TPL Participation Certificate for Activities in the Community - All participants of the Activities in the Community will receive a Certificate of Participation with a description of what that meant in terms of leadership and/or learning about natural resources or environmental justice. 48 Residents

Outward Bound Adventures (OBA) Participation Certificate for Natural Area Trips - All participants in the Natural Area Trips will receive a Certificate of Participating with a description of the natural resources education, environmental careers exploration, and leadership, team-building and communication roles. 48 Residents

OBA Youth Advisory Council (YAC) program is dedicated to increasing the leadership and wilderness advocacy skills of community youth by providing them a structured platform. All Equipo Verde youth 14-18 will be invited to participate. Youth meet on a bi-weekly basis and follow a rigorous self-structured curriculum dedicated to upgrading leadership skills through fundraising, public speaking, and environmental education. Youth plan their own trips and learning activities. Many YAC participants move on to participate in the Diverse Outdoor Leaders Institute (DOLI) and become OBA field instructors or become employed in other outdoor/environmental organizations. 48 Residents

Internationally OBA Diverse Outdoor Leaders Institute (DOLI) is an in-depth outdoor instructor training program dedicated to certifying urban leaders from culturally diverse backgrounds with skills necessary to take under-resourced and urban communities safely into the wilderness. All Equipo Verde youth who turn 19 or older will be invited to apply. DOLI is designed to develop and train a cadre of elite outdoor leaders of color that will expose youth of color to national parks, forests and other wilderness areas. The purpose of DOLI is to create a strong pool of physically fit, knowledgeable instructors who come from traditionally underrepresented communities and have similar socioeconomic backgrounds as the young people served. DOLI equips parks, forests and other outdoor areas with accessible and visible role models to reconnect all Americans to nature. 48 Residents

Avalon Equipo Verde

Will encourage the youth in the program to participate fully and to also take advantage of the additional opportunities to join the YAC and the DOLI through OBA.

Outward Bound Adventures

Helped design the natural area trips, utilizing existing trip structures to meet the needs expressed in the community planning meetings and to accommodate age-appropriate programming. Will offer youth-only day hikes, overnight trips for youth and family, and overnight trips for youth only. OBA will also plan trips for families that have elementary school-aged youth and are not a part of the first cohorts of families. OBA will use this program to help prepare youth participating in this program to join another OBA program – the Diverse Outdoor Leaders Institute (DOLI). The DOLI is a unique program within OBA that operates in collaboration with federal agencies designed to develop and train a cadre of elite outdoor leaders of color that will expose youth of color to national parks, forests, and other wilderness areas. The purpose of the DOLI is to create a strong pool of physically fit, knowledgeable instructors who come from traditionally underrepresented communities and have similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the young people OBA serves. The DOLI engages and trains people from diverse backgrounds to facilitate safe, organized, culturally relevant and nature-based learning expeditions.

Los Angeles City Council District 9

Council District #9 helped secure permit fee waivers for the Equipo Verdo to use the South Park Recreation Center, and will be helping the Equipo Verde apply for a fee waiver for this Outdoor Equity Program.

Once the grant funds expire TPL’s community organizer will continue collaborating with engaged community members to execute community clean-ups, outreach events with local partners, monthly Pláticas on environmental subjects, and further nurtured relationships with the Equipo Verde youth, and other local schools and nonprofits serving the youth. The goal is to provide opportunities for families but especially the youth to continue to grow their leadership and stewardship of the outdoors. The structure of this youth engagement is still to be defined but one option is for TPL’s community organizer to engage with youth once a month in an environmental science or environmental club at their school. Youth engaged would learn about stormwater capture, local groundwater, the urban heat island effect, and related environmental subjects by learning about the Green Alley Projects near their schools. To make this mentoring opportunity relevant to youth, the youth will have the opportunity to identify areas of interest including but not limited to careers in the environmental arena, civic engagement, and who represents them and their interest.

In addition, all youth in the Equipo Verde Outdoor Equity Program the age of 14-18 will be invited to participate in the OBA Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and then when turn 19 they will be invited to apply to the OBA Diverse Outdoor Leaders Institute (DOLI). Both of these programs are a no-cost benefit during the grant period and will continue to be available to these youth after the funding period ends.