Students from the various community partnerships were engaged in programming that integrated key environmental principles and concepts outlined by California’s Office of Education and the Environment (Goal 2). Several members of our coordinator team were also pivotal in developing the environmental education curriculum in alignment with Next Generation Science standards and the California History-Social Science Standards (Goal 3). Our coordinator and instructor team also received training in conflict resolution and mental health first aid, and environmental justice and education. These objectives were measured through our post-season surveys, capturing various indicators and metrics of the student experience. We will continue to create surveys that better track the outcomes of our programs.

The students this year gained a deeper connection to the environment and what it means to be a steward of the land. With resources that Outdoor Outreach has provided for staff, field instructors have been able to teach them more about the impact their day-to-day lives have on the ecosystem, as well as what they could do to protect the environment for the future. Through beach clean ups, trail clean ups, educational trips to both the San Diego Zoo and the Living Coast Discovery Center, students have learned about native and non-native species of plants and animals and how they either benefit or can be harmful to our land. They have participated in organized work to rid our wetlands of invasive species of plants and continue to participate in environmental stewardship projects.

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been an incredible organization to collaborate with. Within our programs, we've witnessed participants not only thriving but also expressing a desire for tailored offerings that align with their specific interests. For instance, Salma, one of our participants, has discovered a profound passion for climbing. Her consistent dedication and remarkable progress during each trip showcase her growing skills and unwavering enthusiasm for conquering every climbing challenge presented to her. Furthermore, some of the IRC participants have discovered our programming within their schools, eagerly seizing every opportunity to join our trips. Salma, a student at Hoover High, actively engages in both her school's adventure club outings and our IRC activities, making the most out of every chance to explore her interests. Through our collaboration with IRC, we've discovered the immense value of actively listening to their feedback in trip organization, ensuring an experience that maximizes the students' benefits. Additionally, we recognize the significance of considering participants' religious backgrounds while scheduling trips to enhance engagement. Understanding that, in most cases, parents prioritize taking their kids to Sunday mass, church, or mosque, we've made a deliberate effort this time to schedule as many trips as possible on Saturdays. This adjustment aims to accommodate and respect the religious commitments of our participants, thereby increasing their likelihood of joining our trips.

El Cajon Valley High School

Our partnership with El Cajon Valley High School has grown significantly closer over the past year through our consistent weekly engagement. While our recruitment efforts were robust at the beginning of the year, they were largely unnecessary as the majority of our returning students took it upon themselves to invite friends, effectively filling the gaps left by graduating participants from the previous year.

Outdoor Outreach continues to foster successful partnerships with El Cajon-based schools and community organizations, including El Cajon Valley High School, Cajon Valley Middle School, and the International Rescue Committee clubs at these schools. The community served by this grant includes a large Middle Eastern population. This year our staff connected with many students across language barriers thanks to the support of some more well established students who felt comfortable speaking both Pashto and English. With the support of these students, we were able to make our trips more accessible and enjoyable for other students from this community. Outdoor Outreach ensured that all of the food provided for ECV during programs is Halal, so that should a Muslim participant decide to join the program that day there is no question as to whether or not they can consume anything on our program. This, in turn, created a more inclusive space for our participants and created community appeal.

Always be prepared to teach your lesson in a variety of ways. we may not Always be able to communicate verbally with our hearing-impaired participants, and so we should be able to teach the lesson that will continue to engage students in accessible ways they will understand.

Still working on being able to digitize our waiver so that we can provide an Arabic translation. For a lot of parents who have recently immigrated, the waivers can be a complicated paper to navigate and having this translated into their native language would be extremely helpful.

One unforeseen challenge that we have encountered was long term partnerships ending, such as with Mount Hope Community Garden, which would have been a fantastic opportunity to expose youth to sustainable farming and food education. Unfortunately, they have been unresponsive. We are keeping our options open for other similar partnerships. Our programs have seen significant engagement with students from Arabic-speaking communities and countries. A significant challenge to serving this population are cultural practices that limit the participation of girls on extended and overnight mixed-gender nature programs. To address this, we are considering running some programs with all-female staff and participants. Language barriers are another challenge and we are seeking to hire an Arabic-speaking field instructor to help students who would benefit from language support.