Outreach: K-12 and community
Three pillars of the UC Natural Reserve System mission are research, teaching, and exploring. Teaching and research are the principal activities at Stunt Ranch. However, the Reserve has a rich history of public outreach that encourages K-12 students to explore the habitat and scientific research conducted at the Preserve through a docent-led program. By encouraging children to explore, we believe students are provided a strong foundation to learn why research is important, how it is achieved, the power of scientific observation, and the importance of natural history.
For the past several decades, thousands of such students visited Stunt Ranch each year as part of a formal program coordinated by the Cold Creek Docents, a division of the Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT). In 2019, TreePeople accepted leadership over the MRT; soon thereafter, Covid-19 shut down our outreach program.
We are currently working with TreePeople/MRT to develop new collaborative outreach and teaching programs at the UCLA Stunt Ranch Reserve. Please stay tuned as we work on these arrangements. If you have questions, feel free to contact Brad Shaffer at brad.shaffer@ucla.edu.