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Pacific Union College Professors Drs. Scott Butterfield and Floyd Hayes from the biology department were awarded two grants totaling over $300k from the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake and the National Audubon Society's Audubon in Action program to develop a monitoring program for grebes, a bioindicator of ecosystem health, at Clear Lake. With this project, they will collaborate with partners from the Redbud Audubon Society, Upper Lake High School, Lower Lake High School, Robinson Rancheria Environmental Center, Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and Lake County. Grebes are aquatic diving birds that serve as bioindicators of the lakes' overall ecosystem health, allowing biologists to monitor complex systems more cost-effectively and sustainably. If the lake is healthy, the number of grebes increases while decreasing if it is unhealthy. In 2022, Hayes published a review of grebe monitoring in Clear Lake that showed the rise and fall of grebe numbers over the past 70 years.Hayes's review inspired him and Butterfield to consider how grebe monitoring could be improved with new technologies, such as those being developed and tested in PUC's conservation technology and data science programs, including drones, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. In the new...

On June 2, Pacific Union College and the Angwin Airport chapter of the Disaster Airlift Response Team (DART) hosted the Air Expo at the Angwin Airport. The Air Expo promoted PUC’s aviation program, called attention to the DART services and emergency fire and rescue services available, and brought people together to share the fun of aviation.Admission was free, allowing attendees to view planes, helicopters, and fire trucks and climb on a rock wall made by PUC. Breakfast and lunch were available for $5 each (with other treats available for purchase), and plane rides with instructors from PUC’s aviation program were $10. PUC aviation students helped marshall planes, cook breakfast, and drive visitors from the parking lot to the airport. Personnel from Mike’s Aero maintenance department were also involved with cooking, flying, and keeping the event safe.It is believed that the first major fly-in was on June 16, 1963, with over 30 aircraft joined by hundreds of people from the community and valley. This event honored Mrs. Anna Stahl and her late husband by dedicating the first missionary aircraft, a brand new Helo Courier, to be flown worldwide by the Adventist church. This event was the first Air Expo at the...

Pacific Union College held its annual PacificQuest summer programs for students in grades 6-12 interested in STEM—and for the first time—aviation. This week-long camp is a great opportunity for students to receive college credit through practical learning experiences and share their interests with other academy kids through educational and outdoor activities.Since 1995, PQRise and PQSeek have been ongoing and were only canceled once in the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal has remained the same each year—that students learn about their interests in engineering, zoology, marine science, and art from expert professors who are dedicated teachers and Seventh-day Adventists.“We hope that students connect with their peers, making memories and friends to last a lifetime,” shared Dean of the School of Sciences Aimee Wyrick. “We also want them to get to know PUC and our amazing faculty and staff. The PacificQuest programs can demystify college, and this helps students realize that college is for them and isn’t (or doesn’t have to be) scary. I overheard a student say it was the best summer experience of their life.”This year’s PacificQuest was exceptional as it was the first introduction to PQSoar for students interested in aviation. From June 23-28,...

Dennis L. Plubell is a lifelong Adventist born and raised in California and Hawaii. Like other family members, Plubell attended Pacific Union College—his “home” school for higher education. He graduated from Pacific Union College in 1976 with a B.A. in Biology and received his M.A. in Biology in 1982. While his family was living in San Jose, CA, Plubell worked most summers during his college years for his grandfather and uncles in the apple and pear orchards around Camino, CA. In 1973, he spent time on the Miller Place, a ranch acquired by the family, where Plubell discovered the Grainger Hall plaque in the grime and dust of the barn equipment. The Grainger Hall plaque is an old bronze college artifact. According to Plubell, it identified the men’s residence hall and was mounted on the building or stone pillars. Plubell was only met with conjecture when trying to find how the plaque ended at the barn. He and others had their theories but didn’t trouble themselves with exploring how the plaque made its way from campus to Camino, CA. Instead, he returned it to its home on campus—50 years later. The plaque was displayed on Plubell’s desk in the dorm....

From 2001-2006, Nathan Tasker was the flight center director for the aviation program at Pacific Union College. After 18 years of being away, he returns to his old job. A mission pilot friend of Tasker alerted him of the desperate need for Christ-centered pilots in the field. This factored into his decision to accept this position at PUC. Tasker saw new opportunities within the Adventist church to revisit some aviation policies, which would improve the ability to serve in many countries. Although the domestic aviation industry has challenges, he believes in trying new things to revolutionize technical and spiritual approaches to excellence. “I can only say that God placed it on my heart to return to PUC to try to make a difference,” said Tasker. “It’s not a logical career progression—but I am sure God is leading us.”Tasker grew up as a missionary kid in the Solomon Islands and witnessed firsthand how a professional humanitarian airplane service on a schedule could transform an entire country. Before the plane arrived at their island, it took days in boats and canoes to get there. It was difficult to get supplies and medical care. They had no telephone or radio and only occasionally...