COMMUNITY OUTREACH at VESR

The mission of the Natural Reserve System is to contribute to the understanding and wise management of the Earth and its natural systems by supporting university-level teaching, research, and public service at protected natural areas throughout California. This three-part mission, with elements of teaching, research, and public service, is consistent with the overall mission of the University of California. Public service at VESR is expressed through our Community Outreach Programs.

Outdoor Science Education Program (OSEP)

This elementary and middle school science program is the biggest element of our outreach effort. Program goals include:

• provide an under-served student population with meaningful, hands-on science experiences
  
• give students exposure to scientific research
  
• provide students with exposure to scientists as role models, particularly women and minorities
  
• give highly motivated students the opportunity for in-depth study
  
• provide science education training to local teachers
  
• create a program with the local schools, not for them
  
• develop a model program that may be used at other field sites within the University of California's Natural Reserve System
  
  

To this end the current program at VESR has two primary components: The field trip component is the largest part of the program hosting approximately 2000 students per year from 12 schools in 6 different school districts. Field trips include a 2-3 hour hands-on, age-appropriate lesson. The regional schools and the Reserve teaching staff have aligned their curricula. Some typical lessons are ant ecology with ant tracking and food preference experiments; aquatic invertebrate identification and classification; introduction to forest mammals (with skulls and furs); and conifer identification and forest fire ecology. Many lessons include simulation games with graphing and data analysis. The schools provide transportation to and from the reserve, supervising teachers, and chaperones. This part of the program is offered through the generous support of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.

We also offer a summer school program. Summer OSEP Class Schedule The reserve conducts one- and two-week summer classes for approximately 120 students (10 students per class) in grades 1-9. Younger students study habitats, insects, bats, or trees, while the older students may study life skills of early man, natural history, forest ecology, or art in nature. We employ up to 9 teachers for the program with a wide variety of specialties. The program is fully subscribed each year. Many students have taken every class we have to offer and are now serving as teaching assistants in the program. This part of the program is self-supporting through fees charged to the students. Feedback from students, parents, and participants.

The program has several minor components that occur on an ad hoc basis. These include in-class visits to local schools to conduct pre-field trip lessons, teaching-training workshops, and student teaching assistantships for older students.

In Fall 2003, fourth grade elementary school students also participated in a project to plant bitterbrush seedlings at Mammoth Elementary School.

SNARL Seminar Series:

Each spring SNARL offers 6-8 evening lectures by scientists conducting research in the region. The talks are targeted toward the layperson and are open to the public. Seminar schedule

Adult Tours:

Tours of Valentine Camp or SNARL are offered on an intermittent basis in the summer and fall months. Frequently, the tours are thematic (i.e. fall color tour or history walk). The tours are limited to 10-15 people and are advertised in the local newspaper and on the web site. A modest donation is requested to help support our outreach program.

Agency Support:

Scientists at the Reserve frequently work with local resource management agencies (US Forest Service, CA Dept. of Fish & Game, etc.) and local government (Mono County, Mammoth Community Water District). Sometimes this takes the form of applied research supported by the agency, other times the scientists simply advise the local agencies. Agency staff also use our outreach program to assist them with providing information to the public.

California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science (COSMOS):

The State of California Education Code requests the Regents of the University of California to provide an opportunity for students who wish to learn advanced mathematics and science and to prepare for careers in these areas. The California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science (COSMOS) is a residential academic experience for top high school students in mathematics & science. The COSMOS course clusters address topics not traditionally taught in high schools such as astronomy, aerospace engineering, biomedical sciences, computer science, wetlands ecology, ocean science, robotics, neuroscience, game theory, and more. Reserve staff function as local spokesmen for this program. Click here to learn more about COSMOS.

Page last updated Thursday, April 05, 2007