The following Educational goals were met:

Instruction in arts, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that connects nature experiences, or environmental stewardship. The focus of our education programs are to immerse students in nature through hands-on, STEM activities. During our field trip, students: sample the water for macroinvertebrates to understand better water quality and how aquatic insects can be an indicator of ecosystem health; Participate on a walk along and into the channel to see native and invasive plant species; Learn about bioswales and how they clean urban stormwater runoff; and work together in teams to engineer a water filtration device. By immersing students in nature in a fun and educational way, we connect students to their local urban ecosystem and empower them to take responsibility and become an environmental steward in their community. Through this grant, we were able to invite four of our Source to Sea classes on an additional nature area trip to participate in hands-on habitat restoration. During our habitat restoration day, students learn what native and invasive plants are, become trained on how to remove them, and help with other conservation tasks such as watering and planting.

Curriculum that is aligned to the content standards for California public schools adopted by the State Board of Education, including, but not limited to, the Next Generation Science standards, or the California History-Social Science Standards. We offer the unique experience of administering a Science-Based Environmental Education Program recognized by the California Department of Education and are thus one of the few informal science educators that have been selected to roll out the Next Generation Science Standards in LA County. This helps us provide an improved STEM curriculum to the communities where we work that may otherwise lack such place-based environmental education.

Additional Learning Opportunities may also include the following, however either 1, 2, or 3 above must be accomplished.

Coordinate instructional resources and strategies for providing active pupil participation with onsite conservation efforts. Through this grant, we were able to invite four of our Source to Sea classes on an additional nature area trip to participate in hands-on habitat restoration. During our habitat restoration day, students learn what native and invasive plants are, become trained on how to remove them, and help with other conservation tasks such as watering and planting.

Promote service-learning opportunities between schools and local communities. Through this grant, we were able to invite four of our Source to Sea classes on an additional nature area trip to participate in hands-on habitat restoration. During our habitat restoration day, students learn what native and invasive plants are, become trained on how to remove them, and help with other conservation tasks such as watering and planting.

Assess the impact to participating pupils of the unified education strategy on pupil achievement and resource conservation. This grant allowed us to work with an external consultant to revamp our student surveys. Ascending Edge Creative Evaluation assessed and updated our pre and post program surveys to make them more effective, and did so in consultation with evidence-based research. Through a year-long collaborative process with FoLAR, Ascending Edge helped us update our Theory of Change (ToC) to ensure our surveys were measuring all of our designated outcomes – and culminated with an entirely updated program survey for students. Our surveys are designed to capture our progress in six key outcomes: increased positive perceptions of nature, increased eco-literacy, increased understanding of the health benefits of nature, increased connection to community, and increased behavioral change related to civic action.

Community outreach methods and civic engagement related to ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. In the Advocacy Fellowship, our students: learned what environmental justice is, how it impacts their own communities via interactive tools like CalEnviroscreen, and identified an issue in their own community. The Fellows then worked together to develop a plan to mobilize their community, and finally presented their proposal and results to the public during the Fellowship’s Final Presentations in December 2023.

In Re: Nature Trips: Our Nature Area Trips were originally scheduled for November 18 ,2023. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the trips at the last minute due to rain. We have rescheduled one of our trips for December 16, 2023, and will complete the other trip when the schools return to session in January 2023.

STEM Education & Stewardship: Each program at the Sepulveda Basin offered impactful STEM instruction, including 3 of several activities fostering deep environmental stewardship: nature walk, water quality lab, water filtration system, urban heat analysis, and/or civic engagement. Statewide Education Compliance: Our curriculum aligns with CA’s educational standards, incorporating NGSS and CA History-Social Science Standards to ensure our activities are essential components of students’ educational outcomes. Community & Conservation Efforts: We offer service learning to cultivate a deep care and understanding of environmental issues among students: brainstorming solutions for the LA River Watershed, participating in cleanups, removing invasive plants, and making native seed balls. Additional Learning: We provide resources for students to continue participating in LA River restoration and encourage environmental stewardship at home with Family Guides distributed to students' guardians.

Partnerships with Source to Sea teachers: We have worked directly with 32 teachers across 17 schools for Source to Sea. We have learned how to best communicate and follow up with them to ensure completion of all program components. This includes communicating well about transportation and liability waiver requirements, for instance. We acknowledge that teachers are busy and we do our best to accommodate to their needs and create a little additional work for them as possible. LAUSD Office of Outdoor and Environmental Education (OOEE):

LAUSD OOEE is our direct partner for Day of Discovery and their office takes over much of the coordination of these programs. We have had to learn how to best communicate with one another to ensure we are both on the same page. We have made sure to cc one another in all communications with schools and teachers, as well as have continuous check-ins to ensure we are all on the same page.

California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and SFV Audubon: California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and SFV Audubon are integral to our execution of the Natural Area Trips. We have a well-established relationship with both groups that only continues to strengthen. Both organizations are grateful for our contributions in terms of supplies (for instance, invasive plant removal tools) as well as extra hands to conduct their restoration work. We are grateful that they remain flexible to our needs.

External Evaluators: We have completed work with two external evaluators. Ascending Edge Creative Evaluation assisted in revamping our pre and post program surveys to make them more effective, and did so in consultation with evidence-based research. Through a year-long collaborative process with FoLAR, Ascending Edge helped us update our Theory of Change (ToC) to ensure our surveys were measuring all of our designated outcomes – and culminated with an entirely updated program survey for students. Additionally, Sacred Places Institute reviewed and edited our curriculum on Indigenous peoples including a powerpoint presentation, our script for educators, and our land acknowledgement. This ensures our curriculum is accurate, culturally relevant, and most importantly created in collaboration with Indigenous people themselves.

Advocacy group: Our Advocacy program is nearly complete, and is now referred to as the Advocacy Fellowship. In the Advocacy Fellowship, our students: learned what environmental justice is, learned how it impacts their own communities via interactive tools like CalEnviroscreen, then identified an issue in their own community. They will culminate the program by developing a plan to mobilize their community, and then present their proposal and results to the public during the Fellowship’s Final Presentations in December 2023.

In 2023-2024, we began new partnerships with districts other than Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Non-LAUSD schools who have participated in our educational programming include: Buckley School, Milken Community School, Campbell Hall, New Los Angeles Charter, Wildwood School, Arcadia High, Marengo Elementary, Maude Price Elementary, Los Encinos School, and Park Elementary. We’ve also begun a train-the-trainer program for LAUSD educators to join FoLAR staff in providing this programming under our supervision to scale up our student reach. We also launched our take home toolkit providing students and families with outdoor activities to continue their Source to Sea learning. Alumni also were invited to join these new educational events and partnerships: Naturalist Art Walk, Coffee & Critters sponsored by Starbucks, City Nature Challenge Bioblitz with LA Zoo, Bats & Brews with Nature Nexus Institute, and Stories of the Land led by Indigenous partner, Alan Salazar.

The most successful aspect of our programs has been our partnerships, which our programs would not be possible without. As far as unforeseen challenges, we encountered difficulty with scheduling our natural area trips. Teachers were hesitant to accept our offer of a free bus to our restoration events due to the fact that they were held on Saturdays. One solution to this would be planning in advance and reserving weekdays to host customized restoration events for each school. Moreover, our nature area trips were canceled due to rain. This could be solved by scheduling the nature area trips for earlier on in the grant period so that if we need to cancel, we have plenty of time to reschedule.

Bussing was a challenge this year for the nature excursions, but after sourcing new vendors we’ve rescheduled previous nature trips to February 2025 with the Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy. During the 2023-24 school year, our field trip location at Bette Davis Picnic Area lost available walk space, so we consolidated all future trips to Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park for the 2024-25 school year. Teachers found the PDF lesson format difficult to navigate; FoLAR adapted the two lessons to Google Slides with interactive videos led by FoLAR educators for the 2024-25 school year. Surveys and teacher observations indicated that a significant number of students want to volunteer on the River, so our educators created the take-home family guide to be shared after field trips. It includes a full activity guide designed to extend student learning post- field trip and to engage family members in learning about and advocating for the River, both at the River and from home.