Education Blog Posts

In June, students in the Sustainable Oceans NRT Program journeyed across California’s North Coast, meeting with residents, scientists, and managers to learn about the issues facing coastal communities. Here, Ellie Oldach recounts an experience visiting a marine science center and speaking to Pat, a local fisherman in Fort Bragg, CA. This article is printed with Pat’s permission.

The first thing we notice on entering the Noyo Center, Fort Bragg’s marine science and community hub, is a geodesic dome installed in the back of the room.

By Hannah Palmer and Katie Dubois

Hannah and Katie are PhD Candidates at UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory and are the co-directors of the SRJC-BML Internship Program for 2019.

Every summer since 2012, students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have conducted research at UC Davis as part of the UC-HBCU Initiative. And every summer, Rick Grosberg, Professor and Director of the Coastal and Marine Science Institute, and I have taken a group of these and other summer research students to the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Rick and I both got bitten by the research bug at marine labs and relish sharing something of that experience with our students. And we get to enjoy a day on the coast out of the summer heat. 

For many students, this trip provides their first encounter with living intertidal organisms, marine systems, and the Pacific Ocean.

Woutrina Smith is an Associate Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis.