Expert Visits – Tahoe Fund & Tahoe Resource Conservation District
How do invasive and native species impact the balance of an ecosystem? How can I positively contribute to promoting a balanced and healthy ecosystem in my local community? How do organizations impact the health of an ecosystem?
Amy Berry, CEO of The Tahoe Fund and Brenna Blessing, community educator from the Tahoe Resource Conservation District met with Island Vibes Learning Intensive students to share the amazing work their organizations are doing to protect and enhance the Tahoe region. Among other projects, these organizations are overseeing the construction of the new bike path from Incline Village to Sand Harbor, have provided a fleet of mountain bikes to the Kings Beach Boys and Girls Club and are protecting the lake from invasive species.
Amy and Brenna spent the afternoon with the Island Vibes participants looking at questions like: How do invasive and native species impact the balance of an ecosystem? How can I positively contribute to promoting a balanced and healthy ecosystem in my local community? How do organizations impact the health of an ecosystem? Students have been looking at these questions in a variety of contexts starting with our trip down to Santa Cruz Island in September.
We want to express a huge thank you to the experts and to Beth for an in-depth, educational afternoon!
In addition to listening, taking notes and asking great questions, the Island Vibes students, conducted a video interview of Amy Berry to be used in their final project. We want to express a huge thank you to the experts and to Beth for an in-depth, educational afternoon!
This week, students are meeting with expert John Svahn from the Donner Land Trust. Students will be looking further at investigating the purpose and impacts of local Land Trusts, and connecting that back to what they learned while on Santa Cruz Island with both the Nature Conservancy and National Park Services’ use of land within the context of the Channel Islands.
Students have also begun writing a piece of prose or poetry with ties to their experience on the island.
So what’s next for the students in the Island Vibes Learning Intensive? The students are now working with their groups to write introductions to their documentary films.
Students have also begun writing a piece of prose or poetry with ties to their experience on the island. And most importantly, students are writing thank you notes to the experts they’ve met in previous weeks.
