Projects

The Environmental Education project provides free place based environmental education field trips for schools. These field trips host students from elementary school to high school centered on learning about native ecology, chaparral ecosystems, environmental management strategies, and fire ecology. Curriculum is tailored to fit the needs of the visiting classes. The project is also working on developing signage across the Conservancy for plant identification and highlighting the history of the land.

The Mycology project explores the ecological, artistic, and material possibilities of fungi through hands-on cultivation and interdisciplinary inquiry. The program connects students to place-based research into fungal diversity within the Bernard Field Station's native chaparral ecosystem, grounding their working in the landscapes of campus. Beyond field and cultivation work, the program engages the growing intersection of mycology with bio-art and sustainable architecture, examining how fungal materials and mycelial systems are reshaping design, building, and creative practice. It is home to the 5C Mycological Society and supports ongoing collaborations with external mycologists, artists, and designers.

The Air quality team is working to improve air quality and access to air quality data in the Inland Empire, particularly in communities that are most impacted. In a partnership with the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), IQ Air, and/or the Freight Communities Action Coalition, over 50 particulate air quality monitors have been installed at community members' homes, and we are analyzing, visualizing, and publishing over a year's worth of data. We have been conducting interviews and sharing our findings with community members at local events to help foster a stronger understanding of local environmental issues and encourage people to organize and advocate to make all of this data accessible and interactive for community members.

Our fellows are currently working on map making for our SoCal Earth website.

For more information visit SoCal Earth

The Agrivoltaics project is developing and disseminating curriculum that illuminates the potential of agrivoltaics within the clean energy transition. By integrating solar energy production with active agricultural land use, agrivoltaics represents one of the most promising and underutilized tools for decarbonizing our energy system while supporting food security and land stewardship. The program draws on collaboration with solar developers and community organizations to ground its curriculum in real-world practice and policy. A central focus is supporting the Southern California region, including the Pitzer College Spadra Farm site, as a living demonstration of what this emerging model can look like in practice.