There are so many opportunities for environmental education around the Monterey Bay, but all seem to avoid anything related to civic engagement. Why?

Whale Watching

The most impactful environmental education I recall was aboard a whale watching boat in the early 2000’s. We left the Moss Landing harbor with a full boat and shortly were surrounded by whales, then pods of dolphins. The captain knew where to go, aided by friendly radio chatter from fishing vessels out on the Bay. We learned a lot about the biology of the whales and dolphins, including about the history of whale populations. The whales were so dense that summer that you could smell them! The guides noted historical journal entries that spoke of that smell from the era when there were many more whales. We seemed to be returning the Bay to the dense whale populations of deep history. How exciting to be steeped in biology, history, and the hopeful story of whale recovery! The lessons didn’t stop there.

The captain noticed bad behavior of another boat, which was chasing some whales to get a better view. It is illegal and ill-advised to closely pursue whales, and our boat was radioing the other one to let them know. All aboard our boat were getting a first-hand education about the Marine Mammal Protection Act and civic engagement. Our captain shared information about how common this bad behavior was and about the inadequacy of enforcement by the responsible agencies. We were informed about how we could be involved: by supporting more responsible whale watching enterprises, through contacting the appropriate enforcement agencies, and by supporting advocacy groups working on this issue.

The owners of that whale watching business sold to someone else. Now, none of the whale watching boats educate about this important issue. Predictably, the issue of whale harassment has declined in the news and enforcement has never improved.

Museums, Parks, Aquaria, and Hikes

Think about your experiences with environmental education – do any of those include anything about civic engagement? One highlight is the advice from a local aquarium about buying responsible fish for your meals, a program which is expensive an no doubt has had a big impact. Are there any stories about how environmental advocacy groups made a difference? Are there any stories about a politician who pushed forward an environmental initiative? Are docents trained to help you to understand how you might be more engaged, civically? Do leaders of environmental education hikes tell the history of environmental struggles and how ordinary people made a difference? I’d love to hear if you have experienced any of this in any of our many local environmental education programs. I haven’t.

Terrace Point, Santa Cruz

Many people on the westside of the city of Santa Cruz take walks at Terrace Point, aka Seymour Center or the ‘coastal campus’ of UCSC. There is a trail network through swaths of habitat. There are even guided walks to view Younger Lagoon which, no doubt, avoid any discussion of the political struggles that resulted in their ability to have that experience. The trail network and the swaths of habitat are brought to you by the Terrace Point Action Network (TPAN) formed by a wide-ranging group of local residents with great leadership as well as coalitions of local environmental organizations. I doubt if anyone reading this remembers the names of any of the groups or leaders. Readers would also probably be surprised to learn the names of the leaders of the opposition: faculty of the University who proclaimed that the sprawling development for which they advocated would become the ‘Woods Hole of the West Coast.’ The delusional architects who were designing the site plans testified to the public that the site would be improved by such development, much like “castles along the Rhine (River).”

TPAN’s Good Work

The battle saw TPAN engaging the nation’s leading wetland scientist, pitted against the second best hired by the University. The areas set aside are based on a wetland delineation battle mediated by the only ecologist at the time with the Coastal Commission, who advised that agency to force the University to set aside the swaths of habitat you experience there now. The pro-access division of the Coastal Commission also exacted the trails from the University, despite those trails destroying areas of the wetlands the other division of the Coastal Commission had advised be set aside. And they also won the requirement that Younger Lagoon Reserve be opened to the public, even if it was by reservation at a scheduled tour. There are many other hilarious and telling parts of the Terrace Point story, which would make for an inspirational and entertaining docent-led walk, interpretive sign, or brochure for the site; but I doubt those will happen.

Coastal Campus Now

It is typical that these environmental battles are never over and if the activists disappear the protections slip. The Coastal Commission also required the University to only build buildings that supported ‘coastal dependent’ uses. Labs requiring use of the sea water intake system, for instance, would fit that bill. After not that many years, the entire University biology department moved to Terrace Point – classes are being held there, there are offices and meeting spaces. None of these are in the least bit coastally dependent: the University is getting away with blatant disregard to prohibitions of a much-changed, pro-development Coastal Commission.

When I ask biology professors who once helped with the opposition to the University’s development of the site, they note that the classes held at Terrace Point include environmental education about coastal ecosystems, allowing students to walk outside and participate in hands-on restoration.

Environmental Education Without Civic Engagement

UCSC has succeeded greatly with hands-on, experiential environmental education, but seemingly without much success getting students to be engaged civically. When I was a student at UCSC, professors taught about the social and political aspects of their class content, which was very much based on situations in and around the University. We were encouraged to become civically engaged in those ongoing issues. City Council and County Supervisor meetings commonly had students testifying on environmental issues and local environmental organizations recruited new generations of well-educated activists. Not so now.

I hear about environmental programs in local high schools: are these, too, lacking in any civic engagement components?

Has the rancorously divided politics of our nation made our environmental educators shy to raise political issues to the many eager learners?

How do we do this better?

-this post originally appeared at BrattonOnline.com