Earth Systems Science, Inc.

Joint Ventures 2003 Conference Success

Nov 30, 2003

Photo (c) 2003, ESSI. L to R: Chris La Pointe, Gregory Lee, Lisa Eschenbach, Saifon Lee, Frank Hays, Charles Taylor, Tatsunori Ikeda (kneeling), Patrick McCullough, Gaynell Stinson.

The Joint Ventures 2003: Partners in Stewardship conference was a success! History was made at the Los Angeles Convention Center from Nov 17-20. This was the first time that the 7 major federal land management agencies (National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Reclamation) met at the same conference to improve cooperative operations.

This was also the first time the Los Angeles Community Partners (LACP), the local affiliate of National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), presented a summary of their Public Land Corps grant activities to a national forum. The LACP team co?–presented a panel discussion with another Public Land Corps group from Seattle, Washington. The Seattle group consisted of National Park Service, Seattle City Parks, and Earth Corps. LACP team consisted of Earth Systems Science, Inc., Expo Rangers, Manzanar National Historic Site, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Gregory Lee organized the LACP team of Earth Systems Science, Inc. (consisting of Alex Arboleda, Saifon Lee, Erika Rodriguez), Expo Rangers (Patrick McCullough, Gaynell Stinson, Tatsunori Ikeda), and their National Park partners, Frank Hays (Superintendent, Manzanar NHS), and Charles Taylor (External Affairs, Santa Monica Mountains NRA). Lisa Eschenback (National Park Service) and Chris La Pointe (Earth Corps) with Belinda Chin (Seattle City Parks in absentia) represented the Seattle group.

The ESSI-Expo Ranger slide illustrated presentation was well received. The ESSI-Expo Ranger Public Land Corps grant programs successfully implemented the NPCA Cultural Diversity Initiative by bringing urban youth of diverse ages, ethnicities, socio-economic-geographic backgrounds to the National Parks. At the same time, the program integrated academics, job skills, and outdoor leadership training while helping the two participating National Park units with much needed work in GPS surveys (at Manzanar) and trail surveys (in the Santa Monica Mountains). In addition the joint panel presentation, ESSI-Expo Ranger team set up a poster display to highlight their Public Land Corps projects at Manzanar and the Santa Monica Mountains and distributed brochures for the LA Community Partners.

The conference also provided an opportunity for ESSI and the Expo Rangers to see other examples of partnerships between community groups and other federal agencies. The Exhibit Hall provided access to vendors and a wide variety of resources from federal agencies. Of particular interest were agencies providing a wealth of free environmental data resources. These are particularly useful as ESSI training uses the Geographic Systems Model to guide students in a systematic background reference research about the environmental conditions at the destination site. The resources from the federal agencies speeds up the access to data. Additionally, the emergence of federal metadata standards reduces the haphazardness of students?’ individual Internet and library reference searches. Some of the federal data resources are available on CDs. This provides flexibility for data access to students without Internet access. This also helps ESSI ?“standardize?” reference research training for students by providing a common single data source for structuring introductory lessons.

Conference organizers provided free consultations to community groups and their federal partners. Greg Lee and Frank Hays discussed their partnership with available consultants and clarified terms and conditions for cooperative agreements as well as explored various alternative approaches to a range of partnership topics and program funding.

The crowning moments of the conference came at the closing ceremony. It started with a reading of Gaynell Stinson?’s letter to a large assembly of conference attendees. Gaynell attends Pasadena City College and learned about the trip through her Geography Class. Upon hearing of the Expo Rangers Public Land Corps grant project (open to youth aged 16-24), she volunteered to go in order satisfy her curiosity and to introduce her 16-year old son, Gerrod, to the program. She is a very ?“experienced youth?” and wrote of her first camping experience with her 16-year old son and 2-year old grandson---three generations of first-time campers---on an Expo Ranger trip to Manzanar. Her grandson Demonte went on the trip due to a day care issue arising at the last minute. The openness and family focus of the Expo Ranger program allowed the flexibility of including him on the trip. This one trip had a profound positive effect on each member of this urban African-American family. In a nut shell, that?’s what the programs are all about---inclusion, a focus on families learning and sharing together, broadening horizons, connecting people to nature, providing career orientations to outdoor environmental jobs, and bringing diverse groups to National Parks.

And if this wasn?’t enough, Julianna Cortez-Lineras represented the Expo Rangers and met Gene Washington, Director of Operations of the National Football League and Board member of the National Parks Foundation. Washington presented two autographed game footballs during the closing ceremonies. Julianna accepted one of them for the Expo Rangers. She is currently an Art major at Los Angeles City College. Her Expo Ranger trip to Manzanar exposed her to GPS training, something quite different from her major. Later that evening, she made a sketch of a mountain stream near the campsite. She has since used that sketch to create a painting to remember her trip. During that same trip, she had the chance to meet Henry Fukuhara, a former Manzanar internee and now a renowned abstract watercolorist. Julianna shared her Expo Ranger opportunity by inviting two friends to participate (Gloria Piaza and Sarah Flores). This was their first camping trip. All three young ladies were from another Los Angeles Community Partner group, Esperanza Community Housing Corp.

Other results of the Expo Ranger Public Land Corps projects included:
?·An article by Michelle Burkhart in the first issue of a newsletter published by the NPS Northwest Regional office on Public Land Corps grants. The Expo Rangers were featured on the front page. The article filled 3 ?½ pages of the 8-page regional newsletter distributed to National Parks in the Pacific NW area. Following its release, the entire article was picked up and posted to the National Park Service ?“Insider?” electronic newsletter accessible nation-wide.

?·Two youth, Andrew Anderson and Sandra Avecado, enrolled in college for the first time because of their participation in the Expo Rangers.

?·One youth, Dennis Phillips, Jr. was offered a summer internship at Manzanar NHS because of his participation in the Expo Ranger Public Land Corps work at that park. He turned it down for a full-time position as a camp counselor with the Long Beach Unified School District. His knowledge, skills, and experience acquired via the Expo Rangers played an important part in his job interview.

?·A listing in the National Park Service Public Land Corps website documenting the Expo Ranger projects.

The long path leading to these successes began nearly 7 years ago through a series of small seemingly unconnected steps.

?·In 1996, McCullough, tired of trash being dumped in an abandoned rail right of way across the street from his home, mounts a long uphill struggle to create a greenway to beautify the neighborhood and prevent illegal dumping. This ultimately led to a community grassroots effort that planted more than 2,500 trees along a 6-mile stretch of abandoned rail line. Ultimately, this trail led to forming the Expo Rangers, the youth component of the LACP Public Land Corps efforts.

?·In Fall 1998, Charles Thomas (Outward Bound Adventures, Inc.) and Mr. Lee met through contacts at Pasadena City College and the Los Angeles Geographical Society. This led to Mr. Lee volunteering to provide outdoor environmental education training for Outward Bound Adventures, Inc. staff. Patrick McCullough was in one of the training groups. Lee and McCullough formed Earth Systems Science, Inc. and wrote the Public Land Corps grant proposals involving the Expo Rangers.

?·This also led to Mr. Lee?’s involvement in the Los Angeles Community Partners in Spring 1999. McCullough was a Co-Director of the Los Angeles Community Partners (a local affiliate of the National Parks Conservation Association, to which he was also a consultant).

?·Summer 1999, Lee conducts a volunteer project in northern Thailand for the Los Angeles Geographical Society. Clarice Albert, a community college student from Los Angeles Valley College volunteers to lead the composting component. This was the first live test of Lee?’s community-based environmental education model. They train 5 rural Thai volunteers from 3 villages for 10 days in composting, non-toxic pest control, soil analysis, and soil erosion control. [Note: By 2002, the Teach Back method resulted in about 600 people from 23 villages being trained.] This community-based environmental education model is at the foundation of Earth Systems Science, Inc.

?·In Fall of 1999, Lee and McCullough took the lead in organizing and implementing the Junior Ranger Pilot Program. This program was the direct result of youth input for a wish list of what they wanted in a ?“youth program?” combined with the NPCA?’s Cultural Diversity Initiative. Lee crafted the curriculum by adding U.S. Dept. of Labor job training guidelines, basic academics, Geography, and environmental science. The educational component was tailored to prepare youth for entry-level jobs in the National Parks at the end of the pilot program. Lee and McCullough launched the program by leading the first 4 trips. Other LA Community Partner groups led the remaining 4 trips.

?·During late Fall 1999, Francisco Bermudez-Morales and Alan Spears (NPCA) notified the LACP of the existence of the Public Land Corps grants. Lee and McCullough drafted 3 proposals and submitted them to National Parks in the LA area. Santa Monica Mountains NRA (an LACP member) and Manzanar NHS responded. Charles Taylor took the lead at Santa Monica and Frank Hays at Manzanar.

?·December 1999, Lee and McCullough brainstorm forming a new educational non-profit to provide outdoor environmental education. They learn more about the other?’s past environmental accomplishments and combine their efforts to focus on McCullough?’s urban neighborhood as a long-term pilot. This marked the birth of Earth Systems Science, Inc. using Lee?’s rural community-based environmental education model combined with McCullough?’s urban grassroots organization. The focal points are families in urban neighborhoods and their sustainability. This explains why the ESSI educational approach is community-based, loaded with career orientation and job skills training involving youth and their families.

?·Late Spring-early Summer 2000, the Expo Rangers were 2 awarded Public Land Corps Grants ($18,000 for Manzanar; $17,000 for Santa Monica). The ESSI-Expo In-Kind match was $23,142 for Manzanar and $26,448 for Santa Monica. For most people, this marked the beginning of the current Public Land Corps effort.

Both National Parks partners, Charles Taylor (Santa Monica Mountains) and Frank Hays (Manzanar) readily acknowledge the strong organization and effectiveness of the Expo Ranger programs in bringing diverse groups of urban youth to their parks. The groups have nearly equal numbers of males and females. Half the groups are first time campers. Half have never been to these National Park units before. Based on his prior experience with community volunteer groups at Grand Canyon National Park, Frank Hays regards the small Expo Rangers group as ?“being one of the best organized and most effective community groups?” he has ever encountered.

For Lee and McCullough, the end game really rests with the impact upon the program participants---the urban youth and families they are trying to connect to nature and the National Parks. Participants comment on the sheer wonder of the star-filled night sky, beautiful open spaces and amazing scenery, making new friends, a surprising sense of safety and security, sharing new experiences with other youth and (amazingly) with family members, trying new food, learning practical job skills (while having fun) and broadening horizons are only the tip of the ice berg. Another widespread feeling is the realization they have discovered a whole new world and a new perspective on life.

After the conference, Stinson sent the following e-mail to ESSI on behalf of herself and her family: "Mr. Lee, Saifon, Frank, Patrick ...Thank you for adding quality to our lives. The experience has been phenomenal! We will continue to benefit from this the rest of our lives. I am very grateful to all of you for making this happen for my family in my lifetime. From all of us, Thank you."

[Note: Special thanks go to ESSI-Expo Ranger team leaders Alex Arboleda, Erika Rodriguez, Tatunori Ikeda, and Saifon Lee for their many hours of hard work supporting the dreams and goals of ESSI and the Expo Rangers.]