The Climate Science Alliance was honored to support the Pala Band of Mission Indians Environmental Department’s “Oakstravaganza” event on August 27th, held alongside the annual Honoring Traditions Gathering. Over 200 community members from across the region gathered under the trees at Pala Rey Youth Camp to participate in fun activities and visit educational booths.
Hosted by the Pala Environmental Department with support from the Climate Science Alliance team, Oakstravaganza was a day of family fun promoting stewardship of oaks and the environment. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about pollinators, recycling, and local oak species, and participate in fun hands-on science experiments, gourd painting, rock climbing, and archery. The event was held on August 27th alongside the Honoring Traditions Gathering, an annual event hosted by the Pala Band of Mission Indians which includes Bird Singing, food, vendors, and games of Shinny and Peon.
Over 200 community members from across the region gathered under the trees at Pala Rey Youth Camp to participate in the schedule of activities, including story time, fun science experiments, and an animal encounter. The Pala Environmental Department and Planet Pala provided attendees with cooling towels to beat the heat, as well as Coast Live Oak and Engelmann oak saplings to plant at home. A variety of educational booths were present, hosted by organizations such as the San Diego Natural History Museum and the Solana Center. Attendees who participated in the activities had the opportunity to win a prize at the grand raffle, which included museum and park passes donated by the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and San Diego Natural History Museum.
The Climate Science Alliance team hosted a table and reading nook to distribute Climate Kids Book Club bags and promote the book sets now available for check-out at the Climate Kids Hubs, one of which is hosted by the Pala Environmental Department. Climate Kids of all ages were invited to hang out and stay cool in our reading nook, read a book from our library, color seed paper bookmarks at the craft station, or learn more about our climate change solutions.
Many thanks to the Pala Environmental Department team for hosting such a fun community event, and to the Cupeño and Luiseño peoples on whose homelands we gathered on.
Learn more at Pala Environmental Department and Planet Pala youth activities at ped.palatribe.com/planet-pala /
Learn more about the Climate Kids program and resources available through the Hubs, including the Traveling Trunks and Book Club sets, at www.climatekids.org.