College of Science

Department of Applied Environmental Science

CSUMB Recently Recognized by the Bureau of Land Management

CSUMB Faculty, Staff and BLM representatives pose with award at award ceremony

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) was recently awarded the 'Making a Difference National Volunteer Award' (in the Group Category) by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

This award recognizes the incredible partnership between the University and BLM that spans over two decades. Since 1996, Fort Ord National Monument has partnered with CSUMB on a project called 'Return of the Natives', where Native plants are cultivated and returned to the landscape surrounding the monument. Dr. Katherine Kantardjieff, CSUMB Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, along with several other CSUMB faculty and staff were present at the award ceremony on June 9th to accept the award. At the ceremony, BLM and CSUMB planted an oak seedling that was grown at the Return of the Natives nursery. This ceremony also recognized Fort Ord National Monument's 10th anniversary and 25 years of conservation efforts to restore and repurpose the former military base
Thank you to all CSUMB faculty, staff, students and volunteers for helping to support our public lands! For more information on the wonderful work that is done by Return of the Natives, check out their website. To volunteer at an upcoming event, keep an eye on the Return of the Natives Events web page. 
Photo credit: Salah El-Din Ahmed, BLM