City Heights Adventure Club Program
Year 1 Annual Report |
Jump to annual report details (2023-2025)| Amount | $674,566 |
| Grantee | Outdoor Outreach |
| Award Year | 2022 |
| Funding Source | General Fund, Outdoor Equity Program |
| Project Type | Program Operation |
| Project Status | In Progress |
Description
Conduct the City Heights Adventure Club Program for residents near Crawford High School in the City of San Diego. This program will include approximately 72 activity days in the community for approximately 1,000 participants and 216 trips to natural areas for approximately 3,100 participants during four years of programming.
Activities in the community will include nearby nature, outing preparation & planning, and outdoor voices.
Trips to natural areas outside of the community will include half-day/afterschool outings at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, Sweetwater Summit Regional Park, Chollas Lake Park, Mission Trails Regional Park, Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center, Pepper Park, Elfin Forest, La Jolla Shores Park, and Torrey Pines State Reserve; full day outdoor adventure at Otay Valley Regional Park, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, Border Field State Park, Imperial Beach, Tecolote Canyon Natural Park, Dixon Lake in the city of Escondido, De Anza Cove Park, South Mission Beach, Mission Point Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Coronado Tidelands Park, Silver Strand State Beach, Bayside Park in the city of Chula Vista, Cardiff State Beach, Shelter Island, and Penasquitos Canyon Preserve; play and paddle at Pepper Park in the city of San Diego, Coronado Tidelands Park, and Silver Strand State Beach; overnight camping and adventure activities at YMCA Camp Surf, San Clemente State Beach, Cleveland National Forest - Mt. Laguna, Lake Moreno County Park, Silver Strand State Beach, and Joshua Tree National Park; multi-day backpacking expeditions at Mt. San Jacinto State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Inyo National Forest - Saddlebag Lake, Lake Sabrina, and Mammoth Lakes; and multi-day snowboarding mountain excursion at Snow Valley Mountain.
Community Home Base Location
4191 Colts Way, San Diego, CA 92115
| County | San Diego |
| Assembly District | AD 79 Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins (D) |
| Senate District |
SD 39 Akilah Weber Pierson (D) |
| Congressional District | CD 52 Juan Vargas (D) |
Program Goals
Service Learning/Career Pathway/Leadership Opportunities
4 residents will receive paid internships. These internships are hosted at Outdoor Outreach in partnership with the respective land management agencies. Internships emphasize environmental education, outreach program development, land management practices, and environmental stewardship. Internships hosted by Outdoor Outreach will provide 960 hours (24 weeks) of paid learning opportunities that will promote further careers in the outdoor professions. One of the 4 internships offered to youth in this community will be included in this budget for a cost of $14,400.
12 residents will be offered 6-month internship opportunities to assist with the planning of programs and coordinating volunteers. These interns will be paid $1,000 per month.
12 residents will take part in Outdoor Outreach’s Leadership Program. This program provides youth, ages 16-20, with 300 hours of in-depth nature-based job training, mentorship, and civic engagement training. Approximately half of the 8-week program consists of classroom workshops, where participants learn professional skills such as communication, public speaking, time management, and financial literacy. The other half takes place in the field, where participants practice hands-on, nature-based skills such as first-aid and CPR training, outdoor living skills, and adventure-based program instruction. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to participate in youth-led advocacy actions, practicing skills such as public speaking, problem-solving, and relationship building, and lending their voices and talents to a systems-change approach to preserving and protecting outdoor access for all. Graduates of the Leadership Program receive a certificate of completion and can add this program to their resumes when applying to future employment or college admissions.
30 residents will take on Adventure Club Program Officer Roles. High school students are elected to these roles with responsibilities including, but not limited to, meeting and welcoming new Adventure Program students, being a positive influence for other students, and acting as the program’s main youth representative and liaison. As an officer, youth learn leadership skills and management responsibilities. Youth in these roles can add this leadership title to their resumes when applying to future employment or college admissions. Cost Included in program cost.
240 residents will receive service learning through partnerships with CA State Parks, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Port of San Diego, and other land management agencies, engaging youth in hands-on, outdoor conservation programs with positive impacts both for wetland and coastal habitat restoration and for youth awareness and ownership of those natural resources. Cost Included in program cost.
Partnerships
Crawford High School - will serve as the community home base, and as the primary program partner for recruiting youth participants and families. A teacher/staff member from the school will attend each activity to support student needs and provide a bridge to learning and other enrichment opportunities.
Hoover High School - will serve as a key program partner for recruiting high school students and families to Outdoor Outreach programs. A teacher/staff member from the school will attend each activity to support student needs and provide a bridge to learning and other enrichment opportunities.
Reality Changers - will provide outdoor programs to their youth and introduce youth to opportunities in the outdoor professions.
SAY San Diego - will recruit families for programs, and to provide continued mental health support to students.
Pro Kids, First Tee - will introduce their youth to other transformative recreational and professional opportunities in the outdoors.
City Heights Community Development Corporation - will promote civic engagement opportunities for City Heights youth to engage in the city’s planning process for park development, safe bikeable pathways and trails, and other local environmental justice issues. `
Mentoring
Sixteen youth will be selected and recruited based on their interest in the afore mentioned service learning, career pathway, and leadership opportunities Youth joining the Outdoor Outreach Leadership Program will express, through their application and interview for the program, interest in becoming the next generation of environmental leaders. Throughout the program, they will have the opportunity to hone their leadership, advocacy, and technical skills in a variety of outdoor settings and activities.
They will also have an opportunity to network with career professionals in conservation, land management, environmental science, outdoor recreation, and outdoor industry. Beyond the Leadership Program, youth graduates will have the opportunity to apply for several internships and jobs developed by Outdoor Outreach and our partners in outdoor education, land management, and outdoor industry, setting them on a trajectory for professions in environmental advocacy and leadership. Youth will be mentored and remain connected with Outdoor Outreach for an average of 3 years after the grant performance period. For younger (middle school aged) participants, they will have continued opportunities to engage in Outdoor Outreach’s youth programs in high school. For high school aged participants, they may continue to engage with Outdoor Outreach through our Leadership Program and employment/internship opportunities where they’ll continue to be mentored by senior staff, or through Outdoor Outreach’s Mentorship Program. Outdoor Outreach is proud to create a sense of community where many of the youth graduates come back regularly to visit the office, connect with staff, and borrow gear and plan for future outdoor outings on their own.
Annual Report Details
Programs may span from one year to multi-year, not to exceed four years. The specific length of the program is contained in the description above.
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Served | 709 | 211 | 920 |
| Days for Activities in the Community | 17 | 9 | 26 |
| Nature Area Trips | 66 | 51 | 117 |
Inspirational Quotes or Testimonials
2024
“Before Outdoor Outreach, I was introverted and I could not communicate effectively with people. I didn’t feel confident meeting new people. But being in the Leadership Program at Outdoor Outreach has really helped me communicate. I’ve learned to be a leader, I’ve made new friends, and I finally feel like I belong.”
-- Jennifer N., 16, Hoover High School Junior and Summer 2024 Leadership Program Graduate
“I never had the experience of riding anything with wheels before my family moved here from Afghanistan. I was nervous going into today and felt a bit embarrassed because everyone else had ridden a bike before. But, the instructors on the program made me feel safe and excited to learn a new skill. Although learning how to ride is a bit frustrating, my sister and I each got lots of encouragement from the instructor, and are excited to practice more at home. We both want to attend more outings and join the Leadership Program.”
-- Sidra D., 19, Reality Changers participant
List of Educational Goals Achieved
2023
On our programs, we taught students about wetland and marine ecosystems. We looked at biodiversity through the lens of keystone and bioindicator species such as white sharks, ospreys, red tailed hawks and other apex predators on programs. We supported youth in understanding the relationship between a healthy ecosystem, a healthy apex predator population, and biodiversity (meeting this standard in NGSS HS-LS2, https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/documents/cangsshs-dcilifesci.pdf \). When teaching these lessons to youth, we used an experiential place-based education model, where our curriculum is youth inquiry-driven and directly related to the location that we are visiting for each program. The youth are also taught skills such as plant and animal identification, ecosystem restoration skills, and are encouraged to practice these skills during programming.
2024
Outdoor Outreach staff fostered a sense of belonging and community with our participants during activities in parks & beaches around San Diego County, as many of the youth were new to these locations. Various activity locations were used to give lessons about environmental issues, flora, fauna, and indigenous history. An Environmental Stewardship trip at Chollas Lake Park involved a lesson about different types of trash and how long they take to decompose. Participants then picked up trash from the park, adding up the years it would have taken to decompose. A hike at Steele Canyon involved a discussion of watersheds, impact on the river, and effects on plants and wildlife. Staff encouraged the youth to think of themselves as both users and caregivers of these areas. For example, multiple surf program participants expressed concerns over washed up plastic and other trash, which prompted a discussion on the effects of plastic pollution and how youth can be good stewards.
List of Formed Partnerships
2023
Crawford High School: Crawford’s Adventure Club has grown substantially in the last year. Student engagement has increased considerably from 2022 to now, and we have the same group of students returning week after week for more programs. Several students have learned to ride bikes for the first time, traveled to their first National Park, and learned to camp.
2024
Outdoor Outreach continues to leverage the OEP support from State Parks to foster successful partnerships with City Heights-based schools and community organizations Crawford High School, Hoover High School, Reality Changers, and Pro Kids San Diego during the project period. Crawford Adventure Club met each week, elected student officers, recruited new members and introduced youth to locations such as Annie’s Canyon and Mission Point. Hoover Adventure Club had many successful trips, including a Joshua Tree NP overnight trip with multiple participants camping for the first time, who expressed how they loved rock scrambling and exploring a new park. 3 Hoover students joined and graduated from OO’s Leadership Program. Reality Changers and Pro Kids youth participated in monthly activities, going surfing, paddleboarding, hiking and a memorable bike ride at Bayshore Bikeway. The group included refugee participants, 2 of whom were girls from Afghanistan who had never ridden a bike before.
Lessons
2023
We had challenges with recruiting students in the middle of the school year, which resulted in several programs being postponed or canceled. At the beginning of this academic year, we tabled and participated in club recruiting events, which drove up our attendance on trips significantly.
2024
One successful method employed was giving youth the option to choose what kinds of trips they were most interested in. One such choice was Survival Skills, so OO staff incorporated lessons about the 10 Essentials, how to use a map & compass, how to make fire and build shelter. One unforeseen challenge has been getting youth interested in the less “adrenaline-filled” activities such as hiking and tidepooling. Bringing them to new locations has increased participation in these activities. Another challenge has been recruiting Hoover High School participants due to overlapping after-school activities on Wednesdays. Solutions to address this included attending Hoover Community Connections meetings to connect with students, families and faculty, and collaborating with other organizations like Mid-City CAN. Additionally, more weekend trips will be planned to accommodate students’ schedules, and coordinators will continue to conduct outreach and recruitment on campus during lunch.
