December 15, 2022 | United States | Laura Gang | THEY et ANN
Le Pacific Union College [Université adventiste de l’Union du Pacifique] (PUC) has launched a ground-breaking collaboration with St. Helena High School, giving high school students the opportunity to learn how technology is being applied to the environmental challenges they face in their own local communities and beyond, including severe droughts and forest fires. The ten-week course will take place in person on the PUC campus and will give students the opportunity to take academic modules.
“This is a very forward-thinking project that appeals to multiple local interests and combines them in a very modern way,” said Benjamin Scinto, director of St. Helena.
The new partnership with St. Helena comes as PUC launches an undergraduate program in conservation technology, the first of its kind. Led by Scott Butterfield, the program prepares students for careers in environmentally related professions, including conservation technology. Students who complete the four-year program will receive a bachelor’s degree in conservation technology.
Butterfield is PUC’s Professor of Conservation Technology. A local conservationist, he is the lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy’s land program and strategic restoration strategy in the San Joaquin Valley. Butterfield has over 20 years of conservation experience and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and reports.
The term “conservation technology” is relatively new, but the application of technology to environmental management is not, Butterfield said. Older technologies, such as GPS, GIS and wildlife cameras, have been used in a variety of scientific fields. Scientists are also using more modern tools, including remote sensing, drones, artificial intelligence, coding/programming, electronic DNA, and mobile apps.
Butterfield’s course introduction usually begins by talking regarding some of the technologies that students are already familiar with. However, new technologies are constantly emerging.
“We’re in this wave that people call ‘the third industrial revolution,’ and conservation technologies are part of that,” says Butterfield. “Environmental stressors are so severe that there is now a field building around them. The technology is currently being developed and applied specifically for environmental challenges. It’s an exciting time! »
Conservation technology students can pursue careers in environmental science or biology, but they are not limited to these fields. “These skills and the tools students learn are broadly applicable in the job market,” Butterfield said. “They are going to affect many different jobs and fields of study in the future. »
The partnership with St. Helena is part of PUC’s renewed commitment to outreach to local communities. Although the high school is only ten miles from the university, many members of the community don’t know much regarding it.
“It’s a great way for PUC to give back to the community and let them know what’s on offer at the college,” Butterfield said.
St. Helena students know firsthand how vital environmental issues are and what the challenges are not only in Northern California, but around the world.
“In today’s world, all we see in the news is major environmental crises happening, from rising sea levels and increased fire threats to tsunamis, hurricanes and to global warming,” said Butterfield, a parent of high school students from St. Helena. “The COVID pandemic aside, we’ve had a lot of stressors in our environment over the past two years. We have been evacuated twice due to forest fires which are caused by forest management and climate change. We have recently experienced extreme heat waves. Just a few weeks ago, we had 38oC heat, which matches the Palm Springs climate. »
The approximately two dozen students at St. Helena will take the Introductory Conservation Technology course, which will introduce them to technology in conservation and science. PUC provides transportation for students to attend classes on campus.
“If students know enough regarding environmental issues and how to deal with them, they can sort through and have a more informed understanding of the news that affects them,” Butterfield said.
One day, Butterfield hopes that those who take the course and enroll in the undergraduate program will go on to fulfilling careers in the field of environmental science and perhaps even, one day, take up his own job.
PUC offers a College Early program that allows students to earn up to six credits at a reduced cost. Lindsay Morton, assistant dean at PUC, said college can be “an expensive undertaking, and the transition from high school to college can be difficult.” She adds, “We want to make this transition easier by offering students both in-person and online classes at a discounted rate so they can get a head start and get a taste of college before they get on the job. campus. Although we love our university on the mountain, we see the need to support and provide resources in our high schools. »
Scinto said he was an advocate for dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment opportunities for students. St. Helena High School offers 13 college-level courses.
“The course Scott described is unlike anything we offer at SHHS — an aspect that I felt capitalized on the diverse interests of high school students,” Scinto said.
In a letter recently published in the St. Helena Star, Scinto thanked the St. Helena High School Parents Group and the St. Helena Public High Schools Foundation for sponsoring students who take the conservation technology course taught. by Butterfield.
“PUC is a terrific local resource,” Scinto said. “I look forward to future collaborations.”
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