Coms Students Collaborate on Sea Otter Savvy Program

Communication Studies students in Jeremy Teitelbaum's Small Group Communication class (Coms 217) worked on a class project with the Community Active Wildlife Stewards to improve the Sea Otter Savvy program in spring 2019.  The Program helps communicate the need for responsible wildlife viewing of these adorable but fragile creatures.

The program was established in 2015 as a result of collaborative efforts by Southern Sea Otter Alliance members from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Friends of the Sea Otter, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and now partners with the California State Parks. Students collected data on the effectiveness of the outreach efforts and presented their findings to the program coordinator and State Park representatives with suggestions for how to improve communication with the public. In the future, there are additional opportunities for COMS students to volunteer to work on the project, or perhaps develop senior projects. Students interested in this project can contact Jeremy Teitelbaum: jteitelb@calpoly.edu