Programs & Activities

National Public Radio (NPR) documentary, "Saving The Sierra: Grassroots Solutions for Sustaining Rural Communities"

Two years in the making, this beautifully designed, hour-long public radio program, was produced by two-time Peabody award winner Catherine Stifter and award-winning community media maker jesikah maria ross with funding from the California Council for Humanities  California Stories initiative, and in partnership with:

• The Sierra Fund
• Sierra Nevada Alliance
• Center for Sierra Nevada Studies at Sierra College.

The documentary will air nationally on public radio stations across the country and the online toolkit will be published for Earth Day (April 22).

You can listen to a podcast of the program now on the Saving the Sierra website Radio page. www.savingthesierra.org

About the program –

Urban development threatens rural communities across America. People who live and work in these beautiful landscapes face some tough decisions about the future. Saving The Sierra’s producers Catherine Stifter and jesikah maria ross traveled California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range to explore communities in the midst of struggle against the development pressures closing in on them. In each place, they met unlikely allies who came together to find grassroots solutions for sustaining both the environment and their ways of life.  Most rural communities within driving distance of sprawling cities and suburbs face these issues. And most urban dwellers have been to a place just like the communities in these three stories:

• In a remote mountain valley, both ranchers and environmentalists have begun to use conservation easements to save open space and preserve the largest wetlands in the mountain range.
• In a small town north of Lake Tahoe, resort development will blanket the mountain with million-dollar luxury homes. But after a long legal battle, a deal was struck that will provide permanent, on-going funding for affordable housing, public transit, and habitat restoration.
• The city of Los Angeles was forced to become a leader in water conservation because of a landmark legal ruling that kept them from draining an entire watershed in pursuit of drinking water.

The Center for Sierra Nevada Studies develops & sponsors:

• Publications
• Lectures and Conferences
• Traveling Historic and Artistic Exhibits
• Permanent Historic and Artistic Exhibits
• Video Programming
• Research Projects
• Information Clearinghouse
• Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum is a multimedia, interactive online museum presenting the rich history, culture and natural history of the Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum is a project of Sierra College students, faculty, and staff; The Center for Sierra Nevada Studies; and the Sierra Nevada regional community. Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum is a nonprofit, educational website maintained for the education and enlightenment of the public.
• "Saving The Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action" is a multi-year project that uses storytelling, radio and the Internet to explore Sierra Nevada conservation issues. Through public radio programming on National Public Radio, a website, and a public “StoryBooth,” residents of the Sierra Nevada region describe their efforts to conserve the “Range of Light.”

With the assistance of Sierra College faculty, staff, students, and community volunteers, a part-time director administers and coordinates program planning and exhibits. The Center for Sierra Nevada Studies receives some funding from the college, but without additional funds the Center will have difficulty providing quality programs in the future. If you would like to volunteer or make a donation, please contact The Center for Sierra Nevada Studies.