> Home > University Advancement > Newsroom - 2009 Press Releases > DH 09 ABS25

Newsroom Archive | Experts Online|CSUDH In The News

March 26 , 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CSU Dominguez Hills Gears Up for Earth Day
With Nature and Culture Speaker Series

(Carson, CA) – As a lead up to its annual Earth Day festivities, California State University, Dominguez Hills will host an Earth Day speaker series in the month of April.

With the theme “Nature and Culture in the Los Angeles Basin,” the four-part series will examine the interaction of people and the natural environment in Los Angeles’ past, present and future. The public is invited to attend the talks as well as come to the Earth Day activities scheduled on April 22. All talks will take place in the Loker Student Union Ballroom.

Jenny Price

The first speaker for the Nature and Culture Speaker Series will be Jenny Price, a historian, urban nature writer and frequent tour guide of the Los Angeles River, who will speak from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7. Her talk, “Los Angeles Has a River? The Resurrection of America’s Most Famous Forgotten River,” will look at the central role of the river in the city’s history and the importance of an ambitious project to revitalize it.

Antonio Solorio

On Monday, April 13, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Antonio Solorio will present his talk on “The Ethnobotany of Urban Home Gardens in East Los Angeles.” A recent graduate of the CSU Northridge master’s program in geography, Solorio’s research focuses on the interactions between people and plants in urban regions. One recent study he conducted was on the existence of and reason for backyard medicinal gardens in East L.A. An interpretive ranger for the National Parks Service at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Solorio dares to answer the question, “What, there is a natural environment in East L.A.?”

Shawna Dark

Then from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, the long-term impacts on the wetlands in the L.A. Basin will be discussed by Dr. Shawna Dark in her talk, “Southern California Wetlands, Past and Present.” A geography professor at CSU Northridge, Dark is currently working on a project to map the wetlands of southern California, which when complete will serve as the foundation for wetlands assessment and inventory throughout the region.

Ana Pitchon

The last talk in the speaker series will take place on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22. CSU Dominguez Hills anthropology professor Ana Pitchon will give a talk on “The Risks and Realities of Pier Fishing in L.A. County” about her recent research on subsistence fishing in the county. An applied anthropologist in fisheries management, Dr. Pitchon has carried out studies on fisheries in the U.S., Mexico, Chile and in Europe. The time for her talk has not been finalized, but will coincide with the Earth Day activities on campus that day.

The second annual CSU Dominguez Hills Earth Day Celebration fosters community awareness of environmental issues and highlights the university’s commitment sustainability and environmental education. The day’s events will include interactive tide pool exhibits from the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, the SeaMagine submersible craft used in underwater research, a planetarium showing the night’s sky and the effects of light pollution, an exhibit on solarium fuel cells designed to power robotics, and displays of hybrid vehicles. Additionally, there will be informational booths featuring local environmental organizations, as well as sustainability initiatives at CSU Dominguez Hills. Performances, demonstrations and talks will also take place throughout the day on a main stage.

CSU Dominguez Hills seeks to be a regional leader in environmental education. The university currently offers a bachelor’s program in environmental studies and will begin a master’s program in environmental science in the fall semester. Also on campus is the Center for Environmental Research (CUER), an interdisciplinary center that coordinates urban environmental research and supports and expands the environmental activities at CSU Dominguez Hills, and Saving Our Unique Natural Diversity (SOUND), a program of CUER that works to protect and promote native plant and animal species of the South Bay region through a plant propagation facility on campus.

The speaker series is sponsored by the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, the departments of anthropology, biology and geography, CUER, the Center for Service Learning, Internships and Civic Engagement (SLICE), and the Division of Undergraduate Studies. Funding for the series was made possibly through an Instructionally Related Activities Award from the Associated Students, Inc.

California State University, Dominguez Hill is located at 1000 E. Victoria Street in Carson. The Loker Student Union is at the center of campus. A map of the campus is available online at www.csudh.edu/site/VisitUs/campusmap.shtml.

Parking on campus costs $4 for a day pass and is payable at yellow kiosks located near each parking lot.

For more information, contact SLICE at (310) 243-2438.

###

----------------------------------------------

About CSU Dominguez Hills -- California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling.

Media Contact:
Amy Bentley-Smith
(310) 243-2455
abentleysmith@csudh.edu

Looking for an archived release?
Please see the
Newsroom Archive
for previous news releases.