and CSI,our Conservation Science Internship program in collaboration with the Santa Rosa Junior College.Overall goals areto:increase eco-literacy, inspire participants to pursue advanced education in STEM, and provide students with resources to support pathways to STEM fields.Specific objectivesinclude:SCENIQ- serving 2,000 local students in 2nd - 5th grades with our field trip programs to the preserve. We will offer field trips to these local students, comprised of at least 60% students from under-resourced communities, in both the fall and the spring, with a visit to their school site in the winter. At the end of the program, our goals for the students are as follows:Second graders:at least 80% will be able to accurately identify all of the parts of a plant and at least 80% will be able to describe how seeds are dispersed;Third graders:at least 80% will be able to identify all of the body parts of an insect and at least 80% will be able to accurately draw an insect life cycle;Fourth graders: at least 80% will be able to identify and draw the parts of a bird and understand the concept of adaptation;Fifth graders: at least 80% will be able to draw a scientific sketch and portray an accurate example of an ecosystem in Sonoma county.TeenNat- We have a (lofty) goal of supporting 90teens over the course of this 2-year program with our 6 week summer institute program. These teens will be comprised of at least 60% BIPOC and female/non-binary for each summer session. At the end of each session, we have a goal that at least 60% of the students would like to pursue a career in STEM and also that at least 80% of students feel confident that they are aware of different career opportunities in STEM fields after they graduate from high school. Additionally, we will host 2 TeenNat alumni sessions each winter, and our goal is that we have at least 40 teens participant in these field-based events. Finally, we have a goal of starting a year-round program for teen alumni to shadow the research and preserve stewardship team for a total of 24 days (12 days per year/per cohort). This is a new aspect to this program.Conservation Science Internships (CSI)- Our goal is to engage 8-16 interns from the Santa Rosa Junior College over the course of this 2-year grant. They will learn to identify 15 local mammals, they will learn to use excel to enter the wildlife pictures of these mammals into our database, they will learn about field safety, including identification of ticks, rattlesnakes, and poison oak. Finally, they will shadow staff from the research and preserve stewardship team to learn about biological field sampling techniques.
Project Methods
PROGRAM METHODOLOGYWe operate programming throughout the year to accommodate the unique needs of children,teens, and young adults. Our aim is to meet students where they are in their journey towards STEM careers, from early introduction to agricultural sciences to tailored internships to provide technical training in a particular field. Pepperwood's 13-year-old SCENIQ program increases science achievement forstudents in second through fifth grades by leveraging children's natural curiosity of the world around them. The program is designed to serve traditionally marginalized students from low-socio-economic communities. Two-thirds of the classes that participate are from Title 1funded schools and are considered economically disadvantaged. We provide bus transportation scholarships for these classes to attend programs on our reserve. Many of our students are English-language learners with Spanish as their first language. We provide primary language support for these students with all handouts provided in both languages and instructors able to teach in their primary language as necessary. We also work with the families of these students, providing information in Spanish about getting outdoors and attending Pepperwood family events like bilingual family walks and family camping events.SCENIQ is unique in that it delivers a program that is specialized to each grade level based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), combining inquiry-based explorationwith the attainment of scientific skills that can be used anywhere. Students learn how to deeply observe and connect with nature through instruction in nature sketching, bird watching, animal track identification, insect handling, and basic hiking safety. We serve approximately 1,000 students annually with this year-long program that blends classroom visits and field trips.The free 6-week TeenNat Summer Institute is offered to youth ages 15-18. Trained professionals lead students in species identification workshops before students gain hands-on experience collecting data and observations of flora and fauna. During Weeks 1 and 2, studentsengage in scientific inquiry alongside Pepperwood staff as they learn to approach scientific questions and generate hypotheses. They then move into learning hard skills such as gathering evidence, outdoor safety, and using GPS units and topographic maps. In Weeks 3 and 4,students learn restoration field techniques including removing invasive plants, replanting native species, and measuring wildlife, soil, water, and vegetation. In Week 5, students learn career readiness through resume preparation and they attend an in-person Career Day withover 20 environmental professionals. The program culminates in Week 6 with presentations of students' final projects, which include detailed nature journals, photography, and research projects. Participants in the TeenNat Alumni Winter Institute engage in field explorationcollecting wildlife data, create an art project, and participate in habitat restoration during this 1-week program.Conservation ScienceInterns are paired with trained professionals who lead students in species identification workshops using field guides and hands-on specimen collection and biological monitoring techniques. Students learn to identify mammals and other wildlifecaptured on Pepperwood's remote wildlife cameras. Students collect biodiversity data on flora and fauna, identifying each organism and uploading their observations to iNaturalist. Students build on skills acquired in the TeenNat program such as outdoor safety, GPS and topographic mapping, restoration work, biological monitoring, land restoration, and job readiness.Alumni Mentorship. Pepperwood staff provide career mentorship and support via one-on-one interactions matching Alumni of TeenNat and CSI with research staff for bi-monthly field excursions. After graduation, TeenNat Alumni return as mentors in subsequentSummer and Winter Institutes to support younger cohorts and co-teach various lessons and participate in local events such as Teen Science Night at the California Academy of Sciences. CSI Alumni are invited to participate in a subsequent semester-long internship.Teaching Methods. Pepperwood's experienced personnel have extensive training in environmental education and field research. We use multiple teaching methodologies, including slide presentations, customized webinars, hands-on technical skill building, in-the-fieldbiological monitoring, and soft skill development to practice career readiness, as outlined by theComparative Analysis of Soft Skills (Crawford). We conduct weekly staff meetings to review our progress with students and to troubleshoot any challenges with the program.Resources and Personnel. All of Pepperwood's Environmental Education programs are programmed and managed by our Education Program Manger, Holland Gistelli, MA. The TeenNat Summer Institute and Winter Institutes are led by ourtwo Environmental Educators, Summer Swallow, MAT and Julianne Bradbury, MS, our Education Program Manager, Holland Gistelli, MA, and our Indigenous Education Coordinator, Clint McKay, MA. Swallow is bilingual in Spanish and McKay is a tribe leader with deepconnections to our local Indigenous communities.Restoration activities are coordinated by our Assistant Preserve Manager Devyn Freidfel, and the mentorship partnerships are facilitated by our Wildlife Specialist, Steven Hammerich. We also have access to a team of staff scientists to provide workshops and expertise as needed.Our grants are financially administered by our experienced finance and administration team. Our collaborations with Sonoma County school districts and other local environmental organizations like Sonoma County Regional Parks, Sonoma Water, Landpaths,Laguna Foundation, Daily Acts, Pt. Blue Conservation Science, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Friends of the Petaluma River, and the Sonoma Ecology Center provide us additional administrative and outreach support. We will also collaborate with our Native AdvisoryCouncil, the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center of Santa Rosa, Redbud Resource Group, and Big Picture Learning to help us increase Native practices and knowledge with local Native youth and communities.EVALUATIONWe assess the SCENIQ program through a yearly mixed methods evaluation. Our Environmental Educators assess over one-third of the student nature journals using rubrics,conduct at least six structured observations, and survey all SCENIQ teachers.We evaluate TeenNat Summer Institute and CSI participants using pre- and post- written surveys conducted by our staff. We begin with baseline surveys that assess student knowledge and skills relating to conservation science concepts, and conduct the same assessments after the programs are completed to compare results. The post-survey also contains a narrative component where participants list the program's highlights and areas for improvement, and reflect on their own growth.We also conduct a formal assessment once a year for our TeenNat Alumni and their parents and guardians asking: 1) if they graduated from high school; 2) which college are they attending; 3) what their area of study is; 4) if they graduated from college, what their degreewas; and 5) what their current employment is. We will also hire an external evaluator from Landpaths, or a similar program, in year two to assist us with program assessments and strategies for improvement, beginning with developing baseline assessments and reviewing participant progress upon completion of major programming (ie. SCENIQ yearlong workshops beginning in fall and ending inspring each year, TeenNat Summer Institute beginning in July and ending in August, and CSI internships, beginning and ending each academic semester).