We have met all project goals and educational. objectives since the last report. We started out with the Fishing Derby where youth got the opportunity to learn how to use fishing poles to catch catfish at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. Next we took a group of youth/adults to the California State Park Empire Mine in Grass Valley, CA where our group learned about the state park and the history it holds, we also provided a healthy lunch and snack options to promote healthy nutritional habits.

Next we held the Healthy Lifestyle Outdoor Day at our homebase, Manual Vierra Park, where we taught youth in our community new sports (Tennis, Baseball, Volleyball, Yoga, Interval Training) to promote a healthy lifestyle and hobbies. Also at our homebase we held an Instructional Art class where youth learned to paint a beautiful treescape with the northern lights on a canvas, originally the class was to be outside but due to the excessive heat warning the class was moved inside. This class provided a safe space for participants allowing them to express their creativity while following the instruction of the artist. It also sparked conversation regarding nature and how the Northern Lights come to be in Nature.

The Science Camp, also at our homebase, focused on STEM activities where youth got the opportunity to build structures, and do experiments. At our Lego Class participants (youth) got the opportunity to build cars and create a motorized structure with Legos using math and small-scale engineering. For our "Hot August Fun" Oroville Forebay Aquatic Trip participants were able to explore new watercrafts (paddle boats, kayaks, hydro bikes &more) again promoting healthy hobbies and lifestyle through outdoor activities. Our "I Spy a Bird" trip at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, gave our participants new knowledge of the Wildlife Area and the Birds that frequent our community. Lastly the trip to the Sacramento Museum of Science and Curiosity was well attended, participants were given the opportunity to explore the museum learning about STEM and Ecosystems with the many activities throughout the museum grounds. All in all the activities and events executed this year had the common goal of getting members of our community outside promoting health and wellness through healthy activities, eating habits as well as exploring some of the beautiful State Parks in our area, and promoting the conservation of the environment.

We successfully met all project goals & educational objectives. Fishing Derby allowed youth to learn fishing techniques while catching catfish at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. The trip to Empire Mine State Park explored history & we provided healthy meals to promote nutritional habits. We hosted Healthy Lifestyle Outdoor Day, teaching youth tennis, baseball, volleyball, yoga, to encourage healthy lifestyles. We also offered Instructional Art, where participants painted a treescape with the Northern Lights, sparking creativity & discussions about nature. Our Science Camp & LEGO Camp focused on STEM & taught youth to build motorized structures using math & engineering. Hot August Fun trip to Oroville Forebay Aquatic Center, promoted watercraft activities. We also visited the Sacramento Museum of Science and Curiosity, where participants explored STEM & ecosystems. These events successfully promoted health, wellness, and environmental conservation.

We had great partnerships this year! We partnered with the Gridley Unified School District to disperse flyers for our program physically and electronically. We also used them as a partner for transportation to all of our trips! Working with them allowed us to stay within budget for transportation quotes we were receiving from other businesses were quite costly.

We also partnered with Gray Lodge Wildlife Area Staff/Dept of Fish & Game for not one but two Nature Trips (Fishing Derby & I Spy a Bird Tour). Staff from Gray Lodge Wildlife assisted with keeping participants safe as well as educating participants on the Wildlife in the area. For Hot August Fun we worked with the Oroville Forebay Aquatic Center staff, they assisted in teaching our participants life jacket safety as well as how to use the watercrafts our participants wanted to use.

For our Empire Mine trip Cal Parks staff in Grass Valley at the Mine were wonderful to work with regarding preplanning & also great in educating our group by being our tour guide for the day. Staff at the SMUD Museum of Science & Curiosity were also extremely helpful in planning our trip there and helped us understand what our group would be most interested in while touring the museum.

For our Activities at our homebase we partnered with Vendors like Mad Science Sacramento, The Beauty of Paint, & Engineer4Fun who assisted us with activities like our 5 Day Science Camp as well as our "Color Me Cutie" Instructional Art Class and Lego Stem Class. The Vendors coming to our homebase were extremely helpful to our goal of keeping activities within a 5-mile radius.

For our Outdoor Day we partnered with local instructors in the area who were well trained in sports like Baseball, Tennis, Volleyball, Yoga, & High Intensity Interval Training. This allowed us to bring this event to life offering a variety of healthy activities to teach to the youth in our area. All in all, the partnerships we developed through executing the first year of our program are excellent and are ones we will partner with through the rest of this program's life.

We accomplished getting our participants outside teaching them about the nature that is right in our backyard as well as teaching them about California History through State Parks. Participants also were immersed in learning about Science/STEM and how certain things we use in our everyday life are engineered. We also exposed participants to healthy eating habits as well as sports/activities they can continue to explore to promote a healthy lifestyle.

We had strong partnerships, starting with Gridley Unified School District, who helped distribute flyers & provided budget friendly transportation. We collaborated with Gray Lodge Wildlife Area & the Department of Fish & Game for 2 nature trips where they ensured safety & educated participants about local wildlife. Oroville Forebay Aquatic Center staff taught life jacket safety & watercraft usage during our Hot August Fun event. Cal Parks staff led a tour at the Empire Mine, while the SMUD Museum of Science & Curiosity helped us plan an engaging museum trip. Vendors like Mad Science Sacramento, The Beauty of Paint & Engineer4Fun supported our homebase activities, including our 5-Day Science Camp and Lego STEM class. Local instructors led our Outdoor Day sports activities, offering healthy experiences for the youth.

The major tips and lessons learned this year executing the Outdoor Programs were to have a waitlist to maximize your activity and trip rosters to ensure you are getting as many participants as possible. With the Outdoor Programs being no cost to members of our community we did notice some last-minute drops, having a waitlist allowed us to fill our rosters despite the cancels we received. We also made sure to do reminder calls to our participants before the actual activity or trip, we understand life gets busy and for most a reminder is appreciated.

Another lesson learned is to start recruiting for volunteers early, we have seen a decrease in volunteerism in our area. We partnered with the schools in our area to reach out to students who may need to earn volunteer hours which has been working nicely for us.

Throughout the year, we gained several key insights. First, we observed that volunteerism remains a challenge, with recruitment efforts, both physical and online, proving difficult. However, despite this, we successfully ensured the safety and enjoyment of our participants. We also discovered that, due to the affordability of our vendors, we may be able to host additional Lego and instructional art classes next year while staying within budget. Additionally, offering free events led to occasional no-shows, but we learned that maintaining a waitlist helped us efficiently manage this challenge and maximize participation.