educational activities
PCEC strongly values educating all in society about the environment using science-based knowledge, in order to enhance appreciation and understanding of the natural world, key challenges of today and tomorrow, and how science informs rational and effective solutions.
A special mission of PCEC is its educational outreach to young people. Through active participation, the next generation gains better understanding of environmental issues and the scientific basis necessary for rational decision-making, effective solutions, and best practices.
PCEC President, Jesus Reyes, involves camp kids in field research on coastal fish, collaborating with Dr. Juli Kalman-Passarelli of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Los Angeles.
Dr. Kevin Kelley (Cal State University Long Beach & PCEC) explains research methods to the camp kids.
programs
A commitment to K-12 education
Since 2008, PCEC has organized and provided a diversity of educational programs ranging from summer research internships, to week-long summer environmental science programs, to classroom visit programs during the school year.
Since 2013, PCEC has conducted over 120 Classroom Visits reaching more than 3,400 K-12 students. After planning consultations with school teachers and staff, our visits cover a variety of environments, organisms, and environmental issues, and always include hands-on experience with organisms from featured environments. Hands-on experiences may include dissections (e.g., squids, fish, or plants) or direct comparisons of organisms in their natural setting with their differing adaptations. We introduce concepts such as anatomical and physiological adaptations and resiliency, ecological considerations, and science-based understanding of human impacts such as exposure to pollutant chemicals or plastic debris.
We have also conducted K-12 Field Laboratories where students focus on species diversity and distribution patterns associated with abiotic variables in the environment. Students in this program are placed into groups and then dig up invertebrate animals from two locations with differing abiotic features, in order to determine how this affects distribution. Students collect real field data by identifying and recording species present, and they analyze the findings.
One variation on this program included a focus on cigarette butt pollution and its potential impacts.
Over its history, PCEC has been strongly commited to K-12 educational outreach
PCEC currently offers K-12 Classroom Visits at no cost in the Long Beach-Los Angeles region in southern California and in Humboldt County in northern California. In addition to Classroom Visits, we are also open to designing and contributing other kinds of educational activities.
> Contact PCEC for further information <
This public education project aims to enhance public appreciation and understanding of wildlife and the important role played by wild lands in biological sustainability. The project centers on a northern California coastal community, Shelter Cove, CA, situated within the pristine wilderness of the King Range National Conservation Area (KRNCA) managed by the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management. Visitors and residents are a key focus of the educational efforts. Click on the green title above for more information. Click on the Guide to view the new Wild Animals Guide featuring terrestrial vertebrates (printed in November 2020).
Student Scholarships in Support
of Environmental Research (SSER)
PCEC provides scholarships to support research projects undertaken by students, through its SSER Program. As funds become available, funding opportunities are announced through this website and other publicly accessible venues as a Request for Proposals (RFP). Depending upon the RFP, different levels of students will be eligible (e.g., college, high school, middle school, or elementary school). Project areas typically address a specific, current environmental problem, using a fresh scientific approach or method. PCEC views students as future research scientists who may contribute new knowledge and fundamentally help to solve environmental problems using rational scientific approaches!
Stay Tuned for the Next RFP!
LINKS:
See the PCEC Facebook Page for more on past educational programs
