Service learning and leadership opportunities for youth through elementary and middle school community programming highlighting outdoor opportunities. 2700 Residents

Service learning and leadership opportunities for youth to teach skills learned in Year 1 and Year 2 to the community. 120 Residents

Service learning and leadership opportunities for youth to present to local community members to build understanding for environmental justice issues. 270 Residents

Imagine If I Could Be Programs - focused on building awareness of outdoor career opportunities with a focus on providing internship. Areas to include: Imagine If I Could Be...a Wildland Fire Fighter, a Park Ranger, a Conservation Scientist or Forester, a Water Resource Manager, a Search and Rescuer (Emergency Management). 1560 Residents

Certifications for youth and families in First Aid/CPR, Wilderness First Aid, Wildland Fire Behavior and Firefighter Training, Search and Rescue (SARTECH III-NASAR and SAR-NASAR), sustainable living in urban environments, and responsible adventure travel. 1860 Residents

San Diego County Office of Education

Will provide technical assistance and support for experiential learning programs; grant management functions; evaluation; documentation of activities.

Escondido Union (Elementary/Middle) School District

Will host student leaders at elementary and middle schools to support community learning of outdoor spaces.

Municipal, County, State, and National Park Rangers, County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation, USFS, CAL-Fire, Retired State and National Park Administrators

Will participate in career exploration and internship program and provide resources for career training.

Rotary Club of Escondido, Kiwanis Club of Escondido, Senior Anglers of Escondido

Will provide opportunities for community presentations and interactive programs for adult community members to build community understanding of the need for these experiences for the most marginalized groups to build sustainability.

Eco Life Conservation

Will provide Sustainable Living in Urban Environment programs.

Escondido Creek Conservancy

Will develop understanding of conservancy and need to establish land preservation to combat climate change.

City of Escondido Parks and Recreation Department

Will help families develop understanding of resources and waives park fees/permits.

Olivehain Municipal Water District

Will help families develop understanding of water resources and impacts to San Diego.

Friends of Wilderness Gardens Preserve

Will develop understanding of conservancy and need to establish land preservation to combat climate change.

Fiesta Island BSA Camp

Will host San Diego experiential learning activities.

The Strengths Based Leadership Academy (SBLA) at Orange Glen High School (OGHS) is funded through an expanded learning equitable access grant. With the goal to build leaders, program directors are required to recruit students who are typically not considered leaders but those who are interested in learning about their strengths. This directive purposefully recruits from the most marginalized - students with special needs, English language learners, and specific ethnic groups identified by the site as needing additional services. Although the program is open to any student interested, the program works diligently to ensure that, in fact, all students are welcome.

The process for recruitment of future environmental leaders for the SDCOE-OGHS Imagine If Program will follow the same procedures for student recruitment as for the expanded learning program.

OGHS as the Community Home Base is uniquely positioned with the infrastructure to build large collectives of student environmental leaders to a scale that may not be available without the advantages of being nested within a schooling environment with an already established relationship with youth, families, and the community at-large. Therefore, selection of student applicants to the Imagine If program will use an established process of community meetings and informational sessions to build interest in the short-term, identify families as leaders in this space who will co-create their experiences, and work to build a collective task force of youth leaders over the five-year grant period that are supported and reinforced by their own individual family leadership in this area. Approximately 700-1,000 youth will be served by this program of which grantee anticipates 250-500 youth leaders continuing service in the community, choosing careers as environmental leaders, and/or building capacity as teachers and instructors in the sciences, and outdoor education. Mentoring will be scaffolded across the five-year period, with the expanded learning building capacity to support mentoring in the last two years of the program. Initial mentoring will take place through activities focused on building capacity for outdoor experiences and group leadership. At the same time, skill development, a key request by teens in SDCOE expanded learning surveys, will take place to help youth develop the confidence needed to explore their community further. In the second year, the scope of mentoring will evolve to include career exploration and pathways that allow young people to see themselves as outdoor leaders (Imagine If). At the same time, youth will continue to build their knowledge of the outdoors with the intent to build capacity in elementary and middle school students and families.

Mentoring will also occur through the robust engagement of community members. Students will have the opportunity to present their learning at various clubs, community organizations, and city and county government meetings as environmental champions.