Awards

The Russian River, a vital watercourse in Northern California, faces challenges related to its estuarine ecosystem's health, particularly in sustaining salmonid populations. The river's mouth frequently forms a sandbar during the summer, impacting the merging of freshwater and saltwater, crucial for salmonid migrations. Limited prior research focused on the river's estuary due to methodological constraints, which resulted in data collection at only a few locations. This proposal outlines the deployment of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to autonomously survey the Russian River estuary.

The First-generation College Celebration is an annual opportunity to raise awareness of the first-generation college student identity by advancing an asset-based narrative of students' experiences and outcomes through institution-wide activities and media campaigns.

The eight (8) TRIO Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math & Science Programs at Sonoma State University serve 553 pre-college (9th – 12th grade) students who attend targeted high schools in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Lake Counties.  Five of the programs are based at partner school sites where participants engage with a daily college-readiness curriculum.  In addition, other participants attend a rigorous Saturday Academy and six-week Summer/STEM Academy along with participating in test preparation, financial aid, and college application workshops.  

We will develop a network of investigators dedicated to developing transformative virtual field experiences for lower division underserved and underrepresented students at Community Colleges (CCs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges (TC), and other institutions that serve these students. The Research Coordination Network for Undergraduate Virtual Experiences as a Recruitment Tool for Underrepresented Students in STEM will make field biology experiences accessible through virtual technologies.

This grant will support a portion of the artist fees for the presentation of performances and artist-led educational activities for students at Sonoma State University and local K-12 schools during the Green Music Center's 2023-2024 season.

The Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) will perform cultural resource management services for Calfire based upon on-call task orders issued throughout the period of performance of the grant term.

The Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) will conduct inventory of Native American cultural items currently housed at the Roseland School District Museum (Museum), and to engage in consultation with Native Californian tribal communities to determine the cultural affiliation of these items. Creating an inventory of all cultural items currently housed within the Museum is a necessary first step towards compliance with the Native American Graves Protections and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California Native American Graves Protections and Repatriation Act (CalNAGPRA).

Under this Agreement, SSU will provide research and investigation services to improve the effectiveness of Sonoma Water's stream maintenance, water supply, energy, and sanitation services. In addition, SSU will train students in water research techniques, develop water-related research grants for SSU faculty, and conduct a water research symposium for faculty and students.

This continued funding for estuarine Marine Protected Area (MPA) monitoring will allow for further refinement of pilot protocols and support critically important long-term monitoring of an understudied suite of MPAs in California's Network. Data collected during the 2023 season will inform the development of the MPA Monitoring Action Plan and provide insight into climate impacts and resiliency of the MPA Network to climactic perturbations within estuarine systems.

This project will be conducted by Sonoma State University to support restoration of kelp forests by the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Building on our decades of experience in kelp forest ecology, aquaculture and restoration with our partners at Moss Landing Marine Labs, we will help GFNMS to build scientific and restoration capacity for kelp forests in the northern California region.