Nuestro Desierto
Year 1 Annual Report |
Jump to annual report details (2023-2025)| Amount | $298,569 |
| Grantee | COFEM |
| Award Year | 2022 |
| Funding Source | General Fund, Outdoor Equity Program |
| Project Type | Program Operation |
| Project Status | In Progress |
Description
Conduct the COFEM – Nuestro Desierto Program near Veterans Park in the City of Coachella. This program will include approximately 35 activity days in the community for approximately 1,100 participants and 25 trips to natural areas for approximately 750 participants during four years of programming.
Activities in the community will include Nuestro Desierto/Our Desert California Naturalist Certification, our desert in the park and camping 101.
Trips to natural areas outside of the community will include Mount San Jacinto State Park, Boyd Deep Canyon Research Center in Indian Wells, Whitewater Preserve, Channel Islands National Park camping trip, Shumway Ranch in San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, James Reserve Research Center in the San Jacinto Mountains, Yosemite National Park camping trip, Mecca Hills Wilderness, Sequoia National Park camping trip, Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park camping trip, and Cuidando Nuestras Tierras Públicas.
Community Home Base Location
51477 cesar chaves street Coachella, CA 92236
| County | Riverside |
| Assembly District | AD 36 Jeff Gonzalez (R) |
| Senate District |
SD 18 Steve Padilla (D) |
| Congressional District | CD 25 Raul Ruiz (D) |
Program Goals
Service Learning/Career Pathway/Leadership Opportunities
100 residents will receive California Naturalist Certifications.
5 residents will become environmental fellows.
Partnerships
CactusToCloud will assist with conducting Program Activities, Program Management, and Grant Reporting during the grant performance period. Staff and/or volunteers will provide instruction and logistical support during activities in the community, help in the development of program materials, and provide natural history expertise for Natural Area Trips. CactusToCloud will also document programs during the performance period, including photo, video, and interviews with participants, and assist with outreach.
University of California Riverside Palm Desert Center will provide administrative support for the Nuestro Desierto/Our Desert California Naturalist certification program, including program signups, virtual meeting spaces, and tech support for program participants. Dr. Cameron Barrows with the UCR Center for Conservation Biology will act as the lead instructor for the program, and UCRPD staff will work to foster an inclusive community of California Naturalist graduates from all over the desert who can work together on environmental projects during and after the grant period of performance
Mentoring
25 youths will be selected based on how much interest they demonstrated during the course, their participation during class times, and lastly, their capstone projects. COFEM estimates to mentor youth for a 3–5-year period after the grant period. COFEM plans to continue to engage youth after the grant period by inviting them to join COFEM's other programs that focus on civic engagement, including making environmental justice recommendations to local, state, or federal government. Conservation and environmental civic engagement focus are The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, national monuments, 30x30 Initiative, and advocating for the protection of other desert habitats that need to be protected or require additional protection. Additionally, COFEM collaborates and supports conservation civic engagements from other Inland Empire non-profits. As part of the Ca Naturalist Network, the participants would have the opportunity to join other local naturalists on educational day trips to natural areas, UC research stations and join webinars offered by UC Riverside Center for Conservation Biology. Lastly, the participants would have access to potential stewardship, research, internships, and training opportunities with the partners.
Annual Report Details
Programs may span from one year to multi-year, not to exceed four years. The specific length of the program is contained in the description above.
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Served | 218 | 211 | 429 |
| Days for Activities in the Community | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| Nature Area Trips | 7 | 5 | 12 |
List of Educational Goals Achieved
2023
We achieved educational goal number one- Instruction in arts, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that connects nature experiences, or environmental stewardship. We did this through the Nuestro Desierto workshop series which used UC Agriculture and Natural Resources naturalist curriculum. The naturalist certification is a community college level, interdisciplinary, science centered courses that combine a minimum of 40 hours of classroom and field learning. The California Naturalist course introduces Californians to the wonders of our unique ecology and engages the public in study and stewardship of California’s natural communities
2024
List of Formed Partnerships
2023
Our partners, Cactus to Cloud and UCR Palm Desert participated in adapting the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources naturalist certification curriculum. Cactus to Cloud and UCR Palm Desert continued to assist in instructing the workshop series. Cactus to Cloud regularly partners with COFEM on outreach events to promote the workshop series. Together, we have accomplished the recruitment, implementation, and culmination of two Nuestro Desierto workshop series and have successfully given Naturalist certificates to almost 40 participants.
2024
Lessons
2023
The main lesson learned is how seemingly unrelated organizational occurrences can profoundly affect the work of the whole organization. As restructuring and staff transitions have occurred over the past year, the Coachella Conservation manager has taken on extra responsibilities as positions get filled and new employees are trained. Because of the organization's change, Sendy identified the need for additional staff to focus solely on the Coachella conservation program to accommodate the increasing workload. To address this need, Sendy has secured additional funding to support the work of two interns who will support conservation program campaign efforts. COFEM has also filled various vacancies and has alleviated some of the workload that Sendy had to take on due to those vacancies.
Another lesson learned was the importance of adapting to unforeseen circumstances. We recently had some flooding conditions in the Coachella area, and because of that, it was necessary to host our Nuestro Desierto: Energy, Environmental Challenges, and Justice class as a hybrid. We recognized the importance of helping students complete the course and worked to find a way to provide it despite the issues we and our students were facing.
