CSU’s Native American Cultural Center (NACC) in partnership with the Warner College of Natural Resources and CSU Extension is preparing a 70-acre field site and programming for community-based Indigenous science education to address a longstanding need for Indigenous education, serving CSU’s commitments as a land grant institution and needs identified by our local Native community. Project goals include engaging Indigenous and climate resilient design principles to develop a site that will support experiential learning and research opportunities for students, faculty, staff and community members. Research, outreach and activities at this field site will broadly focus on ecological restoration and cultural reconciliation efforts. We have identified two extension internship opportunities centering around our unifying project theme: Community-Based Indigenous Science for Restoration & Reconciliation, including a natural resource survey and Indigenous and climate-resilient landscape design.
The intern will provide baseline data to support development of an Indigenous community-based Indigenous science program
● ● Objective 1 Research culturally important plant species native to the area through oral history archive records & literature searches.
● Objective 2: Conduct a survey of plant and soil resources at the property.
● Objective 3: Draft a native plant guide for the property and local region, including a list of target species and strategies for propagation and restoration efforts, and identify local knowledge keepers for future interviews.
● Objective 4: Identify suitable locations for an on-site climate monitoring station and culturally important native plant garden.
● Objective 5: Develop a presentation of research to relevant stakeholders.
