Source: PEPPERWOOD FOUNDATION submitted to NRP
PATHWAYS TO STEM CAREERS IN SONOMA COUNTY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1033035
Grant No.
2024-38503-43490
Cumulative Award Amt.
$175,000.00
Proposal No.
2024-03540
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2024
Project End Date
Jul 21, 2025
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[WAMS]- Women and Minorities in STEM Fields
Recipient Organization
PEPPERWOOD FOUNDATION
2130 PEPPERWOOD PRESERVE RD
SANTA ROSA,CA 954047543
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)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
10201991060100%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);
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).

Progress 09/01/24 to 07/21/25

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for our programs are students that would otherwise not have an opportunity to experience science mentorship, field experience, career guidance, and nature discovery. Pepperwood is committed to creating a pathway to STEM for Sonoma County students from elementary school through high school and college. Our programs are designed to increase the number of BIPOC (black, Indigenous, People of Color) and female students who will go on to pursue STEM careers. Our recruitment focused on students that are under-represented in the sciences, those that are from traditionally disadvantaged communities, and students that attend schools with 50% or higher free or reduced lunch programs and that have a high percentage of English Language Learners. For all of our programs within this project, we select students that are within a 30-40 mile range of the Preserve, so that we are serving our local communities. For both SCENIQ and TeenNat, we have a set goal of 50% or higher of our participants coming from a BIPOC (black, Indigenous, person of color) community. Additionally for TeenNat, we have a goal of 50% or higher (it's usually closer to 80%) of our students identifying as female. Of the 925 students weserved in this reporting period with the SCENIQ (Students Conducting Environmental Inquiry) elementary field trip program, 66% were from under-resourced communities, including Title I schools, successfully reaching more in these communities than our goal. We served students in grades 2, 3, 4, and 5. This audience was reached with experiential outdoor science field trip programming combined with classroom lessons. With the TeenNat program, we served 41 new high school students with the summer institute in this reporting period, plus approximately 200 young adults in our alumni network through our bimonthly email newsletter opportunities. Our 41 summer institute participants consisted of 70% students identifying as female/non-binary, and 59% identifying as BIPOC, reaching our overall goal of 60% of students in these communities. This audience was reached with a summer-long field science training program that included classroom workshops and field excursions practicing skills. For the Conservation Science Interns, we require that they are interested in pursuing a STEM field of study, and that they are currently enrolled as a student at the Santa Rosa Junior college. This reporting period, we provided a total of 8 internship positions in our Conservation Science Internship program to students from the Santa Rosa Junior College. This audience was reached with semester-long wildlife data and field research internship experiences. Changes/Problems:The one major problem we face for this project is that this NIFA funding has now been terminated. This puts a significant challenge on our organization to seek alternative funding to keep these programs running. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided a staff training opportunity for one of our Environmental Educators who was new to implementing the TeenNat program to be mentored by our more experienced team members including our Education Programs Coordinator and Education Program Manager. This staff member was able to be trained and mentored on field teaching techniques, curricula, and best practices for group management and delivering high school level science. Additionally, our team spent time engaging in individual study of resources and materials in order to develop and prepare curricula for each program. Our team also regularly engaged in group and one-on-one debrief sessions following program activities, in order to discuss and learn from what went well and where there was room for improvement. We also were able to have three of our staff attend the California Association of Environmental Education conference, where they participated in a range of relevant professional development workshops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our team has conducted outreach activities about the programs included in this project through a variety of venues and platforms. For one, Pepperwood is an active member of Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative (SEEC), a county-wide network of organizations that provide environmental education in our regions. Through regular participation in SEEC meetings and networking events, we have shared about the program models and outcomes with representatives from at least 20 different organizations as well as local schools. Pepperwood regularly communicates with our community through blogs on our website, e-newsletters, and our biannual Life & Landscapes publication. Through these avenues we shared stories and outcomes from our SCENIQ, TeenNat, and the Conservation Science Internship programs with an estimated audience of approximately 8,000 community members. Three of our project staff attended the California Association of Environmental Education conference, at which they presented about our program models and outcomes through an open house opportunity fair at the conference. We estimate that we reached over 200 people during this event. We had plans to also deliver a poster presentation at NAAEE, but then this funding was terminated so we retracted our proposal due to limits in our funding for the additional staff time and conference fees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our funding for this project was terminated, so we do not have a "next reporting period". We are aiming to continue our work in these programs with alternative funding, if we can secure it.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our goal is to increase eco-literacy, inspire participants to pursue advanced education in STEM, and provide students with resources to support pathways to STEM fields-particularly for students that are under-represented in the sciences and from traditionally disadvantaged communities, including low-income, BIPOC, and female-identifying students. This project aims to address the under-representation of these communities in STEM fields of study and careers, as well as the need to increase eco-literacy and access to science learning opportunities for these communities. We served 925 elementary students in the 2024-2025 school year with the SCENIQ (Students Conducting Environmental Inquiry) program, reaching nearly the half-way mark on our total goal of 2,000 students for the original 2-year project period. Each student experienced two field trips, one in the fall and one in spring, plus one classroom visit lesson in the winter. Of the students served in this reporting period, 66% were from under-resourced communities, including Title I schools, successfully reaching beyond our goal in these communities. We evaluated student learning from the SCENIQ program to measure eco-literacy in each grade level using a scaled rubric on a random sample of at least 30% of students' science journals. From this evaluation, we found that our learning objectives were mostly exceeded. Of the second grade students we evaluated, 91% were able to accurately identify all of the parts of a plant, and 81% could describe how seeds are dispersed. For third grade students, 83% were able to identify all of the body parts of an insect, and 88% accurately drew a model of an insect life cycle. Among fourth graders, 81% were able to identify and draw the parts of a bird and understand the concept of adaptation. For fifth graders, 75% of students evaluated were able to draw a scientific sketch and portray an accurate example of an ecosystem in Sonoma county. This fifth grade metric was the only one that did not hit our goal, which was to have an 80% success rate. Despite being five percent below our goal, this still demonstrates a significant rate of student learning. These high rates of demonstrated learning across the grades shows that students achieved significant understanding of these scientific concepts. This will have a positive impact on their science achievement in school, and sets them up for success as they progress through higher levels of education. Students who are more comfortable with basic science concepts, will be more likely to pursue a STEM field of study or career path in the future. This learning also provides a basis for broader eco-literacy, and ultimately a more environmentally-conscious and scientifically literate community as a whole. With the TeenNat program, we served 41 new high school students with the summer institute in this reporting period, plus approximately 200 young adults in our alumni network through our bimonthly email newsletter opportunities. Our 41 summer institute participants consisted of 70% students identifying as female/non-binary, and 59% identifying as BIPOC, reaching our overall goal of 60% of students in these communities. In our post-survey evaluation of all participants, we reached our goals on the following career-oriented metrics: after participating in the program, 76% of the students reported a desire to pursue a career in STEM, and 100% of the students reported confidence in knowing about environmental and STEM related career opportunities. This demonstrated interest in and awareness of STEM careers shows that these students have the desire and knowledge to pursue furthering their education in these fields. In our knowledge-based metrics, we found that only 24% of the students could name 10 local species before participating, and after completing the program an astounding 83% could now successfully name 10 local species. This demonstrates significant growth in their awareness of local plants and animals, a key element in their eco-literacy. We hosted three sessions of our TeenNat Winter Institute alumni program this period, with a total of 27 alumni participating-more than half way to our goal of 40 for the complete 2-year project period. During this period we also planned the structure and collaborated with key staff for scheduling and recruitment for the new alumni shadowing program element of this project. We offered 9 shadowing days with our preserve stewardship team, and had 5 alumni participate. This reporting period, we provided a total of 8 internship positions to students from the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), successfully progressing half-way to our total goal of 16 by the end of the 2-year project period. The interns were all first-generation college students, recruited through the SRJC's MESA program-designed to support the success of these students in STEM. During the internships, the students were trained to use Excel to catalog wildlife camera photos for our database. The interns gained skills in data processing and wildlife identification, learning to accurately identify 15 local mammals including black bear, coyote, black-tailed deer, gray fox, mountain lion, jackrabbit, striped skunk, gray squirrel, bobcat, wild pig, pocket gopher, deer mouse, ringtail, opossum, and porcupine-as well as some bird, reptile, and amphibian species. During field-based training the interns shadowed staff from the research and preserve stewardship team to learn about biological field sampling techniques. As part of these excursions, they also learned about field safety, including identification of ticks, rattlesnakes, and poison oak. All of this knowledge the interns acquired provides them with a real-world transferable skillset for achievement in a STEM field of study and career path. This internship program provided them with a resume-building experience that will make them more marketable and prepared for success as they pursue the next step in their careers. Were these programs to be amplified at scale, the impact would be vastly significant for young people in our community and beyond. If these programs had the resources and capacity to serve even larger cohorts in our audiences, the result could be an entire generation having increased academic achievement in science, career pathways opened to them, and a community of eco-literate residents who understand and care for the environment.

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