Bridging the urban-rural divide: CSULB Geography and the River Ridge Institute

April 27-28, 2024: Students from Porterville College joined students from the Geography Department at Cal State Long Beach for an experimental restoration planting on the pasture of River Ridge Ranch.

Community college students got to meet and hang out with four-year students from “The Big City” as they collected, bundled, and prepared cottonwood and willow branches for rooting and planting.  This is part of the River Ridge Institute’s “Taste of College” program that is designed to debunk the mystery of higher education for community college students in the San Joaquin Valley and explore the opportunities that are available to local youth. At the same time, urban students from CSULB got to rough it and get their hands dirty on the ranch.