Click here to listen to the recent KQED program on youth and Adventure Education.
In this section you will find research, resources and background information on issues affecting the outdoor and environmental education field. These resources and materials are posted here to provide background information for your organization. If you are searching for specific grant writing resources to help you with your application (Grantmaking Plan, Workshop Presentations, etc.), click through to the Grants Resources section.
Community fact finder, created by GreenInfo Network, analyzes demographics and park acres within one-half mile of the point that you define. By typing an address and/or drop pin on any location on the map you can generate a PDF report. The community fact finder also provides a GPS longitude and latitude coordinates for neighborhood parks in California. The website uses 2008 Claritas census data for demographics and 2009 parks data from the California Protected Areas Database.
The Emergency Loan Fund (ELF) was started in 1973 in response to unique cash flow needs of nonprofit organizations, especially nonprofits whose services are in jeopardy due to cash-flow problems created by delays in the contracting or payments schedules of public and private funding sources and the absence of a substantial cash reserve. The ELF makes short-term, low-interest loans and gives small grants (up to $5,000) for technical assistance that builds financial infrastructure.
Transportation: Challenges & Opportunities: Connecting Young People to the Great Outdoors
Numerous organizations throughout California are working to connect young people to the great outdoors. This study documents how the transportation logistics of outdoor programs can be one of the biggest barriers when it comes to connecting youth to the outdoors. In order to assist these organizations, PG&E provided a grant to the the Great Valley Center to commission a report to help define the current transportation challenges confronted by outdoor youth program and organizations, and explore and compare the current available transportation opportunities. The Stewardship Council played an active role in helping to frame this study and providing insights into the transportation issues confronting youth serving organizations.
Get Outside and Leave Your Car at Home
The Bay Area Open Space Council has just launced an amazing new resource for planning trips to Bay Area recreation spots via public transportation www.transitandtrails.org.
This wonderful resource for the Bay Area community allows you to search for trailheads, campgrounds and featured trips and then get live interactive transit directions to those locations via 511.org or Google Transit! There are hundreds of the best trailheads, and all of the 9 campgrounds in the 9 county Bay Area along with about 20 featured trips. The East Bay Regional Parks, Save Mount Diablo, and GreenInfo Network were among many member groups that provided data for this site.
Development of the website is ongoing, and soon it will facilitate community input and social networking. Users will be able to update the map, add photos, discuss their favorite trails and use the site to invite friends to outdoor adventures. Addition of a carbon calculator, that will allow users to measure the positive impact they are having by reducing their carbon footprint is also planned. There are plans to add information on handicap accessible areas, and other recreation destinations such as birding areas, great trails, runs, swimming spots, etc.
Please read Metropolitan Transportation Commission and 511’s articles about Transit and Trails on their home pages:
Transit 511 (under Regional Announcements)
Please visit their new website
Northern and Central California Data
Please note that the highlighted area on the Stewardship Council Grant Award Service Territory map is the only area where we can provide grant funds. We cannot fund organizations that are serving youth that live outside of this area. The easiest way to understand if you are qualified for a grant is to know if the youth you serve, and who will benefit from a grant award, have a PG&E utility bill in their household. If you are still unclear if you qualify, please contact us prior to applying.
Regional Data
Metropolitan Area Data
Center for Diversity & the Environment
Description: The Center site provides research about the importance of and strategies for diversifying the environmental movement. It also profiles organizations and leaders working in this area.
Conducting Public Forums and Listening Sessions
Source: The Community Tool Box
Description: This site provides detailed tips for conducting and organizing public forums including materials and sample questions.
Diversity Developments: Representative Diversification Activities in the Conservation Field
Source: Environmental Careers Organization
Description: This report represents the findings and recommendations following ECO’s research on nearly 400 conservation organizations’ diversification activities.
Diversity in Outdoor/Environmental Education Resources
Source: Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
Description: List of many resources for further information about diversity in Environmental Education including articles, studies, and links to other resource centers.
Environmental Education and Training Partnership
Description: This site lists activities, resources, and conferences for reaching diverse audiences in Environmental Education.
North American Association for Environmental Education – Cultural Diversity
Description: Resources for helping Environmental Education programs be more inclusive. Installments focus on specific topics in cultural competency. The site provides assessment tools, articles, vignettes, mini-lessons, success stories, a glossary, and an annotated bibliography.
Steps to Becoming Culturally Competent Communicators
Source: Human Nature, Vol. 6 - No.2, October 2001 through the Barr Foundation website
Description: This is a short introduction to cultural competence as it relates to environmental education. The back page includes a list of additional resources about cultural competence.
Understanding Cultural Competency in Experiential Environmental Education Programs
Source: Barr Foundation
Description: This report discusses the cultural competency assessments conducted at three Boston environmental education programs. The report includes strategies for increasing diversity in the field, detailed cultural competency metrics, and recommendations improving cultural competency at the individual, interpersonal, program, and organizational levels.
Serving Culturally Diverse Visitors to the Forests of California: A Resource Guide Description: The national forests of California are experiencing an increase in new visitors yet, in some areas, a continued lack of ethnic diversity persists. In addition, changing demographics has led to a need for keeping up with trends while also being aware of constraints to visitor use. Knowing how to serve culturally diverse visitors in ways that are innovative and inclusive entails broadening the base of support. This resource guide was compiled from comprehensive research reports, statewide program and services documents, outreach and civic engagement plans, and Internet searches of other applicable resources. Numerous materials are provided, best practices are noted, and tips on practical application ("tips worth trying") are offered. Highlights of research findings are included, along with strategies and possible management options relating to communication, services, and facilities, developing partnerships, and ideas for community engagement and outreach. Read more: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/33055 While California is the focal point, this Guide has information and ideas with utility across the country and across agencies/organizations. Information included has great models/suggestions for use just about anywhere. Source: General Technical Report, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station.The state of California collects data about the number of students eligible for and receiving a free or reduced lunch. Data are available by school and by school district.
U.S. Census Bureau data on a variety of subjects, including poverty rates by county and city.
In this section you will find reports, documents, materials and links to information related to connecting youth to the outdoors.
Data on Health and well being of children in all California
A program of Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health is offering data for all counties, cities, school districts, nearly 1,600 regions in California. Data are available on dozens of topics measuring the health and well being of children. Data comes from more than 35 reliable public sources and is offered in many different formats. Please spread the word: Data Available for All California
The State of the Great Outdoors
This report is an independent assessment of trends in the demands and supply of outdoor recreation resources, open space, and conservation lands in the United States over the past quarter century and an assessment of public and private sector funding and financing of conservation and recreation.
Outdoor & Environmental Education Research
The following study published by the Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative (PEEC) in 2005, titled Place-based Education & Academic Achievement, shows that place-based approaches not only increase students’ environmental literacy, but delivers other important benefits as well.
Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in California
This study conducted by American Institute for Research (AIR) focused on 255 sixth-grade students from four elementary schools who attended three outdoor education programs (also referred to as outdoor science schools) between September and November of 2004. The evaluation utilized a “delayed treatment design.” Within participating elementary schools, sixth-grade children were divided, by classroom, into two groups. Approximately half of each school’s sixth grade (one or more classrooms) attended outdoor school between September and November of 2004 and served as the treatment group. The remaining sixth grade classrooms were scheduled to attend outdoor school after the study’s data collection period ended in December 2004, thereby serving as the control group during the study period. In this manner, the study utilized a treatment and control design without denying any child the opportunity to attend outdoor science school. The design provides a rigorous method to identify the outcomes associated with participation in the program.
Health Research
Adult obesity rates rose in twenty-three states over the past year, while for the third consecutive year no state showed a decline in its adult obesity rate, a new report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds. According to the report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009 (108 pages, PDF), Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity (32.5 percent) for the fifth consecutive year, while Colorado continued to have the lowest percentage of obese adults (18.9 percent). The report also found that adult obesity rates exceed 25 percent in thirty-one states, that two-thirds of U.S. adults are now either obese or overweight, and that the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in thirty states.