Last month the Climate Science Alliance team was grateful to partner with Wildcoast to support Indigenous youth to attend their first ever Coastal Cultural Day!
Last month the Climate Science Alliance team was happy to partner with Jules Jackson, Ocean Conservation & Education Coordinator at Wildcoast, to support the Coastal Leaders Internship for Indigenous Youth to attend their first ever Coastal Cultural Day!
14 Indigenous youth interns ranging from the ages 13 through 16 representing the San Pasqual Ipai band of Kumeyaay, the Payómkawichum bands of Rincon, Pauma, Pala and La Jolla and the Desert Cahuilla of Torres Martinez visited Scripps Institution of Oceanography where they observed Wildcoast California Conservation Coordinator Carlos Callado work with blue carbon samples.
The interns were accompanied by their Advisors Blaine Mazzetti, George Pojas and UC San Diego Alum Shandiin Armao who they later re-joined at the UCSD Inter-Tribal Resource Center’s Annual Pow-wow where they learned about the collegiate application process.
Youth partnered together into 3 teams and developed interactive, educational games for elementary aged students teaching them about ocean policy and kayaking through their ancestral waterways adjacent to Mat Kulaaxuuy, Kumeyaay for “land of holes,” where they observed diverse species through the application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
Any Indigenous youth interested in applying to the program for the 2022-2023 academic year can contact Coach Jackson at jules@wildcoast.org.