2016 Grantees

Adventure Risk Challenge (Central and Northern California) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year one of their grant period. Adventure Risk Challenge (ARC) was founded in 2004 as a wilderness-based literacy and leadership development course for English-learning high school students. Programming includes month-long summer immersion courses, weekend academic and adventure retreats, individualized mentoring, and employment and professional development opportunities for alumni. Core activities that ARC offers include backpacking, rock climbing, ropes courses, kayaking, rafting, skiing and hiking. The ARC curriculum is focused on environmental science, English writing and public speaking, social justice, and outdoor leadership.

Brothers on the Rise (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Brothers on the Rise is a direct service-systems change organization working with urban male youth and adult allies to facilitate effective practice and equitable outcomes for boys and young men of color. Annually, over 100 Oakland male youth aged 8-17 achieve personal, academic, and professional success through a cascading mentorship model that guides boys on a path to a responsible, peaceful, and productive adulthood.

Brown Girl Surf (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period.. Brown Girl Surf is dedicated to creating a more diverse and inclusive surf culture in the Bay Area. Their programs empower girls in San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point neighborhood to develop their own relationships with the ocean through surfing. Their programs integrate awareness of marine and coastal ecology through hands-on explorations and projects. Surfing provides girls with an opportunity to confront and overcome fear, and develop skills in self-reliance, confidence, and leadership

Center for Land-Based Learning (Greater Sacramento) was awarded $56,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period.. The Center for Land-Based Learning inspires and motivates people of all ages to promote a healthy interplay between agriculture, nature, and society through their actions and as leaders in their communities. Each year, their Student and Landowner Education and Watershed Stewardship (SLEWS) program impacts 300 students who are matched with mentors that provide direct connections to conservation careers, college majors, internships, and volunteer opportunities

Gateway Mountain Center – sponsored by Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (Northern California) was awarded $45,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks the first year of their award. Gateway Mountain Center’s mission is to open young people’s hearts, minds, and bodies to their inner and outer environments, and to their role as stewards of our world. They serve over 1800 students annually, offering youth development and wellness programs for at-risk teenagers in the Placer and Nevada counties, which predominantly include underserved youth from a large Latino community. Multi-day outdoor environmental education programs are also offered at Donner Summit for schools throughout Northern California. Personal wellness is often integrated into their curriculum.

GirlVentures (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks the first year of their award. GirlVentures offers transformative experiential environmental education and leadership programs, empowering adolescent girls to develop and express their strengths. Through these courses, girls experience the wonders of the Northern California wilderness, often for the first time, as it inspires them to be environmental stewards, civic leaders, and allies. The curriculum explores environment, culture, self, community, and health, enabling girls to become active citizens and leaders in their schools and communities. 

Growing Up Wild – sponsored by The Children Are Our Future (Santa Cruz County & Bay Area) was awarded $68,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Growing Up Wild is a bilingual nature adventure program that helps economically disadvantaged youth and families in the Watsonville area develop a connection to nature, life skills, and physical fitness. Growing Up Wild accomplishes its mission by implementing two programs: Boys in the Woodz, which is a coming-of-age program that provides four 1-weeklong sessions of camping in the wilderness for adolescent boys; and Nature Now, which brings boys from Oakland and Watsonville together for outdoor weekend trips.

LandPaths (Sonoma County) was awarded $41,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks the first year of their award. LandPaths has been fostering a love for the land in Sonoma County for nearly 20 years. Through offering free and diverse Public Outings, an award winning environmental education program , as well as a robust Stewardship program at over 7 privately and publicly held properties throughout the region, LandPaths connects people of all backgrounds to nature, encouraging the mutually beneficial relationship that exists between people and the land. With great intention and efforts made to reach those not typically represented in the outdoors, LandPaths finds innovative ways to make the outdoors relevant, accessible, and welcoming to historically under-represented populations, particularly the Latino community.

Literacy for Environmental Justice (San Francisco) was awarded $70,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Literacy for Environmental Justice promotes ecological health, environmental stewardship, and community development in Southeast San Francisco. Their programs serve underrepresented youth from the Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood, engaging teen interns and recruiting hundreds of youth to participate in diverse nature-based projects and environmental advocacy.

The Mosaic Project (Bay Area) was awarded $70,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. The Mosaic Project works toward a peaceful future by uniting young people of diverse backgrounds, providing them with essential community building skills, and empowering them to become peacemakers. Through the Youth Leadership Program, high school and college-aged youth have the opportunity to participate in year-round training in leadership, life skills, and outdoor education. Participants also engage in activities addressing issues of injustice, empathy and respect across lines of difference, and empowerment.

Movimiento (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year one of their grant period. Movimiento works with diverse 13-24 year olds to support them in developing leadership and life skills via outdoor adventure, counseling and therapy, cultural exchange, service-learning, farming, and indigenous youth events. Movimiento’s current focus is to synthesize outdoor-based learning experiences with mental health. Participants are offered progressive experiences in nature combined with professional counseling and trauma recovery—all while integrating outdoor and therapeutic experiences into their everyday home lives with the support of licensed therapists.

Native Alliance of the Sierra Nevada Foothills (DBA Sierra Native Alliance) (Greater Sacramento) was awarded $70,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Sierra Native Alliance empowers Native youth and families in the Sierra Nevada Foothills through education, cultural resources, and environmental activities. Youth development programs include leadership, cultural education, mentoring, job training, and advocacy. Programs also connect youth to environmental projects, providing opportunities for youth to participate in the preservation of cultural sites and resources.

Our Wilderness Now – sponsored by Round Valley Indian Health Center (Mendocino County) was awarded $75,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. As a direct response to the long-acknowledged need to connect the predominantly Native American local youth with the affirming and healing experience that the outdoors offers, Our Wilderness Now was created as a community-based program that empowers youth through nature connection. Many participants of the program are developing their first sensitivity to stewardship of the environment.

Outdoor Educators Institute (Bay Area) was awarded $30,000. Outdoor Educators Institute is a 4-month long professional and workforce development program. OEI supports entry level youth development workers in gaining experience in the outdoors, strengthening facilitation skills, and thinking critically about inequities in access within their communities. Program components include leadership training in wilderness backpacking, sea kayaking, ropes course facilitation, environmental education, group management, professional skills, and conservation skills, as well as trainings on equity, diversity, and inclusion. OEI participants also receive training and national certification in Wilderness First Aid. OEI supports participants to develop their skills as they become culturally competent outdoor leaders and also provides opportunities for outdoor employment and volunteering, while participants in building outdoor programming for their communities.

Outward Bound California (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year one of their grant period. Outward Bound California’s mission is to change lives through challenge and discovery. They offer outdoor experiential learning programs in both backcountry and urban settings that challenge students of all ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds to push beyond their perceived limitations and develop “Skills for Life.” Outward Bound California runs short outdoor learning expeditions for groups of students from local nonprofits, middle schools, and high schools to connect them with experiences of challenge and adventure in the open spaces right in their own back yards. Their (YLC) is a merit-based scholarship program that brings together ten diverse Bay Area teens to build character, leadership, and an ethic of service over the course of a full year. They reach underrepresented youth at the high school level, empowering them to get outdoors and build their capacity and affinity to do so in the future – either personally or professionally.

Pie Ranch (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Pie Ranch programs get young people outdoors for hands-on learning and leadership experiences in environmental stewardship, sustainable gardening and farming, community-building, nutrition, and food justice. Workshops, activities, and discussions draw from youths’ own lives, their families’ food stories and cultures, and the challenges they see in their own communities.

Project AVARY (Alternative Ventures for At-Risk Youth) (Bay Area) was awarded $65,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Project AVARY is an early intervention/long-term prevention program for children of incarcerated parents. This program builds confidence, physical capacities, and an appreciation of the outdoors among a pool of young outdoor leaders who serve as role models for younger children in the program.

Seven Tepees (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year one of their grant period. Seven Tepees enables young people to build the skills, knowledge, and the relationships they need to be healthy, productive members of their community by providing wraparound, culturally relevant services in a safe and supportive environment. Their long-term program creates a meaningful connection between underrepresented youth and the natural environment so that youth build a sense of belonging in the outdoors and have an increased awareness of environmental literacy, justice and stewardship, ultimately becoming change agents in their communities. 

Student Conservation Association (Bay Area) was awarded $70,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. The Student Conservation Association connects young people to nature and the outdoors to set them on a path to thriving, healthy lives. Along a continuum of hands-on conservation service opportunities, diverse youth progress as stewards and leaders in protecting and preserving their environment.

Sunrise Middle School (San Jose) was awarded $45,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year one of their grant period. With meager school funds and donations of time and vehicles, Sunrise Middle School has kept true to its promise of offering students one to two outdoor events each month (including several overnights) in order to help them cultivate a love for the Earth and the confidence, tranquility, and personal growth that accompanies outdoor experience. This outdoor experience has been important in helping students find peace in their often chaotic daily lives. 

The Trust for Public Land (San Francisco) was awarded a $500,000 infrastructure grant to complete the restoration of Hilltop Park, formerly Sundial Park, in the Bayview Hunter’s Point neighborhood. Hilltop Park will be completed be the end of 2016. It will now have a remodeled skate park, a picnic and barbeque area, a scenic overlook, and a Trust for Public Land Fitness Zone® exercise area for adults. The park will also include sustainability features such as native and drought-tolerant plants, natural irrigation, and stormwater retention.

Tuolumne River Preservation Trust (Central California) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks the first year of their award. Tuolumne River Preservation Trust is a watershed-wide organization whose work is rooted in the communities that rely on the river for water, power and recreation. Since 2008, they have been working closely with residents of underserved riverside neighborhoods in Modesto to improve river stewardship and quality of life. By combining family-oriented outdoor experiences with community-driven neighborhood development and capacity building they have built new bridges with Latino and other minority communities not traditionally involved in outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship activities. They also work with other organizations to focus on addressing complex community needs as well as improving river stewardship. 

The Warrior Institute – sponsored by Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples (Northern California) was awarded $41,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks the first year of their award. The Warrior Institute is a grassroots organization that provides holistic, innovative solutions to organize and build indigenous leadership in the northern California region. Their mission is to forge new generations of young leaders with balanced () minds, bodies, and spirits who are empowered to create health, economic equality, and environmental justice for the next seven generations and beyond. They accomplish this mission through a variety of integrated, outdoor-focused activities and practices that empower young indigenous leaders to have the skills, experience, confidence, and inspiration to help create balanced, sustainable, productive, clean, and healthy communities.

Waterside Workshops (Bay Area) was awarded $40,000 over a 2-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. Waterside Workshops believes that hands-on learning and outdoor recreation, coupled with nature-based therapeutic services, holds the key to healing for their participants of whom 70% are survivors of major trauma. In Waterside Workshops programs, youth interns work alongside skilled instructors in an apprentice-style setting building watercraft. They also learn professional bike repair and gain work experience and customer service skills helping the public with boat rentals and refurbishing bicycles.

Watsonville Wetlands Watch (Central Coast) was awarded $65,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. The Wetland Stewards After School program trains local high school mentors to lead trips for elementary and middle school students in exploring the ecology of the wetlands through field trips and school-based activities. The program fosters wetland stewardship among youth while they gain access to meaningful outdoor experiences, thereby improving their health and well-being.

Youth Enrichment Strategies (Bay Area) was awarded $70,000 over a 3-year grant period, and 2016 marks year two of their grant period. YES believes that experiences in nature act as a catalyst for individual and community transformation. The Camp-to-Community youth leadership development program provides outdoor camp and community experiences for teens to develop leadership and life skills that provide successful transition to adulthood. Youth are exposed to careers in the outdoors and have opportunities to practice and advance their skills in outdoor settings.