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Potential Partner Info Page

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Welcome to the California Naturalist (CalNat) and UC Climate Stewards Programs (UCCS) follow up Potential Partner Information Page

This page is intended to serve as a follow up tool for potential partners with whom we have had an initial conversation about offering either of our programs. Please bookmark this page so you can pull information to use for subsequent follow up meetings with your team, leadership, or directory board. Please know that we are always available for further follow up meetings. Both courses share the same administrative systems and basic course requirements but content and delivery vary. Please note: This is not a public page. Please do not share without our consent.

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment and review this page on partnership requirements.

If you have already had a meeting with us and are looking for next steps, please click here.

Basic Course Requirements -

To received certification, every Naturalist and Steward will have:

  1. Read the entire course handbook (CalNat / Climate Stewards)
  2. Have 40 or more contact learning hours delivered over 8-10 weeks. This includes in-person or virtual synchronous instruction and field trips. For Climate Stewards, this also includes asynchronous Canvas content
  3. Participate in your course's Participatory Science Project
  4. Add at least 1 observation to your course's iNaturalist project (California Naturalist) or I See Change (Climate Stewards)
  5. Complete a capstone/stewardship project

Downloads -

These documents can serve as templates or proof of concept for you to bring to your team to see where your curriculum aligns and what is needed to deliver our courses. Please feel free to download a copy and start modifying the syllabus to your organization.

UC Credit -

The California Naturalist Program is one of many programs housed with in the University of California division of Agriculture and Natural Resource (UCANR) and as a graduate of our program, Naturalists and Stewards are eligible to purchase 4 Units of general undergrad UC college credits upon completing all requirements for graduation. The units are optional and the cost is $80. Official transcripts are an additional $15. Please click here for more information.

Partner requirements -

  1. Organization specializing in the field of natural history education, workforce development, community engagement, climate change communication & education, or other aligned field
  2. Experience delivering educational programs to the public through a qualified instructor, institution & facility
  3. Ability to charge a fee to the public & remit payment back to the UC
  4. Develop a complete syllabus containing all course requirements:
    1. 40+ hours of instruction over 8-10 weeks
    2. Participatory science project
    3. iNaturalist Project
    4. 3 Field trips
    5. Guest speakers

Program Fees & Costs -

  • $110 fee per registered student to be remitted back to the California Naturalist Program
  • 50% fee reduction ($55/participant) available for students asking for financial assistance
  • $35 for the California Naturalist Handbook, $20 for Climate Stewardship book. Use code "SAVE30" to get 30% off when purchasing from UC Press
  • Instructor training: $100 for California Naturalist and $200 for Climate Stewards. Only one person from the organization needs to take the training. 2 recommended for Climate Stewards.
  • Here is a budget document to help you decide on how much to charge for your course. The average total cost is $370 for California Naturalist and between $425 for Climate Stewards

Next Steps -

Having already met once for an informal partner intake call covering the basic program elements and partnership requirements found on this page, we will need to set up a formal partner intake call. This call will involve our staff & director as well as your admin and teaching team. By this point your organization has determined that the content on this page and all program elements and partnership requirements are acceptable.

Please complete the following -

  1. Instructor team applications - Please have everyone involved with teaching this course fill out an application.
  2. Partnership Agreement - Have your legal and admin team look over and approve the partnership agreement. Please know that the language for this agreement is set at the UC Office of the President and cannot be adjusted aside from customizing the names and contacts in the document to your organization. Once you have let us know that your organization accepts the agreement, we will generate a DocuSign version of the agreement specifically for your organization and send out to you and your team to get signed.
  3. Attend an upcoming instructor training - These trainings take place twice a year, once virtually in Spring and once in person in the Fall. Please plan on attending a training before the launch of your course. Here is a link with more information.
  4. Start the co-design process - Set up regular or as needed check-ins with your local Community Education Specialist (Click here for a contact list).