YOUTH EDUCATION

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Inspiring Future Land Stewards

Friends’ youth-oriented Environmental Education Program grants Coachella Valley’s kids unfettered access to nature. Now a major focus of our organization, we know that learning about our local wildlife and natural resources at a young age will help our kids develop the knowledge and sense of responsibility needed to care for our natural environment.

Our program focuses on getting getting to natural areas where students learn about outdoor recreation opportunities and safe and responsible hiking. They also learn about the native plants and local wildlife in the region. Students are able to learn interactively with engaging talks, worksheets, art supplies, and hands-on projects. Students also join our staff on a short hike where we identify plants and animals and describe some of the ways these species survive in our desert climate. We also teach them different ways that we can take care of our natural resources and our local wildlife.

All of our programs include 4 of our staff members including our Director of Education, our Environmental Educator, our Indigenous Community Liaison, and our Translation Specialist, all of whom have grown up in the Coachella Valley. This helps us deliver culturally competent environmental education through translation, indigenous history, and familiarity with the local landscapes and cultures.

Our program provides bilingual, culturally competent environmental education for youth and families throughout the Coachella Valley. This program helps our community understand the natural world around them, how to enjoy it responsibly through outdoor recreation, and how to protect it through different conservation efforts. It also provides underserved communities with opportunities to engage in environmental education and outdoor recreation during times of extreme heat in the Coachella Valley.

Kids will long remember their first-time hikes in the desert with enthusiastic leaders who inspire them to appreciate and protect this part of their world as they grow up. We hope to connect youngsters to the desert landscape so deeply that they seek to keep learning about their natural environment and how to best protect it.

CVUSD ASES 3^rd GRADE FIELD TRIPS

Friends has an agreement with Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) to work with all 14 of their elementary schools. CVUSD is located in the Eastern Coachella Valley and serves many disadvantaged communities in the region. Their area contains tribal lands, agricultural communities, and large populations of immigrants and migrant workers.

In this school district, 97% of their 17,000 enrolled students qualify for reduced lunches. 42% of their student population also includes English Language Learners. The entire district includes Title 1 schools. This program serves over 200 3^rd grade students every year and has been ongoing since 2020.

Our afterschool program with CVUSD picks up 3^rd graders at their school site and brings them out to 1 of 3 hiking locations:

Anza Borrego State Park

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor’s Center

The La Quinta Cove

SUMMER ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

This year, we will be partnering with Coachella Valley Housing Coalition to take 3 groups of families from their low-income apartment developments on these tram trips. We also partner with these other organizations to take their youth groups on these summer adventures:

Desert Hot Springs High School King’s Circle
James O. Jessie Unity Center
Riverside County of Education Migrant Students Program
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Youth Environmental Ambassadors

During our field trips, Friends provides a bus for transportation, lunches, and tickets to the tram for 25 participants including staff and volunteers. These will vary between family trips and youth groups.

These trips allow these families and youth groups to escape the extreme heats of the Coachella Valley summer while they enjoy some hiking and outdoor recreation. They learn about the plants and wildlife up on Mt. San Jacinto and learn about why the landscape is so different from what they see on the valley floor.

Participants receive art materials to help them document what they see in nature, water bottles to help reduce their plastic waste, and a healthy lunch for a picnic in the woods.

THE LGBTQ CENTER COACHELLA

For over three years, Friends has held an agreement with The Center Coachella and Desert Recreation District to provide monthly field trips that are available for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. The Center Coachella primarily serves as a safe and inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community in the East Coachella Valley. Our goal in collaboration is to extend that safe space to outdoor recreation opportunities.

Every month, Desert Recreation District provides transportation for a field trip of 15-25 participants to a nearby outdoor recreation area or local entertainment venue. Friends provides staff, snacks, and covers ticket costs for each trip. Recent field trips have included hiking at Anza Borrego State Park, night hikes at the La Quinta Cove, trips to The Living Desert, and trips to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

COMMUNITY SCIENCE

Friends currently works with 3 organizations to provide opportunities for Community Science projects. The partnerships include the following:

Cathedral City High School HEAL Academy (Health and Environmental Academy of Learning) – this groups is focused on issues that impact the health of the community and the health of the local environment.
Desert Mirage High School Green Academy – This group includes students who are learning earth sciences and may seek a future in the world of conservation, renewable resources, agriculture, and natural sciences.
Coachella Valley Housing Coalition – This organization provides affordable housing developments for working families. They use state and federal funding to provide subsidized housing options as well as programs for education and professional development.