海角视频

海角视频 has launched a groundbreaking collaboration with St. Helena High School, giving students the opportunity to learn how technology is applied to the environmental challenges they face in their own local communities and beyond 鈥� including severe drought and wildfires.

The 10-week class will meet in person on PUC鈥檚 campus and provides the students with the chance to earn college credit. 

鈥淚t is very cutting-edge and taps into multiple local interests, blending them together in a very modern way,鈥� St. Helena High Principal Benjamin Scinto said. 

The new partnership with St. Helena High comes as PUC launches a first-of-its-kind conservation technology undergraduate program. Led by Dr. Scott Butterfield, the program prepares students for careers in environmental-based professions 鈥� including conservation technology. 

Students completing the four-year degree program will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation Technology. 

Butterfield serves as PUC鈥檚 Clark Professor of Conservation Technology. A local ecologist, he is the lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy鈥檚 land program and strategic restoration strategy in the San Joaquin Valley. Butterfield has more than 20 years of experience in the conservation field, with more than 40 published peer-reviewed articles and reports. 

The term 鈥渃onservation technology鈥� is relatively new, but the application of technology in environmental management is not, Butterfield said. Older technology such as GPS, GIS, and wildlife cameras have been used in a range of scientific fields. Scientists also use more modern tools including remote sensing, drones, artificial intelligence, coding/programming, eDNA, and mobile applications.

Butterfield鈥檚 course introduction usually begins with talking about some of the technology that students are already familiar with. But there is new technology constantly emerging. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e in this wave people call the third industrial revolution and conservation technology is part of that,鈥� Butterfield said. 鈥淓nvironmental stressors are so severe that now there鈥檚 a field building up around it. Technology is currently being developed and applied specifically for environmental challenges. It鈥檚 an exciting time!鈥� 

Conservation technology students may go on to have careers in environmental science or biology, but they are not limited to these fields. 鈥淭hese skills and the tools students learn about are broadly applicable across the workforce,鈥� Butterfield said. 鈥淭hey are going to touch down in many different jobs and fields of study in the future.鈥�

The partnership with St. Helena High is part of PUC鈥檚 renewed commitment to outreach in local communities. Although St. Helena is only 10 miles from the college, many in the community know little about it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way for PUC to give back to the community and also let them know what鈥檚 being offered at the college,鈥� Butterfield said. 

The St. Helena High students themselves know first-hand how vital environmental issues are and the challenges not only facing Northern California but the world at large.

鈥淚n the world right now, all we see in the news is big environmental crises happening, from sea level rise and increased fire threats to tsunamis, hurricanes, and global warming,鈥� said Butterfield, a parent of St. Helena High students.

鈥淐ovid aside, we鈥檝e had a lot of stressors here in our environment in the last two years. We鈥檝e been evacuated twice because of wildfires, which are being driven by forest management and climate change. We鈥檝e recently gone through extreme heat waves. Just a few weeks ago we had 110-degree heat, which is Palm Springs weather.鈥� 

The nearly two dozen St. Helena High students will take the Introduction to Conservation Technology course, which will introduce them to technology in the conservation and science fields. PUC is providing transportation for students to attend class on campus.

鈥淚f students know enough about environmental issues and how they can be confronted, they can sort through them and have a more educated understanding of news that affects them,鈥� Butterfield said.

One day, Butterfield hopes those who take the course and enroll in the undergraduate program will go on to fulfilling careers in the environmental sciences and perhaps, he said, even one day take his own job.

PUC offers a College Early program where students can earn up to six credits at a reduced cost. Lindsay Morton, PUC鈥檚 assistant academic dean, said college can be a 鈥渃ostly endeavor and the transition from high school can be tough.鈥�

鈥淲e want to make that transition easier by offering students in-person and online courses at a reduced rate, so they get ahead of the curve and have a taste of college before they arrive on campus,鈥� she said. 

鈥淎lthough we love our college on the mountain,鈥� Morton said, 鈥渨e can see the need for support and resources in our academies and high schools.

Scinto said he is an advocate for dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment opportunities for students. St. Helena High offers 13 college-level courses.

鈥淭he course Scott described is unlike anything we offer at SHHS, an aspect I felt capitalized on various student interests,鈥� Scinto said. 

In a letter recently published in the St. Helena Star, Scinto thanked the St. Helena High School Parent Group and the St. Helena Public Schools Foundation for sponsoring students attending the Conservation Technology course taught by Butterfield. 

鈥淧UC is a tremendous local resource,鈥� Scinto said. 鈥淚 look forward to future collaborations.鈥�