Welcome to the Center for Habitat Restoration!
Founded in 1997, the Center for Habitat Restoration (CHR) provides opportunities for students and volunteers to participate in local habitat restoration. Through City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and the Department of Biology, CHR sponsors academic and research internships with several agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Participants extend and supplement their own environmental education while exploring career opportunities in ecological sciences.
In the Bay Area, development, growth, and the introduction of non-native species have resulted in the loss of bio-diversity, habitat, and recreational opportunities. CHR pairs field researchers with students and volunteers to study and document these impacts.
Students working with CHR benefit from the expertise of CCSF teaching staff and the professional experience of the sponsoring agency. CHR links participating agencies with the extra hands and minds that field research requires. CHR can also loan equipment and supplies to students to complete research projects. Additionally, some organizations may offer scholarships or stipends to interns.
Education
The Center for Habitat Restoration has been created for a number of different reasons. Foremost among these is to provide students with a means of obtaining community service internships in the natural sciences. These internships are designed in such a way as to maximize the benefits to the students and community alike. Students, who perform internships through the CHR for credit, are required to perform 4-12 hours of service per week with one of our partner agencies. In return, the agencies provide the students with valuable experience that is difficult to find otherwise.
Based on our experience, we believe that students who perform service learning internships are more likely to stay in school, do better in school, and decide upon a major earlier than other students. Furthermore, we have found that student' employment prospects are significantly improved both during and after their college education.
The first beneficiaries of the Center for Habitat Restoration are our students. Northern California is a hotbed of scientific research, and some of the foremost research into habitat restoration in both public and private sectors occurs here. City College of San Francisco has an obligation to provide cutting-edge education in the sciences, and it lives up to this obligation very well, especially through its highly regarded chemistry and biology programs. Some of the greatest challenges the school faces are how to encourage students to begin and follow through on their studies in the sciences and how to prepare them for what they will face when they begin their careers. The Center for Habitat Restoration does this by putting students into real-world situations while they are pursuing their education.
Allied CCSF Courses
Students enrolled in CCSF Biology courses may obtain extra credit by participating in monthly restoration efforts. Several classes require a service-learning component; hours spent at a CHR sponsored site fulfill this requirement. Internships through CHR earn academic credit and allow interns to explore career opportunities.
Several instructors work with the Center for Habitat Restoration to fulfill service-learning requirements.
Allied CCSF Biology courses include:
- Biology 101A, General Biology
- Biology 20, General Ecology
- Biology 30, Environmental Sciences
- Zoology 10, Animal Biology
- Biology 35, Ecological Field Monitoring
- Biology 40, Native Plants and Animals of California
Within the Department, CHR supports ongoing curriculum development relevant to its mission.