Oxnard Young Ecologists receive $56,540 in donation funding
Written by Antonio Sanchez
The OYE! (Oxnard Young Ecologists) program began in Spring of 2022, welcoming nine Oxnard area high school youth to the park on eight different Saturdays to immerse them in the world of local native plant restoration. Students were provided transportation to and from local Oxnard high schools, and provided with breakfast and lunch. A stipend of $80 a day was paid to the students as well.
Over the course of 8 weeks, the students participated in:
Identifying native plants in the field, including collecting herbarium samples and data from various native plant populations locally
Restoration of local habitats, including helping to install hundreds of native plant into restoration sites
Collecting seed for long-term conservation and/ or immediate use for restoration
Cleaning various lots of native seed
Helping to sow seed, process cuttings and divide plants for future restoration project
Overall, we consider the OYE! program a great success in its first semester, as we were able to retain 9 out of the 10 students over the entire 8 week program, and were able to secure many new herbarium collections and conservation-quality seed collections for future use.
Most of the participants were introduced to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area for the first time, and it is noteworthy that local youth were able to receive a small wage, along with transportation and food, for their time. We believe this made the program open to a very diverse group of students, which was one of our original missions.
The Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) has donated $56,540 to the SAMO Fund and Rancho Sierra Vista Native Plant Nursery to support the OYE! program, providing stipends for 10 high school students from Oxnard and to support a youth manager who will transport and supervise youth during their internship.
Identifying native plants in the field, including collecting herbarium samples and data from various native plant populations locally
Restoration of local habitats, including helping to install hundreds of native plant into restoration sites
Collecting seed for long-term conservation and/ or immediate use for restoration
Cleaning various lots of native seed
Helping to sow seed, process cuttings and divide plants for future restoration project
