Series of outdoor experiences to expose university students and local youth to outdoor spaces near them and to foster a sense of responsibility for these spaces. They will engage several cohorts of students in a series of 8 service projects, recreation experiences, and retreats in various state parks. The project will also include a capstone project of the course of the academic year that engages a group of local youth in environmental education at a local state park. Participants impacted by these programs will represent the diversity of the central valley and the greater California population. The participants will also be selected from a wide array of academic disciplines found at the University of California, Merced.
State Parks: Parks will vary but will include Wassama Round House State Historic Park, McConnel State Park, San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area, Great Valley Grassland State Park

Series of field trips and two Big Day bird counts for 6th and 7th grade afterschool attendees, celebrating the birds and building youth leadership toward stewardship of local state parks. 
State Parks: Natural Bridges State Park, Palm Beach State Park

Senderos Naturales serves Spanish-speaking families from Sonoma Valley with opportunities to explore local parks and conservation land with hikes, outings, and camping trips guided by bilingual leaders and designed with their needs in mind. 
State Park: Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

50 programs providing opportunities for 475 individual youth to explore state parks, challenge themselves, and discover their strengths. The grant will benefit middle- and high school-aged youth from underserved, "park-poor" communities in San Diego. With every opportunity to hike, bike, surf, camp and kayak, Outdoor Outreach helps youth build resilience and confidence in their power to make a difference. The grant will also allow Outdoor Outreach to work with San Diego Unified School District on recreational learning programs focused on the Tijuana River Valley and backed by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). 
State Parks: Torrey Pines State Beach & State Natural Reserve, Border Field State Park, Silver Strand State Beach, Seaside State Beach, Mount San Jacinto State Park, Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve, Cuyamaca State Park

Crystal Cove Conservancy Project CRYSTAL is an ecological restoration program for elementary and middle school students in Orange County. The program is a partnership between Crystal Cove Conservancy, UC Irvine’s Center for Environmental Biology, elementary and middle school teachers in Orange County, and resource managers from Crystal Cove State Park. Participating students not only have the opportunity to do ecological research but are also encouraged to be lifelong environmental stewards. The majority of these students come from Title 1, low-income schools. 
State Park: Crystal Cove State Park