DIG INTO NATURE
Sign up for spring events at the Osborn and Galbreath Preserves. Get outside and learn about insects, technology, and natural history, or attend a theatre performance under the oaks.
Currently at the Center for Environmental Inquiry
2017 ANNUAL REPORT
Our 2017 annual report highlights how we work with students and all our partners to solve real-world environmental challenges. Download report or email the Center Director, Dr. Claudia Luke (lukec@sonoma.edu), for a hard copy. Report printed on recycled paper with soy based ink and on solar powered equipment. view 2017 annual report; download 2017 annual report (3.5 Mb).
Inquiry and the North Bay Fires
SSU preserve lands were spared during the North Bay fires, although our smallest preserve, Los Guillicos, suffered intensive damage from fire fighting activities. Since the fires, we have begun collaborating with organizations in our community to involve SSU students and faculty in finding solutions the create a resilient future for our communities and ecosystems. Contact Center Director Claudia Luke (lukec@sonoma.edu).
Spend 3 Beautiful Minutes with CEI's Preserves
Check out the new video of our faculty and students charging ahead to grapple with real-world environmental challenges. Learn more about the Center's activities. A beautiful piece of film making from our friends at New Leaf Media and Greenflash Consulting. "What Are We Growing at the Center for Environmental Inquiry" video.
Visit Center News for more
Photo credit: Website images are available at the Center Gallery or Sonoma Preserves Photo Group unless otherwise indicated.
January 2018
Docent Naturalist Training Program
Jan 24-Feb 5: Required informational Meetings for the Osborn Naturalist Training are held Jan 24 (Wed), Jan 25 (Thu), Jan 29 (Mon), Jan 30 (Tue), Jan 31 (Wed), Feb 1 (Thu) and Feb 5 (Mon). All meetings are 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Room 101, Darwin Hall, SSU Campus. The training is open to students and community members. Contact Us for more information about how to participate.
Land Management Training Program
Jan 24-Feb 5: Required informational Meetings for the Land Management Training are held Jan 24 (Wed), Jan 25 (Thu), Jan 29 (Mon), Jan 30 (Tue), Jan 31 (Wed), Feb 1 (Thu) and Feb 5 (Mon). All meetings are 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Room 101, Darwin Hall, SSU Campus. The training is open to students and community members. Contact Us for more information about how to participate.
February 2018
Docent Naturalist Training Program
Jan 24-Feb 5: Required informational Meetings for the Osborn Naturalist Training are held Jan 24 (Wed), Jan 25 (Thu), Jan 29 (Mon), Jan 30 (Tue), Jan 31 (Wed), Feb 1 (Thu) and Feb 5 (Mon). All meetings are 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Room 101, Darwin Hall, SSU Campus. The training is open to students and community members. Contact Us for more information about how to participate.
Feb 8 (Thu): Registration Deadline
Feb 11-March 11 (Sundays): Training Days for registered participants occur on five consecutive Sundays (Feb 11, 18, 25, March 4, 11) from 9 am to 5 pm at the Osborn Preserve.
Land Management Training Program
Jan 24-Feb 5: Required informational Meetings for the Land Management Training are held Jan 24 (Wed), Jan 25 (Thu), Jan 29 (Mon), Jan 30 (Tue), Jan 31 (Wed), Feb 1 (Thu) and Feb 5 (Mon). All meetings are 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Room 101, Darwin Hall, SSU Campus. The training is open to students and community members. Contact Us for more information about how to participate.
Feb 8 (Thu): Registration Deadline
Feb 10-March 10 (Saturdays): Training Days for registered participants occur on five consecutive Saturdays (Feb 10, 17, 24, March 3, 10) from 9 am to 5 pm at the Osborn Preserve and various sites throughout Sonoma County.
Osborn Elementary School Tour Program
Feb 19 (Mon): Applications Due - Elementary schools interested in tours of the Osborn Preserve must register by this date.
Feb 26 (Mon): Notification of lottery results for elementary school applicants to the program.
March 2018
Docent Naturalist Training Program
Feb 11-March 11 (Sundays): Training Days for registered participants occur on five consecutive Sundays (Feb 11, 18, 25, March 4, 11) from 9 am to 5 pm at the Osborn Preserve.
Land Management Training Program
Feb 10-March 10 (Saturdays): Training Days for registered participants occur on five consecutive Saturdays (Feb 10, 17, 24, March 3, 10) from 9 am to 5 pm at the Osborn Preserve and various sites throughout Sonoma County.
Osborn Elementary School Tour Program
March 29-May 4: Elementary School Tours (for lottery winners only) occur Thursdays & Fridays from 9:45 am - 2:00 pm.
Public Hikes at Osborn Preserve
March 17-May 5 (Saturdays only): The public is welcome to join Saturday tours without a reservation starting March 17. Meet at 10:00 am on Saturdays at the Osborn Preserve parking lot.
April 2018
Osborn Elementary School Tour Program
March 29-May 4: Elementary School Tours (for lottery winners only) occur Thursdays & Fridays from 9:45 am - 2:00 pm.
Public Hikes at Osborn Preserve
March 17-May 5 (Saturdays only): The public is welcome to join Saturday tours without a reservation starting March 17. Meet at 10:00 am on Saturdays at the Osborn Preserve parking lot.
May 2018
Osborn Elementary School Tour Program
March 29-May 4: Elementary School Tours (for lottery winners only) occur Thursdays & Fridays from 9:45 am - 2:00 pm.
Public Hikes at Osborn Preserve
March 17-May 5 (Saturdays only): The public is welcome to join Saturday tours without a reservation starting March 17. Meet at 10:00 am on Saturdays at the Osborn Preserve parking lot.
Welcome to SSU's outdoor classrooms. We welcome visitors of all ages and affiliations engaged in research and education. Explore our preserves, Programs and Projects at each of the links below. If you like what you see and would like to get involved, please consider a donation to the Center. Over 50% of our annual budget is supported by donors.
Preserves
Los Guillicos, Osborn and Galbreath Preserves are in the Mayacama, Sonoma, and Inner Coast ranges of California's North Coast and range in size from 40 to 3,600 acres. Each Preserve is a unique blend of environment, culture and economy that create opportunities for teaching, research, and community engagement in the liberal arts and sciences. Reservations are required - see Visit a Preserve for details.
Programs
Preserve-sponsored programs engage learners of all ages and focus on environmental education, watersheds, and land management. We prioritize hands-on learning.
Projects
At each of our preserves, we collaborate on projects with organizations, students, faculty and community members to address regional environmental challenges. Independent research by persons of any affiliation is encouraged. Resulting data (see Info Hub) are shared with agencies and other stakeholders. To learn more about on-going projects, visit Preserve Project pages: (Osborn Projects, Galbreath Projects).
This year, I learned the term “wicked problem.” The phrase defines a problem that is difficult to solve because of incomplete information, nondefinitive solutions, and complex interdependencies. In a Policy Science journal article in 2012, Levin et al. coined the term "superwicked problem” to characterize the challenge of global climate change. How do we prepare students to grapple with such complex issues?
The Center's preserves are SSU's outdoor classrooms. Preserve programs create the hands-on learning experiences that challenge students to deal with the complexities and inconsistencies that characterize real-world problems. Everything we do at our preserves - operations, management, data, and programs - is an opportunity to seek student involvement and input in finding new solutions. In the past 3 years, we have collaboratively developed projects with students and faculty in the performing arts, business, history, engineering, computer science, geography and the life sciences. (See InfoHub/Projects).
Each of our three preserves provide unlimited opportunities for discovery and learning in economy, culture and environment. These sites can be the inspiration for acquiring skills and motivation needed to embrace multi-disciplinary solutions that will characterize the Century of the Environment.
Dr. Claudia Luke
Director, Center for Environmental Inquiry
