The California Coastal Commission approved on Wednesday $2 million in grants for schools, nonprofits and tribes. The grants advance public education, conservation and access to the coast.
The Coastal Commission approved 47 grants after receiving a record-breaking 434 applications requesting a total of nearly $17 million. Many of these requests came from first-time applicants with innovative proposals to engage communities facing barriers to coastal access and education.
The selected projects will impact communities across every coastal county as well as the inland counties of Siskiyou, Modoc, Plumas, El Dorado, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Fresno, and Riverside. Half of the funds are for projects led by, in partnership with, and/or directly engaging California Native American tribes and tribal communities.
“We’re excited to support all of these wonderful projects,” said Annie Kohut Frankel, the Coastal Commission’s Public Education Program Manager. “There’s clearly an overwhelming need for this funding so we’ll continue to work to expand the Whale Tail program to meet the need.”
This year’s grants are being funded from a partnership with the Ocean Protection Council with funds from California Climate Investments.
The Whale Tail grant program is the longest running outdoor access and coastal stewardship grant program in the state. It started in 1998 when the Coastal Commission launched the Whale Tail specialty license plate to fund public education programs. Since then, the plate has supported more than 1,100 grants as well as popular education and stewardship programs such as California Coastal Cleanup Day.
Whale Tail Grant recipients
Seven of the 47 competitive grants will benefit Del Norte and Humboldt counties, listed roughly north to south:
Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, $49,970
Project Title: Day-la Ghii~-i~? (What-is-it You-see?): A Taa-laa-waa Mvlh-wan-te (Tolowa Guide) for Reconnecting with the Coast
Engaging Communities in: Del Norte County
A culturally grounded species identification handbook in the Tolowa Dee-ni’ language will be created, and offshore educational excursions and land-based stewardship activities will engage Tribal citizens in ecological literacy and community connection to traditional homelands.
DIY Art / Ink People, $49,988
Project Title: Native American Coastal Ecology S.T.E.A.M. Classroom Kits
Engaging Communities in: Humboldt and Del Norte Counties
A Native Advisory Group will design, pilot, and make available STEAM classroom kits that pair with the new Native American Studies Model Curriculum, hold teacher training sessions for the kits, build a database of Native experts and culture bearers available as classroom speakers in Humboldt and Del Norte County classrooms, and design a best practices guide to intercultural teaching of coastal ecology with accompanying videos.
Northern California Indian Development Council, $50,000
Project Title: Coastal Foodways and Stewardship Project
Engaging Communities in: Humboldt and Del Norte Counties
Native youth and young adults will engage with four traditional coastal foodways (mussels, eels, surf fish, and salmon) through cultural education seminars, tool and materials workshops, guided harvest workshops and processing and preservation workshops.
Playhouse Arts: Our Space, $19,875
Project Title: Our Space
Engaging Communities in: Northern Humboldt County
Community members who are unhoused or housing insecure will co-create a series of coastal day trips that may include education, foraging, habitat restoration, and art activities. Participants will share their experiences on a local radio program and other media outlets.
Rios to Rivers, $47,389
Project Title: Paddle Tribal Waters
Engaging Communities in: Northern California
Indigenous youth from Karuk and other Northern California tribes will participate in multi-day paddling and leadership skills trainings, including the impact of dams and dam removals on the health of river and coastal watersheds, and traditional ecological knowledge and cultural preservation practices; program alumni will expand local paddling and community education clubs in Hoopa Valley and Eel River Basin; and a documentary will be finalized of youths’ successful first source-to-sea descent of the undammed Klamath River in 2025.
Eel River Wailaki / Trees Foundation, $31,030
Project Title: Coral Point Traditional Ecological Knowledge Project
Engaging Communities in: Southern Humboldt County
Eel River Wailaki Cultural Educators will develop a Traditional Ecological Knowledge curriculum, provide in-school workshops at Redway Elementary, create a TEK Club at South Fork High School, and lead field trips to Coral Point.
Native Health in Native Hands, $50,000
Project Title: Tehlaan Chii (Whale Tail)
Engaging Communities in: Covelo and Willits in Mendocino County, Loleta and Hoopa in Humboldt County
The extended Kinest’e Native community will reconnect with ancestral territory and coastal cultural practices at a beach camping event, college-ready young adults will attend a college and career culture camp hosted by Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and an environmental careers event will be organized with Cal Poly Humboldt.
For more information and to see all the Whale Tail Grant recipients visit https://coastal.ca.gov/whaletailgrant/