Please join our next Conservation Lecture Series talk that focuses on natural history training. As natural history training has declined in formal education, it has increased among lay audiences. While it continues to address traditional practices and topics such as field observations of organisms and their behavior, it’s increasingly tackling a wider range of issues and topics including conservation and restoration, climate change, traditional ecological knowledge, and even the environmental justice. In addition, the rise in participatory science has dramatically increased the number of ways in which the public can meaningfully engage in science, yet significant challenges remain including large gaps in participation from black and indigenous people and a perennial lack of funding. This lecture describes the unique collaborative approach the California Naturalist program uses to deliver natural history training in this complex milieu and answers the questions: Why are people interested in natural history training? and How does it relate to the work of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife?
Presenter:
Gregory “Greg” Ira is the Director of the UC California Naturalist program based at the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources office in Davis, California. After completing his Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from Prescott College in Arizona, and Master’s in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii (through the East-West Center’s Environment and Policy Institute), he worked for six years in the Philippines integrating conservation into the context of rural development. From 2000-2015 he served as the Director of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Environmental Education, where he established a statewide environmental education program (Learning in Florida’s Environment) for middle school students in Florida’s State Parks.
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Register to view online.
Questions? Contact: Whitney.Albright@wildlife.ca.gov