Ventana Wildlife Society program content creation is guided by best practices in Environmental and Outdoor Education (EOE), and our Instructors are talented at adjusting as needed to be culturally sensitive and relevant for our participants.

The Natural Area Trips incorporated two EDUCATIONAL GOALs 1) Foster stewardship of the environment using curriculum pursuant to Public Resources Code, Division 34, Part 4: Statewide Environmental Education (Sections 71300-71305) and 2) 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. Activities often include wildlife viewing, species monitoring (i.e. California condors), water quality or soil testing, fresh-water macroinvertebrate surveys, tide-pooling, plankton studies, insect surveys, watershed mapping, hiking, and camping. Local vendors are enlisted for whale-watching tours and kayak outings. Additional activities are chosen that engage participants in the joyful and inquisitive exploration of the outdoors. Journals and “sit spots” are recurring components of our programming as they provide a way for participants to reflect on and internalize their experiences. These are quiet moments when everyone finds their own spot to write or draw, and practice awareness skills to better observe and connect with nature. Select topics/themes often include species recovery, stewardship of our planet, connection to nature, and management of the planet and its resources.

Through Instructor modeling and student practicing, youth are motivated to “think globally by acting locally” and to improve the environmental value of their nearby surroundings. What’s more, Ventana Wildlife Society provides education to participants about the numerous benefits of spending time being active in nature. This includes experiencing first-hand how nature can positively impact mental health, physical well-being, stress reduction, and overall quality of life. Our instructors also incorporate behavioral change strategies to encourage participants to incorporate nature-based activities into their daily routines.

This Outdoor Equity Program successfully achieved key educational goals by promoting environmental stewardship, leadership development, and equitable access to nature. Participants engaged in team-building hikes, learned Leave No Trace principles, and honed leadership skills through map and compass navigation. Activities like Patterns in Nature deepened their environmental connection, while the program emphasized health and wellness by highlighting the therapeutic benefits of outdoor recreation. The Teach Me to Camp trips reinforced these objectives by teaching camping skills, fostering family engagement, and providing educational experiences. Career pathway mentoring in natural resource and environmental management inspired participants to care for and protect nature. Additionally, hands-on activities, such as building watersheds models and creating nature-inspired art, offered engaging, practical learning opportunities aligned with environmental topics and broader educational goals.

We consider Dr. Pedro Moreno, Family Physician a co-founder of our nature prescription program due to his integral role in assisting with the pilot programs that have developed into our current project in East Alisal. He continues to referral families to our programs and connect us to other healthcare providers in the community. Dr. Moreno has been an excellent advisor and we have learned that we cannot solely lean on him, so we have branched out to other healthcare partners including assisting to launch a county-wide ParkRx coalition that is inclusive of various health care representatives and nonprofit organizations.

Women, Infants & Children, Family Nutrition Program (WIC) is our Community Home Base, which operates complimentary programs. We are very pleased that this was the selected community home base, as it enables us to reach many youth and families in a centralized, trusted location. In fact, we have leaned into what we are calling the Community-based Hub Model for Wellness Through Nature. Inspired by this Outdoor Equity grant, the model truly allows us to deliver a deep breadth of immersive programming for a key target community.

Everyone’s Harvest, Community Farmer's Market and Fresh Rx, Family Nutrition in Collaboration with Doctors act as our outreach and education partner during weekly markets. They are a complimentary program whose participants overlap ours. We continue to attend the weekly Farmer’s Market and share cross-referrals with Fresh Rx. It is a strong method for reaching youth and families.

Doctors and health professionals are encouraged to combine referrals with other prescriptions such as for fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmer’s market and targeted exercise by fitness professionals for a whole-family approach to care.

State Parks and the State Coastal Conservancy are partnering with us to provide facilities for overnight camping. To better implement the overnight components of our programming, we are working with State Parks and the State Coastal Conservancy to improve the facilities at Andrew Molera State Park to be known as S’MORE – Space for Meaningful Outdoor Recreation and Education.

The S’MORE site improvements establish an ideal location for programming with easy beach access and include Areas for Tents | ADA Parking | Drop-off Welcoming Area | Picnic Shelter With Rustic Kitchen + Picnic Tables | Outdoor Grill | North & South Fire Rings | Native Turf Play Area | Wayfinding and Interpretive Signage | Chemical Toilets | River Trail.

This year, we strengthened our partnership with Castellanos staff following unexpected staff turnover. This collaboration has positioned us to launch effective recruitment efforts for the 20 families we will serve in 2025. We also established two new partnerships: Woodcraft Rangers: As the provider of afterschool programs at Castellanos, they will allow us to distribute flyers to their students' families to recruit those interested in the Outdoor Equity Program. Additionally, we have coordinated pickup and drop-off efforts to ensure seamless transitions for participants between their program and ours during homebase activities. Parent Group from the Last Cohort: Parents have volunteered to support outreach for the 2025 activities. Many expressed frustration with some families' lack of commitment and are eager to help spread the word. Some have also expressed interest in returning to the program if space allows. They are eager to have others experience what they have experienced.

Ventana Wildlife Society’s activities include a wide range of opportunities that develop youths’ connection to and sense of responsibility towards their local environment, all the while improving health and wellness. Our strategies help students gain a greater sense of where they live and the natural community of which they are part. Through participation in meaningful activities together, youth and families increase their knowledge about nearby parks and how to access them. Through recurring experiences, they grow their comfort level in visiting nature on their own, begin to make the outdoors a regular part of a healthy lifestyle, and ultimately have increased feelings of wellness.

Some of the many ways we have broken barriers include:

• Incorporating our fleet of 15-passenger vans. We pick participants up at partner locations and transport them to a natural area. In this way, participation can take place while parents work or at no transportation expense for the family.
• Maintaining passionate Instructors that are bilingual and trained not only in best practices in environmental education but, just as importantly, in socio-emotional learning, trauma-informed learning, and cultural competencies.
• Making certain partner schools do not incur any expense; including transportation expenses. This financial assistance, coupled with the quality programming aligned with school schedules, makes launching and sustaining partnerships possible.
• Allowing for flexibility that is important for both enjoyment and retention of concepts. While the carefully curated curriculum is ready to implement, if needed, youth’s emergent interests can become the topic or activity of the day.
• And, regularly evaluating for any other barriers that may present or persist and works with participants and partners to overcome them. It is so exciting to see youth sharing their experiences with their communities and their elders. For years we have served solely youth, and now that we are expanding our programs to include families, it is becoming very clear how connecting individuals to nature can create a chain reaction within the community. We are looking forward to continuing to explore how we can interlace our youth and family programs, as well as foster more mentorship opportunities and community involvement.
• We are also working toward better promoting the difference we make for youth and families. Specifically, we’ll be creating a Youth Voices page upon our website and highlight “Where they are now” to celebrate their future pursuits.

Our community activities were a great success, thanks to careful planning and collaboration with Castellanos staff. Thursdays, identified as the best day, allowed parents to maintain regular work hours while their children participated in the Outdoor Equity Program after school, with pickup aligned to regular dismissal. Hands-on, art-based activities paired with snacks proved highly effective in nurturing future environmental stewards from TK to 5th grade. While successful, we faced some challenges. We began with 25 families but lost five early on due to various reasons. Emergencies and work conflicts prevented some families from joining field trips, but 17 families completed the program, and 14 participated in the camping trip. Looking ahead, we aim to recruit more families and create a waiting list for those interested in the program should opportunities for camping and day trips become available. This will allow us to serve more than the 20 core families signed up for the program.