Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
Course Description
The California Naturalist course will introduce you to the wonders of our local ecology and engage you in the stewardship of California’s natural communities. The course will combine a rigorous science curriculum with guest lecturers, field trips, and project-based learning to immerse you in the natural world of the Ventura River Watershed.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand what it means to be a naturalist.
- Understand the abiotic, biotic and cultural factors that make up the unique natural history and ecology of California coastal watersheds.
- Demonstrate skills in making and recording natural history observations in a field notebook and on iNaturalist.
- Demonstrate skills in communicating and interpreting natural resource information.
- Apply knowledge of the coastal ecosystem to local and global environmental issues.
Dates: TBA
Contact: Marti Reid, marti@ovlc.org, 805-649-6852 ext. 2
About the Instructor: Dr. Don Rodriguez is a Professor at Cal State Channel Islands and is the Department Chair of the Environmental Science and Resource Management program. Dr. Rodriguez will be joined by OVLC staff and various expert lecturers.
Organization Description: The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) is a community-based non-profit organization working with partners to permanently protect the open space, natural scenic beauty, wildlife, habitat and watershed of the Ojai Valley for current and future generations. Since its founding in 1987 OVLC has been able to permanently protect over two thousand acres. Protected properties include parcels along the Ventura River as well as areas in downtown Ojai and the east end of the Ojai Valley. OVLC maintains dozens of miles of trail on its preserves with many that connect up to other trails in Los Padres National Forest.
