Watershed Rangers at Devil’s Gate

Youth economic advancement

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

OBA's call to action is that the environmental/conservation movements will not succeed if we do not engage, educate, and franchise an ethnically diverse, younger audience that is reflective of the Californian demographic. Watershed Rangers, like all OBA programs, was developed specifically to treat the symptoms of the much larger problem of institutional racism and unbalanced opportunities embedded in the primarily white world of environmental conservation and natural resource management. Recent research from the Outdoor Industry Association has disclosed that the outdoor industry generates nearly 578,000 jobs in California and spends nearly $30 billion in wages and salaries, but the industry is nearly 85% white. It is imperative that we develop sustainable and equitable career paths and empower historically excluded BIPOC youth to take an active role in long-term conservation and climate resilience efforts.

Watershed Rangers at Devil’s Gate engages 49 students from John Muir High School. Cohorts of 8 students will rotate through paid internships with 7 non-profit agencies working to protect and restore ecological and cultural resources in Hahamongna Watershed Park. OBA will lead students through conservation workforce training that incorporates rhetorical effectiveness, practicing prosocial behaviors and strategies for high productivity, clear communications, and self-mastery that will help youth succeed in the green economy. Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy will provide students with their Traditional Ecological Knowledge environmental education that centers on their history and culture. Pasadena Audubon Society will teach students about birds, birding, the Motus system (tiny radio transmitters) for studying migrating birds, and how to install Motus tracking stations. Arroyo Seco Foundation will provide on-the-job training in hydrology, climate change, and landscape transformation through their ongoing Streamflow Enhancement Program and their Native Plant Nursery.
Arlington Gardens will help students build skills in regenerative landscaping, construction and facilities maintenance, and horticulture. Friends of the L.A. River will inspire students to sharpen their environmental leadership and advocacy skills framed in explorations of the history of the River.
Side Street Project’s professional artists will train students to use woodworking tools safely and effectively.

This pilot program is designed to raise awareness of the nexus between racial equity, environmental justice, social justice, and climate change—and will help strengthen the connection between historically excluded youth, environmental leadership, and eco-cultural empowerment. The immediate outcome is a highly-trained diversified group of 49 youth who have the experience and technical resources to be successful in conservation careers or higher education pathways.
Our overarching goal is to create sustainable and equitable career paths and empower underserved Los Angeles high school students to take an active role in long-term conservation and climate resilience efforts. OBA will continue collaborating with partner agencies to document and demonstrate best practices on how to inspire youth to enter the conservation space, to develop stewardship ethics, to elevate their voices around environmental issues, and to care about saving their planet.

OBA’s measures changes in prosocial behaviors, stewardship ethics, knowledge, and competencies. OBA is refining our current instrument, which measures development of the tools and resources for prosocial leadership skills that promote a deeper understanding of self and the development of a work ethic that assures each person can be competitive in the job market.
We will use mixed method tools, including phenomenological interviews to measure the “lived experience” of this program and explore how well we are doing at motivating pro-environmental behavior, fostering a connection to nature, and encouraging problem-solving around real-world challenges of conservation. Process evaluations will look at program fidelity, participation completion rates, and other metrics.
Based on results from OBA’s other workforce training projects, 78% of participants will go on to other careers in restoration/conservation and serve to add much needed diversity in the environmental sector.

OBA will work towards developing this internship as a conservation workforce training program.
Partner agencies, as described in #7, will provide internships aligned with their missions, visions, and scope of work. Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy will provide historical context. Pasadena Audubon Society is all about birds and birding.
Arroyo Seco Foundation will train students on water conservation strategies.
Arlington Gardens provides education in Earth Sciences, Regenerative Principles and Practices, and Ecology.
Friends of the L.A. River will focus on how the River shaped the City and job opportunities in the River world. Side Street Projects will encourage students to accumulate a working knowledge of skilled woodworking techniques.