Educational Goal 1: This goal was met through Activity #4: Educational family walks, for example, which connected youth and their families to resources like naturalist for our naturalist scavenger hunt. The family-oriented scavenger hunt combined technology, experiences with nature, and fun. This was similar to Activity 1, where the CA naturalists in training were required to utilize naturalist on every one of our hikes and outings as a part of their course requirement. They also had to complete a scavenger hunt that required them to understand local plant communities and what California native plants belong to what local plant community. Educational Goal #2: In Activity #3: Climate Resiliency Workshops, we discuss climate change and actions that can be taken to help become more resilient and climate-adapted communities. Future workshops include what concerns community members the most and creating a community action plan.

Activity #1: CA Naturalist training, topics include Forestry and land Management, environmental justice, our ocean and rivers, and more. All of our nature trips include a talk on the 7 leave no trace principles, which is interactive as we highlight the principles along the way and model them for participants. In addition, all of our trips include a certified CA Naturalist to share about CA Native plants, ecosystems, and adaptations. In these naturalist talks, we cover at least one of the following topics on our naturalist hike: Stewardship and conservation, watershed health, public land protection/ civic engagement, and environmental justice Educational Goal #4: During Activity #5: Wellness Workshops, we briefly mention environmental justice in our opening introductions, as that is the work Nature for All is rooted in. At the end of the workshop, we shared our work in public land protection and invited them to sign our petition in support and encouraged them to sign up for other programs with Nature for All that delve deeper into civic engagement, community organizing, and environmental justice.

When Activity #2: Community Leadership Development takes off, we discuss public participation in civic engagement and the need to advocate for green spaces in disadvantaged communities. Activity 1: The CA Naturalist course delves deeper into local environmental justice issues and impacts. We also have a quick conversation in all of the classes with guest speakers about their pathways to their careers and tips for the youth. These included guest speakers from the Natural History Museum, the US Forest Service, and The Alf Museum. In all activities that last more than 1 hour, we provide healthy nutritional snacks because we believe the barriers to accessing the outdoors vary and food scarcity is a concern within disadvantaged communities, which acts as a barrier to full participation. This is also to encourage participants to seek other healthier options in their everyday lives. All the nature trips included healthy meal options, conversations around public land protection, and a naturalist talk about CA Native plants, plant communities, watershed health, and more. Nature trip #2: Coastal Trips and Nature trip #3: Channel islands provide ocean education and provide youth an opportunity to experience the lessons firsthand.

MDLT reached 194 elementary and high school students through our Community Activities and Natural Area Trips. Based on Next Generation Science Standards, we provided students with access to high quality educational materials that they can use to further their understanding of biodiversity and the value of nature to well-being. We measured our impact through self-reporting measures: over 80% of students learned more about the importance of the desert ecosystem.  We worked with community members residing at home base. Many had never been to Whitewater Preserve before and most stated that they planned to return. One participant signed up to be a volunteer with MDLT. Community members learned more about the importance of water in the desert through this program. By holding a Community Campfire Talk in a park in home base, we raised awareness of a range of local natural areas that are accessible to all and delivered educational programming in the vicinity of residents’ homes.

Annenberg Beach House and Santa Monica Conservancy supported our coastal trips and provided space for participants to rest after time on the beach. The North Valley Care Services were wonderful and provided connections with families and after-school programs. We went on a trip with them and their staff were incredibly supportive.

Stone Barn Nature Center with the City of Burbank: Stone Barn supported us on our October hike and provided a space for participants to eat lunch within their center. Plaza Del Valle, a shopping plaza in Panorama City, hosted us and provided a space at the 'salon commentario' for the CA Naturalist training. This was a great space, located within a wonderful and popular community space.

With the support of LA City Council District 6, we were able to connect with the Sepulveda Recreation Center which provided us a space to host our CA Naturalist course and graduation. Council District 6 provided us with fee waivers to make this course more cost-effective. A reminder/lesson learned was to plan more time than you think you need to process paperwork with the city. The process took a long time and was challenging to schedule around because every other part of the course depended on it. The Natural History Museum's community engagement department was a wonderful partner in providing a guest speaker for the geology course as well as free tickets to both the museum and the butterfly pavilion for our CA Naturalist youth and families.

Partnership on Activities: Santa Monica Mountains Fund partnered with us on our first wellness workshop where we provided meditation and nature walks and they provided 1,000 milkweeds to give away. They also supported us with outreach for this event and was a wonderful blend of nature and mental wellness.

Pacoima Beautiful was also a partner for this event and brought out their summer field rangers to support with setup and breakdown of the event. The youth had a chance to participate in the programming and participated in the nature walk and meditation. The Wild Plum Holistic Center and Spa which is located in San Fernando, partnered with us to facilitate free yoga classes at the park for community members. One lesson learned was to be ready for outside noise from the park. You can do a Bluetooth-clipped microphone to a speaker to help with this. Also, it is important to pick a location that is not too exposed. Reports show that 75%-80% of yoga practitioners are women. This was a consideration when choosing our location which was mostly covered but still out in nature to experience that connection.

The Audubon Society volunteer from the San Fernando Valley Chapter, supported us with a bird walk around the Sepulveda wildlife reserve and provided everyone with binoculars for our first family day at the park. Cottonwood Urban Farm in Panorama City provided us with a space to facilitate our climate resiliency workshop. They are a great community-focused space and have a wonderful location. Considering the time of the year, it was great to have lights and still be able to be outside, but as the year ends, we will be looking for an indoor venue.

MDLT and 29 Palms Astronomy Club hosted a stargazing event for Yucca Valley High School at Amboy Crater Natural Landmark. Astronomers taught students how to observe the night sky. Two activities strengthened our partnership with Yucca Valley Elementary School. In the Young Stewards Saturday School, students followed interactive lessons about desert ecology. https://www.mdlt.org/blog/dark-skies-and-fault-lines . In a field trip, MDLT and the Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve taught students how to identify birds. https://www.instagram.com/p/C89o8XnpEsM/?img_index=1 In a new partnership with Yucca Valley High School, students did citizen science research in an MDLT preserve. MDLT and Wildlands Conservancy partnered for a community field trip to Whitewater Preserve exploring nature and the role of water in the desert. https://www.instagram.com/p/C8uMKHvszCi/?img_index=1 A Community Campfire Talk about local public lands was supported by a Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.

Technology gap reminders, especially when working with youth. It wasn’t just that many did not own a computer but also that they didn’t use email. Instead of email, texting and calling youth and their parents was the most effective tool for retaining youth in the program and reminding them of the classes. However, this method takes more time. Also, it is recommended to always be in contact with the parents and not assume information if making its way to them through the youth. Having a chat group with parents also helped to disseminate information.

Youth engage best in circles or in conversations and activities. It is recommended to incorporate games or activities that move their body.

Capacity-wise, having multiple staff members to support in the facilitation of the Leadership Training and other workshops longer than an hour or an hour and a half is necessary to have a well-quality program. There should be roles discussed ahead of time, which includes training in most cases. This training time needs to be incorporated as well as time to plan, evaluate, and adjust programs.

A field trip to Whitewater Preserve was a popular natural activity. Providing free transport to this unique preserve, an interpretive hike with Spanish translation, and volunteer assistance all ensured the trip was accessible to a wide group of people. MDLT dealt with an unexpected heatwave by providing hydration drinks and snacks and giving an extended safety briefing. MDLT learned how to do extensive outreach to inform residents about a Community Campfire Talk. Promotional materials included flyers and postcards in English and Spanish, an advertisement in the local newspaper, and a media release to the local radio station. We will partner with another organization in future to reach an even wider supporter base. A citizen science project was held on a weekend to avoid impacting high school student learning, however turnout was low. We learned to hold activities during school hours and aim to partner with a biology teacher in future to conduct the project as a field trip.