2024 Jasper Ridge Environmental Education Scholar Award winners: Diego Perez and Shreya Garg
We are thrilled to announce the two outstanding recipients of the 2024 Jasper Ridge Environmental Education Scholar Award. We wish to recognize them for their contributions to Jasper Ridge’s ranger and field education programs, as well as their outreach to underserved students in the Bay Area.
Diego Perez is a co-term student in Biology and alum of the BIO/ESYS 105 Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve course (2023). As Teaching Assistant for BIO/ESYS 105 this year, he was an integral and exemplary member of the teaching team. He consistently leads with kindness and generosity towards students, encouraging them to center their well-being as they learn their knowledge about Jasper Ridge. This is paired with his incredible acumen as a young scientist. In the 2024 course, he frequently advised students on project design, guided their fieldwork at the Preserve, and helped with statistical analysis.
Diego has led a number of tours for students from local high schools, community colleges, outreach programs, and the Environmental Justice Working Group since he became a docent in 2023. His nominator speaks to his community outreach and sharing the Preserve: “As a testament to his commitment to foment diversity and belonging, Diego continually supports Jasper Ridge’s events as a docent and community connector, particularly for groups including youth, high school students, and underserved communities.”
Our second awardee is Bioengineering undergraduate and JRBP('O'O) Ranger Shreya Garg. Shreya approached Jasper Ridge leadership this year and asked for the opportunity to drive more engagement with our Instagram account (@stanfordjrbp). She has successfully done this with her beautiful photography, multimedia, and profiles of student interns and faculty working at Jasper Ridge. In spring 2024, she worked to bring 18 Title 1 high school students to the Preserve for workshops. Stanford Report profiled her and this outreach program in the article “Campus visit sparks high school students’ interest.”
Shreya’s nominator summarized her commitment with, “Her work in education, outreach, and fostering an inclusive learning environment demonstrates her exceptional commitment to building and sustaining a dynamic community.”
Shreya also describes what Jasper Ridge has meant to her own development towards a STEM career and as an educator: “As someone who aspired to enter the field of science education, particularly for students of underrepresented backgrounds such as myself, I am indebted to Jasper Ridge for the opportunities it has given me in molding myself into a more thoughtful, equitable, and knowledgeable educator.”
Please join us in congratulating Diego and Shreya!
