California State University Channel Islands has more than 30 academic programs that are student-centered, innovative, and creative. The performance for the ECCLPS 2019 summit was a joint effort between Performing Arts, Environmental Science and Resource Management, and English. Professors Stacey Anderson (English), Heather Castillo (Performing Arts), Kiki Patsch (ESRM), and Claudia Reder (English) worked with students; Pablo Baltazar, Jessica Clay, Noel Deverges, Eric Fuentes, Brittany Herring, Maddy Hitchcock, Grace Leavitt, DJ Martinez, Samantha Olson, Melina Ortega, Isaac Ortiz, Jason Ruiz, Sara Ruiz, and Claira Speight to present to the audience through video, song, dance, poetry, and narration the question, “How did we get here?” The students considered economics, social constructs, environmental movements, and autoethnographic experiences to develop the performance. The students asked for leadership and to push beyond climate literacy to climate creativity, where students not only have the information but the innovation, problem solving, and critical thinking skills to change the status quo. Chumash Elder and Indigenous Campus Representative Raudel Banuelos joined the students and spoke about the sacred Round Mountain, known as Sat’wiwa (“the bluffs”), which overlooks the Channel Islands campus and is a powerful reminder of this shared connection and responsibility. CSU Channel Islands President Erika Beck spoke of allowing the Chumash values of stewardship—stewardship of the land and the water as well as the creatures that inhabit them—guide us to advancing a more sustainable future.

Mercedes Dorame, born in Los Angeles, California, received her MFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and her undergraduate degree from UCLA. She calls on her Tongva ancestry to engage the problematics of visibility and ideas of cultural construction. She is part of the permanent collection’s of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the de Saisset Museum and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum. She is the recipient of grants and fellowships from: the Montblanc Art Commission, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Loop Artist Residency, En Foco’s New Works Photography Fellowship Awards program, Galería de la Raza, for her solo exhibition there, the Harpo Foundation for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center and from the Photography Department at the San Francisco Art Institute for her MFA Studies. She is part of the Hammer Museum’s 2018 Made in LA exhibition and has shown her work internationally. Her writing and photographs have been featured in publications such as News From Native California and 580 Split. She has been interviewed about her work by PBS Newshour, KCET Artbound, the Harpo Foundation, Culture Strike, Black Boots Ink and KQED’s video podcast Gallery Crawl.

River of Words (ROW) is an Environmental Literacy program at Saint Mary’s College of California’s Kalmanovitz School of Education that teaches literacy and environmental conservation through the arts. Co-founded in 1995 by writer and activist Pamela Michael and 1995-1997 US Poet Laureate Robert Hass, ROW has been inspiring educators and their students for over twenty years with an innovative blend of science and the arts (STEAM). ROW’s goal is to encourage children to explore and protect the watersheds where they live and to train educators to guide them with inspiration and passion. Through professional development and other educational services, traveling exhibits, publications and community programs, ROW reaches thousands of educators and young people around the world. Our multidisciplinary program allows educators to more actively involve students in the cultural, scientific and social dimensions of environmental study; develop informed, civically-responsible citizens who will be ready to face increasing environmental, social and economic challenges; and cultivate a passion for environmental stewardship, scientific discovery, art, and creativity. The River of Words instillation at ECCLPS features winning and finalist artwork and poems created by K through 12^th grade, Californian and international students for ROW’s free, annual poetry and art contest on the theme of “watersheds.” Each artwork and poem captures the voice of a young person depicting their unique connection to language, visual art, and their awe of the natural world.

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Lab School is an innovative school for children ages 4-12 that serves as the laboratory for the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. The diverse school community researches how to maximize children’s learning potential and uses reflective practice to develop students’ love of learning, critical thinking, confidence, an appreciation of differences and an ability to adapt to an ever-changing world. UCLA Lab School students from Early Childhood to the Upper grades worked on centerpieces for ECCLPS. Each centerpiece was made from reused and repurposed materials that were collected by the teachers or the students. Some centerpieces contained beautiful painted flowers made from egg cartons and the ends of plastic bottles. Others reused old books to create sculptures with an environmental theme. Every piece was made with joy and creativity and with as little waste as possible. Attendees and staff brought centerpieces home after the event.