Fostering Environmental Awareness Through High School Education and Research, or FEATHER, is our one-of-a-kind transdisciplinary environmental education program for high school students. FEATHER combines research, science, environmental education, college-readiness skills, and (of course) birds into a program that provides real-world citizen science research opportunities, fosters relationships with nature, helps prepare students for college, and informs about local birds and conservation issues.
We visit high school classrooms once to twice a week for most weeks of the academic school year to conduct citizen science surveys for our research partners Project Phoenix, but also to deliver specifically tailored lessons and build relationships with students. Our FEATHER partners include:
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AVID (Advancement
via Individual Determination): A college readiness
program designed to help students from underserved and low-income
communities develop the skills they need to succeed in higher education by
focusing on critical thinking, organization, and academic rigor. We
exclusively work with students from AVID to ensure that we are reaching
students from underserved communities who strive to go on to college.
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Project Phoenix: A UCLA research team that studies how birds on the west coast react to
increased wildfire smoke as a result of climate change. Through collecting
data as part of FEATHER, students have the opportunity to contribute to a
real-world research project on how climate change affects birds.
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Cal Poly University Honors Program: The Cal PolyUniversity Honors College is an integral part of FEATHER.
Honors students serve as volunteer mentors to AVID students and receive
class credit through the Honors Program. Together, they conduct bird surveys
and provide guidance on navigating the college application process. In
addition to fostering a connection with the outdoors, Honors students offer
mentorship on college life, helping AVID students transition smoothly from
submitting applications to finding the right school that fits their academic
and personal goals.
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Central Coast Nature Journal Club: As a part of FEATHER, students get
hands-on experience in nature journaling with the expert nature journalists of the Central Coast Nature Journal Club.
Currently, MCAS collaborates with AVID programs at Nipomo High School and Paso
Robles High School. We aim to expand FEATHER in the coming years, bringing
environmental education and college-readiness opportunities to high schools
throughout the Central Coast. If you're interested in bringing FEATHER to a
classroom near you, please contact our Program Director at
programdirector@morrocoastaudubon.org.
