The Sierra Science Lecture Series at the Nevada County Campus welcomes Kelly Santos in a presentation titled, Implementing Youth-Led Citizen Science Through Plant Phenology. The presentation will be held on Tuesday evening, February 21, from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, in the Multipurpose Center, building, N-12. Come early and enjoy a meet-and-greet and refreshments at 6:00 pm.

Kelly will discuss phenology, the study of when things appear in nature and the influence of seasonal changes and climate change. She will present a citizen science plant phenology project led by the Sierra Streams Institute Education Program that they implemented in two local high schools. Students contributed as citizen-scientists to a national phenological dataset and analyzed and interpreted data to discern long term trends. Come learn about this amazing project, the available curriculum, and find out the many ways to become a citizen scientist!

About our presenter:

Kelly Santos works as an education program Co-Director for Sierra Streams Institute. Kelly was raised in Irvine, CA, and graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.S. in Marine Biology. She brings extensive laboratory, field, and teaching experience to Sierra Streams Institute. In the past, she has worked and volunteered with the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, UC Santa Cruz, Michigan State University, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, as well as Pretoma and Centro de Educación Creativa in Costa Rica. These various positions have taken her from the depths of the kelp forest to lakes in the high sierra and allowed her the opportunity to work among scientists, teachers, environmental managers, and students. In her free time she enjoys exploring the Sierra, cooking, and making photographs.

This presentation is free, and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend. The Nevada County Campus is located at 250 Sierra College Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945. Parking is $3 on campus and permits can be purchased at the kiosk machine at the main entrance to the campus. For more information about this presentation and others in this series, contact the series coordinator, Jason Giuliani at: jgiuliani@sierracollege.edu.