Goals & Needs

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The UC Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) is a beautiful 5.358 acre Research and Extension Center in Mendocino, Northern California. As a living laboratory we support not only conduct research relating to climate science and agriculture (focusing on rangeland sheep, oak woodlands and viticulture) but also deliver educational programs to extend this research to our community from youth-adults. This will be our fourth year of working with a GrizzlyCorps Fellow.

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Days will be varied, from direct education delivery to communication planning and curriculum creation:

• Working with the media and outreach teams on creation of social media posts/short films/press releases/publicity to express the research and extension work of HREC. (15%)

• Delivery and development of school programs to over 1000 K-12 students, mostly from January-May. This will include working with a community of volunteers. (50%)

• Develop new communication strategies and educational programs to meet the needs of underrepresented audiences.(25%)

• Support the delivery of the Climate Stewards class, a 40 hour training program for adults focused on climate resiliency and community action. (10%)

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The environmental challenge the work will address:

• Increased preparedness and resilience to extreme weather and climate change. 

• Improved access to natural environments.

• Increased diversity, inclusiveness and cultural competence in environmental education.

• Increased youth awareness of natural resource and agricultural systems, issues, and solutions

• Supporting climate action and education efforts to diverse community members in a rural location on a working landscape.

 

Capacity Building Projects

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1. Support the delivery of the Climate Stewards class, a 40 hour training program for adults focused on climate resiliency and community action. (10%).

   1. Audience served: This UC ANR developed curriculum serves 20-25 local community participants over a course of 10 weeks. 

   2. Role of Fellow: The fellow will take a training course to become an instructor and join a team of 2 instructors in course delivery and administration. During marketing and registration the fellow will outreach to underserved communities/groups to share details of the program. The fellow will work to connect with local community organizations who may become an avenue for newly certified climate stewards to continue their climate action activities after the class is complete.

   3. Desired project outcomes: Delivery of the Climate Stewards class to a class population that expresses the diversity of Mendocino County communities. Connections for class participants to community groups working on climate action and resiliency.

   4. This will support HREC’s capacity to educate an informed local citizenry to support community based climate action projects.
       

2. Improving equity in youth and adult education programs on climate resilience, agriculture and natural resources at HREC.

   1. Audience served: Community audiences, schools and youth serving groups.

   2. Role of Fellow: 

      1. Deliver youth field trips (with support from HREC volunteer team and Community Educator) to over 1000 K-12 students annually. 

      2. Improve access for underserved participants to HREC programs (field trips, lambing school, shearing school, climate stewards, hikes) using a variety of marketing strategies e.g. speaking at community gatherings, tabling, social media, press releases.

      3. Use community, program participant, volunteer and staff feedback to advise on program improvements with particular focus on creating welcoming experiences for diverse audiences.

   3. Desired project outcomes: 

      1. Improved educational programs that meet the needs of Mendocino County residents, recognizing and embracing the diversity present within this community. 

      2. An increase in underserved community participation in these programs.

   4. This will support HREC’s capacity to deliver climate, agriculture and natural resource programs to all members of the community.
       

3. Support  (middle school) teacher uptake of FireWorks N. California Oak Woodlands curriculum and resource boxes.

   1. Audience served: Ukiah/Cloverdale/Hopland middle schools or educational programs.

   2. Role of Fellow: The fellow will connect with two new schools for delivery of this program and offer classroom lessons pre and post fire science field trip to two returning schools and the two new schools. Where appropriate the fellow will connect these schools to a community action project such as a fire preparedness meeting for school families in collaboration with local FireSafe Council, or fire safety improvements to the school building/landscaping.

   3. Desired project outcomes: Four local schools offering FireWorks N. California Oak Woodlands curriculum, accessing resource boxes and taking part in a local action project.

   4. This will support HREC’s capacity to increase community youth/family wildfire awareness and preparedness.
       

4. Raise awareness of climate, agriculture and natural resource research projects conducted at HREC to the community, through social media and website.

   1. Audience served: Community and landowners/managers who are impacted by new research.

   2. Role of Fellow: The fellow will develop: 

      1. Short videos reflecting four research projects at the site to share on social media/website. Where possible bilingual english/spanish videos should be created.

      2. A weekly social media post expressing the research and educational activities conducted on the site that the fellow is working on/with.

   3. Desired project outcomes: Increased awareness of the research and resources available through HREC/UC ANR to support land management, community climate resiliency and agriculture.

   4. This will support HREC’s capacity to reach wider audiences with new discoveries made on site regarding climate resiliency, agriculture and natural resource stewardship.

 

Organizational & Community Highlights

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The Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) is known throughout UC ANR as one of the most beautiful locations within our statewide REC system, with over 5300 acres of oak woodlands, rangelands, riparian areas, and chaparral. The core of HREC is our headquarters area nestled in a small valley surrounded by oaks and madrones. We have a conference center, dormitory, 7 houses, an office building with a lab, sheep barn, warehouses, and a full set of workshops (wood, metal, mechanics) to support our working ranch. As a recent Corp member describes, “I like that this place encourages me to spend time in quiet reflection, outdoor meditation, and artistic practice, without the constant distraction of living near bustling urban events. It's not too quiet, though, as we do have groups coming in and out to take advantage of our event facilities which gives the opportunity to meet new people at the site on any given week. I also appreciate the variety of environments and cities within a 1 and 2 hour radius of HREC - there are great farmer's markets, shops, and events to be tapped into in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Fort Bragg. Some of the most beautiful coastlines in California are within a day's drive from the site. Some weekends I don't even feel the need to leave, though - the land here is so beautiful and untrodden, there is such biodiversity in trees, flowers, and birds that it never gets old to go hiking on site.”

 

Our staff of 8 are highly skilled individuals in their respective areas including research, administration, business, livestock, community education, facilities, equipment, and agriculture. At HREC, the Member will become an important part of our small team and get to know and work with everyone in group and one-on-one settings. Alongside our HREC staff we also house staff for two statewide programs, IGIS and California Naturalist, and collaborate closely with experts from multiple UC campuses, UC Cooperative Extension, and environmental consultants from government and industry. Thus, the Member will benefit from diverse mentorship opportunities and rich professional networking. HREC staff work hard to create a supportive, respectful, and collaborative office environment; the Member will be challenged to devise independent goals and learn a broad set of skills, while given the opportunity to dive deeply into the exploration of their own unique interests. 

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