Immersive reality is bringing outdoor education to a whole new level. Yet so many of us have never even put on a headset and stepped into a 360 experience. In this hands-on workshop, you will explore 360 photos and 360 videos created by faculty and field station staff to explore natural areas. You will learn how to use a virtual reality viewer, generate 360 photos using your smartphone, create educational content, and discuss best practices and methods. Bring a pair of VR goggles and be immersed! 

Our planet is facing an unprecedented ecological crisis of our own doing: climate change. Catastrophe is looming, yet we seem unable to act quickly enough. What can we do? How can we become more motivated to correct our destructive behavior? This workshop explores the use of mindfulness practice to awaken a spirit of compassion and kindness for nature. We’ll provide a brief explanation of mindfulness, discuss why it is difficult for us to change our behavior, and guide participants through fun and easy mindfulness-based exercises around the theme of gratitude for nature. Watch recorded event here: Local Nature: Ecology, Crisis & Mindfulness, April 19, 2021

Bring researchers into your classroom and give students a window into the process of scientific inquiry. Join us for an informal chat with scientists from Sonoma State University and Sonoma Water studying how climate change is affecting the Russian River Watershed. Come explore this fascinating topic through both an academic and applied lens while hearing about who these scientists are, how they got interested in watershed research, and their scientific goals and questions. We'll show clips of them out doing their work, followed by a chance to ask questions and discuss.

Bring researchers into your classroom and give students a window into the process of scientific inquiry. Join us for an informal chat with researchers using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to examine carbon storage and cycling in ecosystems within Colorado, Maryland, and Virginia. Find out who they are, how they got interested in ecological carbon research, and the research questions they are asking. NEON is a long-term, continental-scale, ecological observation facility funded by NSF and operated by Battelle that offers a variety of open ecological data that powers the most important science being done today. Instructor Guide and Event Resources available. Watch recorded event here: Live from the Field: Carbon Storage & Cycling, April 12, 2021 *If you are an instructor who used this for your class, please take this short survey

How does the health of the globe connect to global health? Some of the ways climate change may effect your health are obvious, smoke and heat illness to name a few. Dr. Joshua Weil, Emergency Physician at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa and part of the Permanente Medical Group will explore some of the many other ways in which the planet’s health and your health intersect, often in subtle ways. He will also discuss the ways you can proactively shape healthy choices, and even potentially influence climate change within health care. Watch recorded event here: Deep Dive: Healthy Planet, Healthy People, April 6, 2021

Bring researchers into your classroom and give students a window into the process of scientific inquiry. Join us for an informal chat with researchers examining how various forms of remote sensing can be used to study biodiversity and growth in California, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Find out who they are, how they got interested in this research, and the scientific questions they are asking. Instructor guide and event resources available. Watch recorded event here: Live from the Field: Remote Sensing of Growth & Diversity, April 1, 2021 *If you are an instructor who used this for your class, please take this short survey

From afar, our coastal grasslands appear as vast swaths of green or gold, depending upon the time of year. Within the small space of a footprint, however, you can find a wealth of diversity – grasses towering over gorgeous wildflowers, busy pollinators, snakes hiding in rodent burrows and fungi recycling nutrients. Come learn about this world that is often overlooked, but integral to our well-being. We will explore the history, beauty and mysteries of this dynamic and complex ecosystem as well as management approaches to preserving this threatened system that supports native biodiversity, healthy soils and water quality, and in turn provides benefit to all residents of our community. Come away with a deepened appreciation for the tiny forest beneath our feet. Watch recorded event here: Deep Dive: Waving in the Wind, March 18, 2021