Environmental Education with Friends

As we prepare for the future impacts of climate change and widespread development in our region, we know that community education will be extremely important when it comes to the preservation of wildlife habitats and natural resources. Our Environmental Education works within many spaces of our community to help strengthen our youth’s knowledge regarding wildlife, conservation of our natural resources, and safe and responsible outdoor recreation. 

We have been working with Coachella Valley Unified School District, The YMCA of the Desert, and the Desert Recreation District by visiting their local sites and providing fun, hands-on education courses that can help our youth learn more about their local natural environment. This program is now a major focus of our organization because we know that learning about our local wildlife and natural resources at a young age will help our kids develop the knowledge and the sense of responsibility needed to take care of our natural environment.

We see it as our responsibility to reach out to these communities to offer transportation, education, and mentorship in the outdoors to help bridge the gap between them and their natural environment. One partnership that has helped us accomplish this goal is our program with the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC). CVHC develops and manages several affordable housing projects throughout the Coachella Valley. Through our partnership, we have been able to take groups of students and families on guided hiking trips throughout the Coachella Valley. One popular location during the hot summer months has been the trip to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. By reaching the higher elevation of the San Jacinto mountains, our local families are able to escape the heat of the desert for a day and enjoy a fun day of outdoor recreation in the mountains adventuring and learning about new plants and animals that they are not exposed to in the lower desert.

We have also partnered with The Center Coachella to provide services for LGBTQ+ youth, many of them who also come from local low-income families. We have built this partnership with The Center because we recognize the need for safe spaces for our LGBTQ+ youth to be able to enjoy outdoor activities without the fear of judgement or other obstacles that may keep them from participating in outdoor recreation. Through our partnership, we are able to provide guided hikes, transportation, educational materials, and other resources to help facilitate trips and events throughout the Coachella Valley.

We look forward to continuing to build new partnerships with local organizations as we do our best to include all of our community’s residents in outdoor recreation, environmental education, and the preservation of our natural environment.