An example of how our educational goal was met is through our older adult outing to San Francisco where the community was able to receive a demonstration of arts through the Japanese Tea Garden as well as foster stewardship at the Golden Gate State Park. An older adult ambassador presented a lecture with history on the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, and Fisherman's Warf, while the Garden tour gave the community an experience of natural beauty, tranquility, and harmony of a Japanese-style garden in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. On the commute back the ambassador presented her peers with a quiz to test the information they were able to retain.

An educational goal we met & want to highlight is our outing to Vierra Farms (VF). Tiny Stepsis a program focused on children 0-5 yrs old with exceptional needs to help them develop socially, emotionally, & cognitively.Families in the program played nature bingo and searched for animals, food, & agricultural items found on a farm.Families & youth colored the picture to mark their bingo card. The trip provided education in the arts & nutritional education since the community was active in searching for items.Another goal was met exposing youth to recreation career opportunities at Quarry Park.Youth learned the steps to become an outdoor crew or supervisor. The experience was physically engaging & taught them about nontraditional outdoor careers.Youth also visited Sac State’s Arboretum which highlights the educational goal of connecting them to nature. The youth identified plants, trees, & flowers and found lizard critters. This unveiled a new nature spot that is local & accessible.

La Familia collaborates with community-based organizations like Always Knocking, Hooked on Fishing Not Violence, and United Latinos. What we all have in common is serving our at-risk and underserved communities through inclusive approaches and social rehabilitation programs as trusted messengers in the community. We have all combined our resources and brought our communities together to provide fruitful outdoor opportunities that they otherwise would not have access to if not for this program.

We are also eager to continue exploring partnerships with JEDI, a sector of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife as well as the California State parks. In August of 2023 our staff and 6 of our partner's youth leaders and staff which included Always Knocking, Hooked on Fishing Not Violence, and United Latinos completed the California State Park's 3-day overnight training in order to become certified outdoor recreation leaders. This Juntos program granted us the opportunity to attend training to become more knowledgeable and now we will be able to safely host camping trips for our communities, which we are looking forward to completing for the upcoming summer of 2024.

We have partnered with organizations such as NorCal School of Arts, Teatro Nagual (TeNa), Bridge Network (BN), & United Latinos (UL).Juntos Afuera has given youth the chance to explore outdoor experiences they traditionally would not do. For example, with BNyouth were able to hike Mt. Tamalpais SP&do a beach clean-up at Stinson Beach. They learned why environmental stewardship is important to keep our oceans clean & to appreciate the ocean’s healing presence. In relation with NorCal School of Arts, you experienced a performance on how to protect our American River here in Sacramento.TeNa’s performances focused on camping &the Air Quality impact on our health & the environment.Lastly, with UL, families went camping and saw a meteor shower.Families connected with nature while also strengthening their connections to one another. The partnerships we have created have been positively effective in exposing the community to environmental sustainability and stewardship.

A tip that our Juntos Afuera team would recommend for future Outdoor Programs would be to have an understanding of the history and landscape you are visiting that goes beyond a browser search.

A successful method in guaranteeing a great outdoor experience is asking the community first where they would like to explore. With the community's input, our team invested time researching the trips that we would eventually plan and travel to. The process of planning a trip and having ambassadors within the community is an important part of the process in aiding them to experience first hand the healing in nature and become better stewards of our environment.

An unforeseen challenge can be visiting places that are not handicapped or wheelchair accessible. A recommended solution would be visiting the area beforehand if is within your home radius or consulting a staff member to ensure your community can have an inclusive experience.

Lastly, traveling with an emergency plan is essential to assure the safety of the community and staff.

A tip La Familia would like to highlight as asuccessful method is gathering the community’s input through pláticas to learn about the activities or outdoor locations they are interested in. Surveys allow voices to be heardand this builds a trusting relationship with our community when they propose ideasand together, wesuccessfully execute them. We also highly suggest all future outdoor programs to ensure participants’ safety by always carrying a first aid kit and an emergency binder and having an emergency plan in place.An unforeseen challenge can be visiting natural area locations that are not charter bus accessible. A recommended solution would be to research the location before visiting while also calling the general information line for help.