LOS ANGELES — Dozens of high school students in Los Angeles are learning ancient land practices as well as ways to combat climate change with old and new science.

The Indigenous Science program is a new curriculum at Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory of North America, an LAUSD charter school that is also the only school for Indigenous people in LA County.

Science teacher Miranda Vega grew up learning about having a respectful relationship with plants and the land from her elder. She now teaches it to her students.

“It’s really important to bring our voice and our knowledge into this space and into western science,” Vega said.

The science class extends beyond the classroom to the outdoors, where students learn about creating green spaces and planting native seeds as a way of replenishing the earth.

The program was developed last year to bring students back from virtual learning. It’s now a college A-G approved course that Vega says is teaching culture and community.

“They are making connections with what they’ve learned from local Indigenous nations as well as what they’ve learned in class about the importance of maintaining native ecosystems and native plants,” Vega said.

Native traditions are central to the curriculum and amplify the need for Indigenous voices in the fight to curb climate change, says Marcos Aguilar, the school’s executive director.

“Colonization causes climate change, so then decolonization has to be part of that solution,” he said.

Educating the next generation to be caretakers of the land is also part of the solution. Student Marlene Garcia says she’s learning to value Indigenous science just as much as western science.

“We know how to really take advantage of these resources and not exploit the land,” Garcia said. “Being able to give the land back to Indigenous people would create a huge impactful change.”

The school is now offering an Indigenous science summer program with Cal State LA for American Indian students across the county.