On Monday, October 18, 2021, we had our first in-person Conservation Collaboration Agreement (CCA) field experience in nearly a year.
Although we had continued our CCAs virtually throughout the pandemic, it was exciting to finally get students back out in the field. More than 50 students from Campolindo High School gathered at Mangini Ranch to learn about land conservation and connect with nature.
Students learned about land conservation out in the field at Mangini Ranch. Photo by Al Johnson.
Each CCA includes an in-class presentation by Save Mount Diablo staff about the importance of caring for nature and how both land conservation and individual actions can contribute to addressing the climate crisis.
We remind them that students organized to bring about massive environmental and social change in the 1960s and 1970s and that together, we can create a better, more sustainable world.
Students helped prepare Mangini Ranch for opening as an educational preserve. Photo by Al Johnson.
Then the students have a field experience in which our staff teach them about native plants and ecosystems and contribute to caring for the land. For this CCA, they all pitched in to help prepare Mangini Ranch for its opening next spring as an educational preserve.
Students caged trees, flagged milkweeds (as part of our milkweed mapping project), and connected small sections of cattle trails for future use at the Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve when it opens next spring.
Lastly, the students had time to sit and think amid a grove of oak trees, where they journaled about their relationship with nature. Many expressed their anxiety and concern about the climate crisis.
Students reflect on their feelings and surroundings. Photo by Al Johnson.
Our CCA program is enabling the students to truly connect with nature and is teaching them that they can meaningfully contribute to ending climate change. The result is that we are fostering the next generation of activists who will shape the world.
Top photo by Al Johnson.
