By: Jill Goetz

UC Berkeley has recognized "CityBugs", an innovative educational program designed to interest urban youngsters in science, as a University-Community Partnership Project.

"Exploring Urban Biodiversity through Insects of the San Francisco Bay Region", better known as "CityBugs", is part of the College's Environmental Leadership Program and is a collaborative project of the CNR Division of Insect Biology, UC Cooperative Extension and the Interactive University and the Oakland Unified School District. It was one of 12 outreach efforts chosen by a committee of UC faculty and staff as outstanding examples of campus-community partnerships working to improve educational opportunities and quality of life in the local community. The programs will be formallhy rocognized in September at a reception hosted by Chancelllor and Mrs. Robert Berdahl.

"CityBugs" aims to integrate science, technology and science literacy and bridge the gap between Cal and local urban schools. Participating students explore their local ecology, gain an appreciation for the biodiversity around them and learn scientific classification, taxonomy and physiology - all the while sharpening their computer and Internet skills.

Started in 1997, the program was recently expanded and revised and now involves three Oakland middle schools. Its core participants are Vernard Lewis, Cooperative Extension specialist; Professor and Associate Dean Donald Dahlsten; graduate students Steven Suoja, Dan Rubinoff and Arielle Levine; and Debbie Lenz, project coordinator. With several Oakland teachers, they are developing a K-12 science curriculum on such topics as insect diversity and anatomy, conservation, habitat, integrated pest management and harmful vs. beneficial insects.

The curriculum combines hands-on classroom and off-site activities, such as raising bugs in the classroom, viewing bug displays, visits from loca entomologists and visits to gardens. On the Internet, students learn how to identify insects with visual displays onscreen and become more familiar with the Internet generally, in a culturally relevant way. Participating teachers can train other Oakland schooteachers to use th material in their own classrooms. The curricula will be posted on the "CityBugs" web page, which can be used by other schools and the public. Its designers envision "CityBugs" as a key stimulus for the placement and use of more computers in classrooms that currently lack these resources.

"We are very excited to receive recognition as a University-Community Partnership Project", says Lenz, a former Oakland schoolteacher, "because it affirs the importance of outreach efforts to the community as well as the vision of the entomologists who started this project." Adds Lisa Yesson, program manager for UC Interactive University, " 'CityBugs' is a model of how a committed team of UC Berkeley faculty, students and staff can use technology and hands-on experiences to bring unique university resources into K-12 classrooms to enhance teaching and learning."

"CityBugs" doesn't serve only schoolchildren. Its web page provides a wealth of information on insects to the general puglic, and campus entomologists answer dozens of e-mailo question each month from students and the public as a result of the site. The "CityBugs" web page is at http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/citybugs.