Concurrent Session 3A: Education, Outreach and Engagement

Lessons from the Field

Gregory Ira, Director, UC California Naturalist Program; Beverly Gingg, Program Manager, Learning Among the Oaks Program, The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County, San Luis Obispo, CA; Kim Ingram, Forest Stewardship Education Coordinator, UC Cooperative Extension, Davis, CA; Cyndi Chavez, Statewide Coordinator, CA Project Learning Tree, 4-H Program UC ANR; Douglas Schmidt, SOD Blitz Coordinator, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley;  Sigona, PhD Candidate, Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California,  Berkeley

Education related to forest and oak woodland ecosystems and resources covers a wide range of approaches and audience groups. In recent years, engagement and inclusion elements of educational programs have become increasingly important and valued. Engagement addresses the degree to which the learner is actively and meaningfully involved, interested, and motivated by the educational program. Inclusion in this context refers to the policies and practices that promote equitable and inclusive access to programs; recognize, value and respect differences (physical, cognitive, social, cultural); create positive learning environments for everyone, and build a shared sense of belonging. Examples from five forest education programs in California (Learning Among the Oaks, CA Project Learning Tree, Forest Stewardship Education Initiative, Sudden Oak Death Blitz Survey Project, and Amah Mutsun Land-based Educational Programming) provide a mix of practices for addressing engagement and inclusion for different audience groups. While there is no single set of approaches that work for all educational programs and all audiences, we believe there are some common strategies that educators can adopt to increase student engagement and make programs more inclusive and relevant. By exploring these five distinct forest and woodland education programs, we highlight strategies for inclusion and engagement across a range of program types and audiences.