Contact Information
Wondering whether a degree in Wildland Stewardship might be right for you? Set up a conversation with one of our program co-coordinators, Professor Kristen Kaczynski.
Phone: 530-898-6340
Email: kkaczynski@csuchico.edu
If you feel called to care for the land and the communities connected to it, come be wild and explore how science, culture, and creative thinking come together to shape and protect wild spaces. This first-of-its-kind program prepares you for meaningful careers addressing today’s most critical environmental challenges.
You’ll study the science behind ecosystems, climate change, biodiversity, water, fire, and air quality—while also exploring the cultural, social, and justice issues connected to land stewardship. Through field-based courses, hands-on projects, and interdisciplinary learning that blends science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, you’ll gain both broad knowledge and the chance to specialize in the areas that matter most to you. By graduation, you’ll be ready to lead with skill, ethics, and creativity in protecting and restoring wild places.
Where Creativity and Conservation Intersect
Today's environmental challenges demand creative and analytical thinking. Through hands-on coursework and field experiences, you'll gain cultural perspectives on communities across North America while building the technical and scientific knowledge needed to put conservation into action.
Major Options
You have four major options to choose from that will prepare you for your dream career.
Environmental Arts
Use creativity as a tool for stewardship. You’ll combine studio art with environmental learning to tell stories, engage communities, and communicate complex environmental issues through visual, hands-on, and public-facing creative work.
Human Dimensions of Land Stewardship
Examine the connections between land, people, and policy. You’ll take courses that encourage critical thinking about how ethics, culture, and communication foster collaboration across diverse groups and shape inclusive, effective stewardship decisions.
Fire
Study how fire shapes ecosystems and communities, while building technical skills in wildfire management, mapping, and data analysis—preparing you to work on the front lines of fire management and restoration.
Water
From oceans and wetlands to rivers and creeks—understand the impact of expansive water systems on the communities and ecosystems they support. Learn strategies to manage and protect this vital resource in a changing climate.
Stewardship in Action
Students graduate prepared for meaningful careers in ecological restoration, conservation, and land stewardship. Our alumni go on to serve as conservation planners, natural resource managers, and land stewards across a wide range of organizations such as
- California State Parks
- US Forest Service
- National Park Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- US Fish and Wildlife
- US Army Corps of Engineers
- city park systems
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It’s about protecting not just objects, but the stories, the relationships to land, the identity of our people.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
You’ll gain hands-on experience through fieldwork, internships, community projects, creative studios, and research across Northern California—working with faculty, land managers, Tribal partners, and local organizations on real-world stewardship challenges. And connect with peers who share your passion in the Student Association for Fire Ecology.
A Living Learning Lab
Immerse yourself in hands-on learning at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER), nearly 8,000 acres of diverse habitats. Collaborate with the Office of Tribal Relations and connect with partners like Resource Conservation Districts and the National Park Service through fieldwork and site visits across California.
Related Programs
Contact Information
Wondering whether a degree in Wildland Stewardship might be right for you? Set up a conversation with one of our program co-coordinators, Professor Kristen Kaczynski.
Phone: 530-898-6340
Email: kkaczynski@csuchico.edu