Announcements

Volunteer Docents Needed for Environmental Education at Tahoe

 
Do you love Lake Tahoe and have an interest in learning more about the lake? Do you enjoy science, learning new information, and sharing your knowledge?
 
Residents who would like to help people learn about the region's environmental assets and challenges are needed to serve as volunteer docents at the Thomas J. Long Foundation Education Center and the UC Davis Eriksson Education Center. Located in Incline Village and Tahoe City respectively, the two UC Davis education centers are well positioned along the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.
 
"Each year, we have thousands of children and adults touring our education centers, and we need informed, enthusiastic docents to help them get the most out of their visits," said education director Heather Segale, UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC).
 
Visitors to the centers include school groups from the greater Lake Tahoe-Truckee region as well as local residents and visitors to the basin.
 
The training courses and a copy of the UC Davis Docent Training Manual will provide new docents all the information they will need to discuss the scientific research at Lake Tahoe, local environmental issues, and natural history of the region. No prior experience is necessary, and all are welcome.
 
The first two docent training classes will be held on June 19 (2 – 5 p.m.) and June 21 (2 – 5 p.m.), at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, on the Sierra Nevada College campus in Incline Village, Nev. The third training will take place on June 23, starting with a boat ride aboard the UC Davis Research Vessel John LeConte and finishing at the UC Davis Tahoe City Field Station. Space aboard the boat is limited and will be available on a first-come basis. Attendance at all three training sessions is strongly recommended.
 
Presenters include UC Davis TERC director Geoff Schladow, renowned limnologist Dr. Charles Goldman, boat captain Brant Allen, geologist Tom Bullard (DRI), ecologist Christine Ngai (UNR), David Antonucci, and more. Snacks and a social happy hour will be provided.
 
To RSVP for these training dates, please contact Andrea Wilkins, AmeriCorps member at (775) 881-7560, ext. 7474 or e-mail alwilkins@ucdavis.edu.
 
For more information about the docent program, please contact TERC education director Heather Segale at(775) 881-7562 or e-mail hmsegale@ucdavis.edu.
 
# # #
 
About the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center
 
The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center presents monthly lectures on science topics and organizes various educational programs including the Youth Science Institute, Science Expo, and Children’s Environmental Science Day. The Tahoe Environmental Research Center is dedicated to research, education and public outreach on lakes and their surrounding watersheds and airsheds. Lake ecosystems include the physical, biogeochemical and human environments, and the interactions among them. The center is committed to providing objective scientific information for restoration and sustainable use of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
 
Media contact: Heather Segale, UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, (775) 881-7562,hmsegale@ucdavis.edu
 
# # #
 
Other Upcoming Events

• May 31, 2012: Bear Awareness Lecture
• May 22-24, 2012: Tahoe Science Conference – Environmental Restoration in a Changing Climate
• June 2, 2012: Tahoe City Field Station (Historic Hatchery) Open House
• June 2-3, 2012: Wild Tahoe Weekend, South Lake Tahoe (International Migratory Bird Day and Native Species Day)
• June 14, 2012: Tahoe’s Avian Summer Visitors with Kirk Hardie, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science
• June 16, 2012: Birdwatching with Kirk Hardie, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science at the Tahoe City Field Station
• June 19, 21 and 23: Docent Training
• July 11: Climate Reality Project with Dr. Peter Joseph
• July 26: Sugar-associated Health Risk Factors, with Dr. Kimber Stanhope, UC Davis Department of Nutrition
• August 11, 2012: Annual Children’s Environmental Science Day

Visit http://terc.ucdavis.edu/calendar/ for additional information.

FREE PEER COUNSELORS IN TRUCKEE

CONTACT: Sierra Agape Center, Kimball Pier, M.S. LMFT, 530-414-1885,
kcpier@sierraagape.org
TRAINED TRUCKEE-TAHOE PEER COUNSELORS AVAILABLE AT NO COST
Calling anyone who is aching, angry, fearful, frustrated, stressed
out, sad, suffering or alone
What:   Peer Counseling
Where: 10111 E Street in Truckee (Project MANA office)
When:   Noon to 4 p.m. every Monday and noon to 3 p.m. Thursday as well
as by appointment
Cost:   None.
Info:   (530) 414-5832, peercounseling@sierraagape.org or
www.sierraagape.org
Sierra Agape Center is pleased to announce that trained peer
counselors are available for Tahoe-Truckee residents during the
holiday season and throughout the New Year at no cost. Walk in hours
are noon to 4 p.m. every Monday and noon to 3 p.m. Thursday at 10111 E
Street in Truckee (Project MANA office). Seniors, adults and teens are
also invited to call (530) 414-1885 to schedule an appointment with a
peer counselor. There is no charge.

Peer Counselors listen. They advocate. They are volunteers who
accompany people to court or doctor appointments, serve as role models
and mentors, connect to Tahoe-Truckee's many social service providers
and, ultimately, seek to help people in need help themselves.
"We're here to let you know you are not alone. We know what it's like
to go through hard times," explains one peer counselor. The Peer
Counseling Program's strength-based approach emphasizes self-advocacy,
empowerment strategies, physical health management, mutual support and
life-skills education. The core goals of the program are to listen,
reduce suffering and increase resiliency by focusing on strengths and
opportunities.
Eleven compassionate community members have completed a 30-hour
training session that emphasizes deep listening, problem solving and
crisis intervention. Active Tahoe-Truckee Peer Counselors include
Sylvia Doignon, a bi-lingual peer counselor who works primarily with
North Tahoe Family Resource Center in Kings Beach and Dianna Hall,
Skyla Hauptman, Karin Johnson, Pati Johnson, Kristin Mcnamara, Judi
Roberts, Mimi Vadasz and Jon L. Weedn. All of the counselors know how
challenging life can be and want to do their part.
"The Peer Counseling Program serves people across socio-economic
levels including youth in transition and adults surprised to find
themselves in very different economic circumstances than they were in
five years ago," explains clinical supervisor Kimball C. Pier, a
marriage and family therapist licensed in California and Nevada who
founded Sierra Agape Center in May of 2010 and adopted the peer
counseling program last December. "Sierra Agape Center was conceived
out of a passion to offer people a place to feel welcome and cared for
when problems feel overwhelming. We serve all who seek someone to
listen to them and offer a safe place to talk through the problems of
life regardless of income."
Generous donations from Placer County, Tahoe Truckee Community
Foundation and community members make the free Peer Counseling program
possible. For more information, call (530) 414-1885 or visit
www.sierraagape.org.

ABOUT SIERRA AGAPE CENTER and KIMBALL C. PIER, M.S. LMFT
Sierra Agape Center is a donation-based nonprofit organization that
offers a variety of counseling and well-being services to the
Tahoe-Truckee community. People pay what they can. Services include
the free Peer Counseling Program, low cost teen yoga, massage therapy
and wellness counseling and therapy for individuals, couples and
families. "Agape" (pronounced ah-gah-pay) is rooted in ancient Greece
and refers to an all-encompassing love of community and family.
Founder Kimball C. Pier is a licensed marriage and family therapist
who has provided therapy, addiction recovery treatment, family
reconciliation services and divorce mediation in private practice and
community mental health settings. For more information, call Kimball
Pier at (530) 414-1885 or visit www.sierraagape.org.