First, a reminder to get your scholarship applications in for #CalNat2016 by Sunday, Naturalists!
Please share your story to show Californians why climate adaptation is important to you and your community! CA Natural Resources Agency is collecting stories and to showcase in the August Sneak Peak Edition to Safeguarding California 2017. In order to inspire Californians with your work, they are asking you to email information based on the questions below to Sam.Diaz@Resources.ca.gov. PLEASE mention if you are a CA Naturalist.
1. Please share a brief description of you and your community. Please identify what issue(s) related to climate change your community perceives.
2. Do you or your community have any ideas for addressing these issues?
Here are some examples we have heard:
Plant trees to capture and clean water in urban areas!
Encourage leadership development programs to prepare the next generation for climate change!
Please provide quotes and pictures you would like to see featured with your story in the Sneak Peak Edition.
What's Next?
SamDiaz will contact you with any follow-up questions. As we collect more projects and stories from Californians, we will draft the Sneak Peak Edition. Be on the lookout for a draft version in late July 2016. You will receive the final version in August 2016. Please call SamDiaz at 916.651.5610 or email at Sam.Diaz@Resources.ca.gov.
Heads up: there are still a few spaces left in the Sagehen Creek Field Station CalNat immersion course in the Sierras this summer. This is the best "summer school" you can dream of sending a loved one to or participating in! June 20-26. Presentations and field sessions held in the outdoor classroom at Sagehen Creek Field Station near Truckee, as well as at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center in Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.This year the field station is offering a special local commuter price break to encourage participation among Tahoe and Truckee residents!http://calnat.ucanr.edu/Take_a_class/Sagehen_Creek_Truckee/
We welcome another amazing graduating class to our growing community of Certified California Naturalists, this time the inaugural program at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy! Participants deeply explored the Ventura River Watershed and completed capstone projects in service of OVLC and other organizations, such as Friends of California Condors Wild & Free, the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, and the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy.OVLC will have an open house this fall to showcase the student projects and begin early bird registrations for next year's spring class. Congratulations on your accomplishments!
Hello to those that follow us out there in the blogosphere! We're going to post regular weekly or biweekly CalNat program and partner/Naturalist highlights here. Let us know in the comments or at canaturalist@ucanr.edu if you have suggestions or updates/pics to share about your course, capstone project, partner organization etc! A lot of the content will look familiar if you're already following us on Facebook or Twitter, but we realize no one communication type fits all and some folks miss those updates. To see new posts you can log into the volunteer portal, or look at the bottom right of the page here to find the buttons to subscribe for e-mail updates or add to your RSS feed. Following is a summary of the last few weeks. Enjoy!
Join us in congratulating our second graduating class of University of California, Merced Vernal Pools Reserve California Naturalists! This spring the vernal pools received more rain than they have in 5 years, creating a breathtaking outdoor classroom that was teeming with life. Capstone projects included developing naturalist and citizen science curriculum for Merced public schools, creating several local interpretive trail guides, implementing a bullfrog eradication project, and participating in citizen science projects including raptor surveys with Audubon California, the Lost Ladybug Project, and water quality monitoring.
CalNat has a lot of teachers to appreciate on National Teacher Appreciation Week! From our 35+ course instructors (pic from the inaugural 2014 CalNat conference) and guest experts, to all the dedicated classroom teachers and interpreters that attend and enrich our classes, we salute you and your important work! Don't forget to#ThankATeacher this week!
CalNat was well represented at the California Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education - AEOE 2016 Statewide Conference this past weekend in Malibu! CalNat Instructor Chris Cameron from Camp Ocean Pines, and CalNat staff, Shayna, teamed up on a joint presentation, and we ran into a few Certified California Naturalists also enjoying the conference. Outdoor educators and CalNat certification--what a perfect match! Hope to see CAEOE at our CalNat Conference #CalNat2016!
Have you checked out the program lately? We have added some amazing speakers! #CalNat2016 http://calnat.ucanr.edu/2016conference/2016program/
/span>Happy Earth Day California Naturalists and Naturalists in training!
In honor of you and all your hard work on behalf of California's natural resources, we are running a discount this weekend only on registration for the upcoming #CalNat2016 conference.
Start planning now and join your fellow naturalists at the most engaging, informative, energizing, and fun conference you'll attend! Check out the stellar speaker lineup here. Key conference dates listed below.
Who: YOU! Certified California Naturalists and Naturalists-in-Training only
What: 10% off conference registration ($135 this weekend only)
Where: http://calnat.ucanr.edu/2016conference/reg/
When: Register right now through Monday morning, April 25th at 9AM
Why: Because your dedication is inspiring! We want to honor all your hard work on Earth's big holiday weekend!
Key dates for the upcoming #CalNat2016 statewide conference:
- September 9-11, 2016: Conference
- May 15: Scholarship application deadline for California Naturalists and Naturalists-in-Training
- June 8: Lightning talk and poster proposals due (CalNat prints posters for free for California Naturalists!)
- June 30: Early registration rate ends
- September 8: Pre-conference optional overnight field trip to Tejon Ranch Conservancy
- September 9: Pre-conference trainings
- September 10: Concurrent sessions and plenary talks, lightning talks, poster reception, natural history book corner
- September 11: Field trips
Check out the 2015 California Naturalist Service Pin, Naturalists!
CalNat is proud to announce that we received the Program of the Year Award at the Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs annual national meeting. Considering the company we keep in that fine organization and the relative infancy of the California Naturalist Program, we are quite honored to share this award with our naturalists, our many partners, and our colleagues at UC Agriculture & Natural Resources that make our community so vibrant! Read more here.