"Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Climate Change"

The Mechoopda Tribe’s TEK Master Teacher, Ali Meders Knight, and her colleague, Meleiza Figueroa, will discuss the interwoven ecological and cultural impacts of colonialism and how Traditional Ecological Knowledge can contribute to decolonization and promote adaptation to climate change.

Ali Meders-Knight is a Mechoopda tribal member, mother of five, and traditional basketweaver based in Chico, CA. She is a Mechoopda Tribal liaison working to form partnerships for federal forest stewardship contracting and tribal restoration programs on public lands. She has been a Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practitioner for over 20 years, collaborating on environmental education and land restoration projects with Chico State University and the City of Chico. In 2009 she helped plan and establish Verbena Fields, a unique 17-acre interactive food forest and interpretive park in North Chico to help educate the community about the rich ecological heritage of the Mechoopda people.

"Meleiza "Mel" Figueroa is a PhD candidate in geography at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research and dissertation work has focused on indigenous agroforestry, ethnobotany and traditional ecological knowledge, with 2 years of fieldwork in the lower Amazon basin. She is currently an environmental planning & policy researcher for the Chico Traditional Ecological Stewardship Program and the Intertribal Stewardship Workforce Initiative. Also an educator and organizer, Mel was a public affairs producer at KPFK Pacifica Radio and the national press director for the 2016 Stein/Baraka Green Party presidential campaign. She is an active member of the Green Ecosocialist Network and a faculty-owner of the Cooperative New School for Environmental Justice."