The Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy (CECE) recently established a partnership with the Greater Union Baptist Church to operate an environmental tour called the “Compton to Catalina Program,” which takes students and other young people from Compton to Catalina Island.
The CECE and the California Center for Economic Initiatives (CCFEI) are also partnering under the Compton to Catalina program to expose Compton youth to boating and to provide young adults with technical training in boat repair and maintenance.
The CECE held its first program on Saturday, and participants traveled to Long Beach to board the Catalina Express and make the one-hour trip to the island. Once there, they boarded the Nautilus submarine to observe underwater life, including vegetation and the different species of fish around the island. Finally, the participants toured Southern California Edison’s Pebbly Beach Generating Station, the island’s primary electricity generation source, to get insight into how power plants operate.
“The purpose of the program is to expose young people from Compton to the Pacific Ocean and an incredibly beautiful island,” said Norris McDonald, president of CECE. “People take it for granted that the vast majority of these kids never get on the water, and many people live their entire lives without directly experiencing the Pacific Ocean, even though they live within five or 10 miles of it. We believe that such early exposure to this environment could lead to a lifelong environmental stewardship ethic.”
Greater Union Baptist Church will recruit people to participate in the program and CECE will make arrangements for the tours and facilitate educational experiences for the students. Each tour will be a daylong affair that will include transportation to Long Beach, where the tours originate. Participants will have escorts at all times and activities on the island will be arranged to maximize the environmental experience.
The CECE, the church and CCFEI are providing important environmental and technical services to the youth of Compton, but McDonald says that although the program originated for the youth, it does not exclude other interested individuals.
“This partnership will provide a rich environmental experience for participants. We will engage as many churches, schools and other institutions as possible and we will also appeal to the greater Los Angeles community to support the program,” said McDonald. “Right now we are trying to secure more funding for the program and specifically for the boat repair training program.”
Those who are interesting in the training should contact the California Center for Economic Initiatives, and those interested in the Compton to Catalina tour can contact Greater Union Baptist Church at (310) 639-5430 or the Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy directly at (443) 569-5102.
