The Nature Area Trips and Activities in the Community that the City has hosted have included educational components. The Nature Area Trips that have been taken have included guided interpretative services where participants have the opportunity to learn and receive scientific background information on the locations they are visiting. Additionally, the Activities in the Community that have taken place have emphasized environmental stewardship.

Educational Goal #1, #3, and #4 Activity #1: Environmental and nature workshops connect to science by allowing participants to observe ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural processes firsthand. Activities include identifying species, understanding ecological relationships, and exploring climate change impacts. Activity #2: The Youth Leadership Development Program (SELA YO) integrates the University of California's California Naturalist Program, blending classroom learning with field experiences in science, problem-solving, and community service. Aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and History-Social Science Standards, the program fosters environmental stewardship and academic growth. Activity #3: Climate Resiliency Workshops address climate change, urban heat islands, and ecosystem services. Participants explore urban greening, receive a tree, and learn to care for it, promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, and climate science stewardship.

The City has partnered with local groups to be a part of clean up events at City parks. These groups assist with volunteer recruitment and regularly attend the clean up events. The plans to continue cultivating these partnerships and expanding its program reach.

The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT) is an amazing new partner this year and a key player in our climate resilience and tree giveaway efforts. They’ve been providing great locations in Southeast LA to host our Activity #3 Climate Resilience Workshops, and they even pitch in with extra staff to help things run smoothly and welcome community members. On top of that, LANLT helps spread the word by sharing the flyers we create with their email lists and posting them on their social media. Their support has been a huge boost in connecting with the community and making these workshops a success! These partners have provided welcoming spaces that allow us to connect with the community and deliver impactful workshops and activities. Key locations include the Henning Youth Center, Madison Ave. Elem. Parent Center, South Gate Senior Center, Teresa Hughes Elementary School, John C. Fremont High School, Watts Towers Arts Center, Southeast Rio Vista YMCA, and Fellowship Garden of Love.

The City plans to increase its engagement and outreach efforts in order to increase participation in the program. An unforeseen challenge that the program has faced in the logistical planning and execution of the Nature Area Trips that were included in the City's application.

There have also been instances where weather related issues have resulted in the rescheduling of trips and/or a decrease in participation. To help resolve this issue, staff is working to schedule trips according to the seasonal weather of the area.

One of the challenges we faced was having only one full-time staff member dedicated to the grant. However, we overcame this by creatively reallocating resources to bring on a second full-time staff member to support all activities and trips, significantly improving our capacity to deliver high-quality programming. Additionally, while California State Parks’ FamCamp program has been a fantastic resource, it can be limiting due to constraints on reservation dates and available locations. To address this, we are working toward building our own gear library, which will provide greater flexibility in programming and allow us to plan activities that better align with community needs and schedules. These lessons learned will continue to guide our efforts to enhance the program's impact.