SEASIDE — The Climate Resilience Regional Challenge grant, aimed at combating the effects of climate change, will bring $2 million to California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB).
The funding will support 45 paid internships, stipends for six professional internships, a number of teacher assistant positions and other scholarships.
The money, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is part of a five-year, $71 million grant headed by the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation that involves 30 additional agencies, schools and organizations in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. It comes from the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“For me, this is all about student success,” said Thomas Horvath, interim dean of the College of Science. “Everything just aligns beautifully with the CSUMB mission and vision.”
Part of that mission is to make an impact on the local region.
“Many of our students want to stay in the area after graduating and contribute to their communities,” Horvath said. With paid internships making that more of a reality, he added, “I see that as a way to be more attractive for future students.”
President Vanya Quiñones said the grant dovetails with the CSUMB mission in other ways as well.
“This grant aligns perfectly with our goal of helping students find their strength through hands-on experiences,” Quiñones said. “Through paid internships, our students will work with various partner agencies on real-world climate issues, network with government, nonprofit and climate science professionals, and build connections to support them in finding engaging career paths.”
In addition to full internships, the grant will allow for the creation of smaller paid positions for teacher assistants in courses with a climate resilience or adaptation component, said James Guilinger, an assistant professor of applied environmental science and principal investigator for the grant.
“A lot of our students were saying, ‘Your department does a good job of teaching climate change impacts, but we want to hear about solutions,’” Guilinger said. “That’s the exciting part of this grant. It does fulfill that need directly.”
Gerick Bergsma, an assistant professor of marine science, is overseeing the grant implementation. He expects the internships will be with outside agencies and might include wetland restoration, stabilizing watershed areas and mitigating the rise of riverbeds due to silt deposits, possibly involving remote sensing, predictive models and hydrological or geospatial analysis.
“This is about getting students the experience and skills they need,” Bergsma said.
More information on the grant and the anticipated projects can be found on the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation website californiamsf.org/climateresilience.
