Presented By: Nia Morales, University of Florida

The UC Santa Cruz Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP) is an immersive undergraduate field program designed to address the underrepresentation of people of color in environmental conservation. This project, funded by an APLU Innovative Teaching Award, created an innovative set of educational modules for use during the program's orientation that examined current and historical factors influencing the interaction of marginalized communities such as indigenous and communities of color with the natural environment, including natural resource management decision-making structures and develop skills for these students to have thoughtful discourse with peers and colleagues about these topics. The intent was to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concepts into the fabric of the DDCSP rather than presenting it as a separate content area. Overall, we found that scholars responded very positively to the program and showed strong interest in using their position as DDC scholars and their life experiences to address DEI issues to impact and improve the conservation field.