The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Committee has regular meetings, often including dinner, where parents, teachers, and administrators discuss topics of interest to everyone. Last month Jessica Kauzer, a naturalist with the East Bay Regional Park District, who is also a Meher Schools parent and former student, led a discussion on the history of indigenous people in our area. She also emphasized the ways the parks encourage visitors to participate fully in the beauty of the natural world, which exists in such extravagant abundance in our East Bay environments.
Jessica shared that California is a “global biodiversity hot spot,” meaning it has greater biodiversity (different species of plants and animals) than any other state in the nation and more than most places on Earth. The California State Board of Education has identified environmental literacy as a key learning objective for all K–12 students in the state.
At our school, we start actively immersing children in many different outdoor environments on campus and teaching children about nurturing and protecting nature in preschool. These educational approaches are systematized and expanded in our elementary school through the hands-on FOSS Science curriculum, created by the Lawrence Hall of Science, and through amazing learning experiences with Adrienne Wallace in the 7 Circles Garden.
Parents can play an important and enjoyable role in that learning process too. You can start to appreciate the richness of East Bay ecosystems by getting familiar with outdoor environments in our area.
For a fun and educational outing, the East Park system includes 73 parks, each a jewel that would be a notable tourist attraction in another state. Jessica is stationed at the Black Diamond Regional Preserve, which contains 8,533 acres of trails and a historic sand mine to explore. The parks provide wonderful educational experiences for all ages.
The park district website includes many different categories of information. There is rich information about the cultural history of indigenous tribes in the area and wonderful things to look for in nature. There is a page on wildflowers and where to find them and another with photos of songbirds that reside in the park, with recordings of their songs.
Naturalists offer educational tours to visitors focusing on the unique environment of the park where they are stationed, often offering historical information about the tribes that populated the area. Jessica shared that before statehood, California had the highest population density of pre-European peoples north of Mexico, with over 500 tribes and 100 language spoken.
Jessica and her husband, Tren, who is also an alumnus, loved the outdoor experiences at our school. As an elementary student, Jessica was one of a group of girls who worked with our former facilities manager, Tim Tacker, to build the gazebo in the kindergarten yard. The Kauzers are happy that their two children are now able to have the same outdoor experiences at the school.
Parents can get involved in helping us maintain our beautiful outdoor areas. If you’d like to participate, watch Wednesday Messages for announcements about our monthly garden volunteer days.
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