SSU Center for Environmental Inquiry

SSU Center for Environmental Inquiry Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from SSU Center for Environmental Inquiry, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA.

Plot twist: it's Biological Diversity Day on May 22nd... 🦈🍀🪻🌲🐢🦎🦓🐊This international holiday highlights the importance ho...
05/21/2026

Plot twist: it's Biological Diversity Day on May 22nd... 🦈🍀🪻🌲🐢🦎🦓🐊

This international holiday highlights the importance how you can restore your relationship with nature.💚 This includes valuing, protecting, and repairing ecological richness. ✨

The main theme for Biological Diversity Day is, "Acting locally for global impact." This means YOU can take action locally to create a ripple effect of positive changes elsewhere. 🤝It encourages others to join in and remain committed to undoing the loss that has occurred.

At CEI, we focus on providing sustainable and impactful opportunities in Sonoma County that align with Biological Diversity Day. 🤲With our Creeks in Common project, 💧SSU faculty, staff and students are joined by community members to support projects that help protect biodiversity within our watershed. They work in groups to pursue a variety of projects that aim to establish Copeland Creek as an on campus demonstration site to support research and education, improvement of watershed biodiversity through native habitat restoration, stream restoration to reduce flooding and enhance groundwater recharge, and offer improved trail connections. All this can enhance ecological function and keep ecosystems wealthy (get involved!!). 🌟

Fortunately, there is no one right way to make a difference. Every little effort matters, so just start somewhere!💪

Welcome back earth lovers! 💙🌍The star of this week's Wildlife Wednesday is the Red-cage Fungus! ⭐️These fun guys (bad jo...
05/20/2026

Welcome back earth lovers! 💙🌍

The star of this week's Wildlife Wednesday is the Red-cage Fungus! ⭐️

These fun guys (bad joke) initially start off in a whitish egg 🥚 underground, so the species is protected during development. Then, as time passes, it bursts open into a bright red, cage shaped fungus that can grow up to 8 inches tall! 😳 At times, the color can even be orange or pink! It lowkey is an icon.✨

This species was first discovered in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Over time, it spread to other places in the world, likely because of landscaping materials like mulch. Today, it can be found in countries such as England, the United States, Canada, and more. Unfortunately, it is now rare in central Europe.

Somehow, it gets more gross...🤢 this fungus smells so terrible that it has been compared to "rotting meat."🥩 It attracts flies and other insects, which carry its spore elsewhere. 🪰Disgusting right? 🤨

Shoutout to bridgetflannery (iNaturalist) for the photo! 📷This photo was taken in Santa Rosa, CA, just 20 minutes away from SSU!

What's up nature lovers! 👀💐Today is Endangered Species Day! 🐅This global holiday began in 2006 by the United States Cong...
05/16/2026

What's up nature lovers! 👀💐

Today is Endangered Species Day! 🐅

This global holiday began in 2006 by the United States Congress to educate the public on which species are at risk and to promote habitat conservation. It provides the perfect opportunity for our community to take action together to protect biodiversity!🤲

Endangered animals do so much to keep our ecosystems balanced and healthy! 💚With their extinction, it can disrupt food chains and cause damage to the environment.

CEI advocates for students to appreciate the wildlife around them and to care for all animals and plants. Head to the preserves to learn more!😁

What's the buzz nature lovers??? 🌿✨This week, we're soft launching World Bee Day! 🐝This bee-focused holiday lands on May...
05/14/2026

What's the buzz nature lovers??? 🌿✨

This week, we're soft launching World Bee Day! 🐝This bee-focused holiday lands on May 20th, 2026. 🗓️

To help bees and other pollinators, Bee Day encourages individuals to protect our tiny friends and their habitats, because they are becoming increasingly endangered.

This day highlights that bees do more than buzz between flowers. These tiny critters provide food, sustain food, improve climate challenges, and boost the environment. Without bees, agriculture would fail and the food sources that sustain humanity would be lost!

CEI is committed to promoting research on wild honey bees in remote areas of Northern California, specifically the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve. By studying their genetic diversity and how different populations vary, the project can look at whether wild bees have naturally become more susceptible to Varroa mites over the years. With this project in place, it helps establish helpful information on pollinator communities to better understand the role wild honey bees play alongside other pollinators in natural ecosystems.

For more info visit: CEI.Sonoma.edu

Did you hear? It's Wildlife Wednesday! ⭐️🐾This week we are showcasing the jaw dropping dense-flowered owl's-clover. 💜The...
05/13/2026

Did you hear? It's Wildlife Wednesday! ⭐️🐾

This week we are showcasing the jaw dropping dense-flowered owl's-clover. 💜

These main character flowers have striking purplish-red blooms that stand out. They can grow up to be 18 inches tall and can be white, pink, green, and purple.

They are known to be California Natives, but can also be found in in other areas in western North America. Often times these plants can be seen in grasslands, meadows, roadsides, forest openings and even at Galbreath Wildlands Preserve in Mendocino County!

The beauty of the dense-flowered owl's-clover was the preserves latest discovery (how cool).🔎Its stunning appearance brought smiles all around! 😁

More than 20 native plant lovers💐 from Sonoma and Mendocino happily wandered the groves and meadows of Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, collecting photos and memories 📸under the leadership of the Milo Baker chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Lynnette Bower and Lynn Houser.

The Dense-flowered owl's-clovers tend to bloom between March and June! 🌤️ So, if you haven't seen them head outside and visit the preserves! 🌼

Big shout out to Charlie Russell Photography for this image!

Thank you to everyone who joined our Una Caminata Nocturna Bilingüe por la Naturaleza / Bilingual Nighttime Nature Hike ...
05/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our Una Caminata Nocturna Bilingüe por la Naturaleza / Bilingual Nighttime Nature Hike ✨🌙

It was a beautiful evening of exploration, learning, and connection as we experienced the preserve after dark through both Spanish and English interpretation. We loved sharing the wonder of nighttime nature with our community.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the Fairfield Osborn Sudden Oak Death Blitz! 🌿Together, volunteers, stude...
05/07/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the Fairfield Osborn Sudden Oak Death Blitz! 🌿

Together, volunteers, students, and researchers helped monitor forest health through community science, contributing valuable data to ongoing Sudden Oak Death research and conservation efforts. We’re grateful for everyone who spent the day exploring, learning, and protecting our local ecosystems with us.

You won't believe this... it's Info Thursday! ⭐️💙Welcome back nature lovers! 🫂Today we are diving deep into the Naturali...
05/07/2026

You won't believe this... it's Info Thursday! ⭐️💙

Welcome back nature lovers! 🫂

Today we are diving deep into the Naturalist role and the popular site iNaturalist. 🤳🌾

A naturalist’s job is to notice everything in nature—from tiny fungi to a big critter. Every time they look around, there’s something new for them to discover, especially when it comes to plants. Then, based on their findings, they share it with you! 😁

iNaturalist has made science more accessible than ever! Through apps, nature lovers (like you), can share their amazing discoveries with the world. 🌍Certified naturalists are quick to help identify users' observations and provide great feedback. Also, it provides iNat users the opportunity to connect with their local community. 🤝

Ready to become a user or go beyond? 🙂‍↕️Join us at Galbreath Wildlands Preserve to level up your outdoor adventures with iNaturalist!🙌

Whether you’re hiking a trail, strolling your neighborhood, or exploring the beach, this powerful app helps you discover, learn, and share the nature around you. It allows you to contribute to real scientific research through citizen science!

📅 Sunday, May 10, 2026
🕙 10 AM–2 PM
📍 Galbreath Wildlands Preserve
🎟️ Free Event • Registration Required

Register w/ QR Code OR with the link: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/4827tb4

Stop scrolling—Wildlife Wednesday is here!🌳Get ready to meet a certified cutie...👀This week, we're buzzing about the Bl...
05/06/2026

Stop scrolling—Wildlife Wednesday is here!🌳

Get ready to meet a certified cutie...👀

This week, we're buzzing about the Black-tailed Bumble Bee!🐝 This little critter rocks yellow and black up top, with a mix of yellow, orange, and black on its back. It’s got a soft, “clouded” face, as well. This is a little reminder that nature doesn't miss. ✨

This bee lives across a huge range in western North America, from Alaska to Baja California and from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains, including Sonoma County!

Some fun facts — the Bombus Melanopygus feeds on many types of plants like manzanita, lupine, sage, and clover.🍀Also, size depends on whether it’s a queen or a worker. Queens 🫅 are usually 16–19 mm, while workers 👷 are smaller at about 10–16 mm.

That's not all... You can learn more about bees by attending the field trip to the Wild Honeybee Populations of the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve.🤩 Apis Arborea has been studying wild honeybee populations at Galbreath Preserve for seven years, giving anyone the perfect opportunity to hear from the researchers!🧑‍🔬

📍:Galbreath Wildlands Preserve
🗓️: Saturday, May 9, 2026
⏰:9:30 am – 4:00 pm
🎟️: $10

Register here + buy ticket (Only a few left!): https://www.apisarborea.org/event/spring-field-trip-to-the-wild-honeybee-populations-of-the-galbreath-wildlands-preserve-2/

Join us for a stress-relieving Nature as Medicine session on the SSU Fairfield Osborn Preserve. The session will be led ...
04/30/2026

Join us for a stress-relieving Nature as Medicine session on the SSU Fairfield Osborn Preserve. The session will be led by Sarah Murphy, MD, a Family and Integrative Medicine physician who works at the SSU Student Health Center.

This will be a mellow, calm, tech-free immersion in nature where you will pay close attention to sensory details around you to develop a sense of presence and connection.

Studies on forest immersion experiences like this have demonstrated they decrease stress levels, anxiety, and low mood, and increase attention, feelings of connectedness and well-being, and even help boost the immune system. We hope the experience will help you feel refreshed, grounded, and mentally recharged.

If you have questions reach out to Dr. Sarah Murphy at (707) 664-2921 or [email protected]

Address

1801 East Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA
94928

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17076643416

Website

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