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In an effort to integrate Indigenous knowledge into climate adaptation planning and stewardship, the Climate Science Alliance (CSA) in collaboration with community partners including Tipey Joa Native Warriors, University of California Natural Reserve System, and Living Coast Discovery Center launched Hear Our Names: Meet the Plants and Animals of Our Region. Through community events, public signage, and interactive webpages, the project aims to center Indigenous language and teach some of the many Indigenous names of plants and animals in the region.
Hear Our Names signage is installed in three locations across San Diego county where they are being used in educational tours, youth field trips, and community events. Within the first year of the project, visitors used the signs’ QR codes to hear the Indigenous names of Native plants over 2,000 times. The Hear Our Names online database, sharing the plants’ names in three Indigenous languages, has been accessed over 2,500 times. Supplemental educational material, including interactive booklets and coloring books, are being shared at signage locations and at community events across the region. This project has laid a foundational template and continues to grow, with each new collaboration adding additional signage locations and expanding the online database.
As Digital Designer (a full-time staff position at CSA), I developed a comprehensive system of educational materials sharing Indigenous knowledge. This included developing visual branding and applying it to designs across signage, web, and collateral. I worked directly with internal and external stakeholders including universities, government agencies, Tribal partners, and individual Indigenous community members. Each collaboration under the Hear Our Names umbrella required navigating a unique makeup of partners, meeting funding requirements from universities and government agencies while accurately and respectfully portraying the Indigenous knowledge shared by Native partners. After establishing branding and structure, I maintained all project webpages and expanded designs as the project continued to grow.