Sonoma Ecology Center
Course Description
This California Naturalist Program for Teachers course is designed to equip educators with the expertise to inspire their students to become active participants in the stewardship of California’s natural communities, with a focus on Climate and Wildfire Resiliency through a naturalist lens. This course will provide a deep exploration of the wonders of California’s local ecology, with an emphasis on understanding the intricate connections between climate change, wildfire resiliency, and the natural history of the Sonoma Valley. Through a combination of scientific inquiry, guest lectures from experts, immersive field trips, and project-based learning, participants will gain the skills necessary to effectively communicate and interpret natural resource information, while applying their knowledge to address local and global environmental issues.
Dates: TBA
Contact: Tony Passantino, tony@sonomaecologycenter.org
Organization Description: Sonoma Ecology Center addresses challenges related to water supply and quality, open space, rural character, biodiversity, energy, climate change, and quality of life. The mission of Sonoma Ecology Center is to work with our community to enhance and sustain ecological health in Sonoma Valley. Since 1990, we’ve worked to increase appreciation and stewardship of Sonoma Valley’s natural heritage and create measurable benefits in areas of land, water, climate change, and biodiversity.
Sonoma Valley is home to an amazing variety of species living in a small space. As many as a quarter of California’s species exist in this compact area, a place that comprises only a tenth of 1% of California’s entire land area! Since the Valley is mostly privately owned over thousands of parcels, it needs all of us to be good stewards to sustain this amazing legacy for the future. Our valley is also a watershed–a basic unit around which life on earth is organized. It’s also economically and socially diverse. In short, it offers a lot of what other places offer in a small, human scale valley. It’s a place that may be just the right size to get important things done together. And as we learn more about how to take care of our special place, we may help others do the same in theirs.
