About the Project
Saint Mary’s College of California (Moraga, CA) and Lindsay Wildlife Museum (Walnut Creek, CA) present Facing the Future: Sharing Habitats with Wildlife, a program exploring issues of urban habitats – their ephemerality, and the need for citizens to share responsibility and promote their success. The institutions will (1) study a San Francisco Bay Area watershed habitat; (2) design data collection methods, (GIS mapping and mobile app creation) intended to educate children and adults on urban habitats and the need to protect them; and (3) prepare interpretive materials to raise awareness of habitat issues. The primary audience is the 100,000 annual visitors to Lindsay museum. The project serves up to 40 Saint Mary’s science majors.
About the Institutions
Saint Mary’s College of California, founded in 1863, is located in Moraga, California, 20 miles from San Francisco. serves 2,800 undergraduate and 1,200 graduate students with a curriculum based on liberal arts and Catholic traditions and has a robust civic engagement requirement. The College, which is celebrating its sesquicentennial year, is guided by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, the Catholic Church’s oldest order devoted exclusively to teaching. The Brothers’ history and educational mission dates back to 17th century France and their founder, John Baptist de La Salle, is the patron saint of teachers. For 150 years, the College has provided students with a rigorous education that engages their intellect and spirit, and awakens a desire to transform society.
Founded in 1955, the mission of Lindsay Wildlife Museum (LWM) is to connect people with wildlife to inspire respect and responsibility for the world we share. Since its inception, LWM has played a leading role in educating and inspiring children and adults about California wildlife. The museum currently serves more than 100,000 visitors each year, including 40,000 school children. Approximately 600 volunteers are active in the museum’s work, contributing more than 120,000 hours of service each year to education, wildlife care, museum operations, fundraising and outreach. The museum was re-accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2012.
About the Partners
To read more about the Principal Investigators working on the Facing the Future: Sharing Habitats with Wildlife project, click here.