Excerpt from UCSC NEWS Story:
UC Santa Cruz will receive more than $2 million in funding to support education and training programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals as part of a larger $71.1 million federal grant to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and a host of local partners.
Coastal Science and Policy Program will oversee opportunities for graduate students and working professionals
Part of UC Santa Cruz’s subaward from the NOAA grant will go toward supporting graduate students in the Coastal Science and Policy Program, enabling them to work alongside partner organizations from the regional grant project. Students will add capacity to the partners’ work and also have invaluable experiential learning and professional development opportunities in that process. A total of 10 master’s students will receive funding over the next five years for summer placements and capstone projects that advance the goals of partner organizations related to coastal climate resilience, climate adaptation, and climate risk reduction in the Monterey Bay region.
Faculty and staff from the Coastal Science and Policy Program will also support a training program to build skills and increase capacity among local professionals working in coastal climate resilience. The program will be offered in partnership with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Coastal Training Program and will run twice per year for three years, starting in 2027, serving a total of 105 participants. Fellowships designed to promote inclusion of representatives from marginalized, underrepresented, and low-income communities will cover course fees and provide a $4,000 stipend for about 20 participants.
“This grant funding strengthens and expands partnerships between the Coastal Science and Policy Program and community organizations in order to better prepare our region’s leaders and future leaders to build a sustainable future,” said Professor Anne Kapuscinski, director of the Coastal Science and Policy Program. “We are so excited for our graduate students to work alongside these partners to contribute to and enhance their work on this regional climate resilience grant. We also look forward to drawing upon our strengths in linking science and equity goals to policy and action to offer a professional training program in service to the local community.”
NOAA NEWS: https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-ira-crrc-awards-California-2024
UCSC NEWS: https://news.ucsc.edu/2024/07/climate-resilience-workforce-grant.html