Costume designs by Isabella “Izzy” Ceja for the dance piece choreographed by Lisa Drew: Instilling text and Subtext. The dance was inspired by media bias and the distorted reality it creates, as well as the media propaganda that had occurred during WWII.

For my service-learning project, I've teamed up with the Girl Scouts of Northern California to teach about environmental justice and the connections between social and environmental issues. The project aims to empower these brilliant young girls to take action locally and advocate for environmental justice. My presentation will summarize my experience working with girl scouts among different age groups, as the girls connect with each other to create community outlets for activism.

This Ideafest presentation aims to argue that our society might be studying drugs wrong. I will explore this topic using a problem/solution model. The problem is that drugs are stigmatized, causing a reluctance to talk openly about their role within society. I suggest the validation of drugs through pragmatic discussions within all appropriate avenues of study. Gary Laderman and Michael Pollan prove ideal examples of this solution. Quotes from Laderman highlight the integration of drugs in religion courses and academia at large. Michael Pollan is another example, and exploring his work presents another case of the topic of drugs being discussed in academic and such public settings.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) research has been implemented throughout various aspects of wildlife management and conservation. However, there is no single definition of TEK that applies to all Indigenous peoples. Wildlife management practiced by Indigenous peoples implements the use of TEK and Indigenous Research Methodologies (IRM) as a way to holistically serve the needs of the environment, animals, and the people. While my thesis focuses on tribal wildlife management of buffalo, eagles, and elk, this poster focuses on Yurok TEK and how personal experiences of Yurok members have shaped their knowledge surrounding Roosevelt elk.

This research project is about mothers of children with autism. Interviews were conducted with 12 different mothers, and were carefully transcribed and analyzed. The focus of the research is on the way that they see themselves as mothers, either good, ambivalent, or self-critical, in regards to their child's disability. Three components which are looked at are primary caregiver status, degree of sacrifice for the child, and role as advocates.

Some plants absorb water through foliage as well as roots. This is an important water acquisition strategy for many plants in the redwood forest ecosystem during dry California summers when fog is often the only water input for months. The goal of our study was to determine if Picea sitchensis trees have the capacity for foliar water uptake, and if they do, how they compare to other species in redwood forests. We also wanted to learn if capacity for foliar uptake increases with height in tree crowns and how it changes under increasingly negative water potentials. Our findings have important implications for P. sitchensis water use, physiology, and growth potential.

Coastal Grove Charter school is a K - 8th Grade school in a rural area in Northern California located on traditional Wiyot Land. Studies find that youth benefit from learning Mindfulness in terms of improved cognitive outcomes, stress reduction, social-emotional skills, and well-being. These benefits may lead to long-term improvements in the life course development. For the Master’s project Eva assisted Coastal Grove Charter School in bringing ten weekly Mindfulness lessons into the second and sixth grade classroom during the 2019 – 2020 school year.

My research was conducted on the coast of Humboldt County, where I measured salamander proximity to a freshwater source relative to the distance to the ocean. I used two study sites, one in the Arcata Community Forest and one in Trinidad. I found 38 salamanders while sampling 60 1x1 meter quadrats.

My research project involves researching two different species of wild shorebirds, Marbled Godwits and Eurasian Whimbrels, and studying which biological factors like predator abundance, tide height, foraging rates, and time of day play a role in vigilant behavior in these two shorebird species. We are looking to see how these rates and their factors differ between 5 different areas across the Arcata Marsh and if there are noteworthy changes in any of the listed factors between the two species and which ones play the biggest role in shorebird vigilance and which do not.

The Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC), founded in 1976, is a nonprofit organization. They are dedicated to serving the needs of Native communities across Northern California, around 15,000 clients annually. Our youth-focused initiative aims to highlight the importance of transportation and accessibility in connecting Native youth to The Nest Youth Center and community events. We strive to improve engagement by offering culturally relevant activities that strengthen identity and connection to one another. By fostering leadership and providing essential tools and resources, we aim to empower Native youth to grow, thrive, and become strong leaders within their communities.