Joshua Tree Residential Education Experience (JTREE) proudly announces that California State Parks & Rec has awarded JTREE with an Outdoor Equity Program grant. A first and big step for JTREE, this grant provides over $227,000.00 in funding for a day program titled “Adventure Calling Oasis Elementary School.”
Per California Parks and Rec, “California State Parks has provided $57 million in grant funding to 125 communities to help advance the Outdoor Access for All initiative championed by Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Awarded through the new Outdoor Equity Grants Program, the funding helps establish hubs for local activities and trips to natural areas for underserved communities. The program also empowers youth and families with outdoor leadership education, career pathways, environmental justice engagement, and access to nature.”
Oasis Elementary School in Twentynine Palms with upwards of 500 students was selected as the participating school. Educators, students, and student families will all join the activities at varying times throughout the academic school year at their school site and inside Joshua Tree National Park. All activities are outdoors and will focus on goals planned specifically for the grant program curriculum. Some of which are “Reviving the Oasis”, “Understanding the Outdoors”, “Observing the Night Sky” and several others. For a glimpse of the goals and related activities, visit www.JTreeOutdoorEd.org
Adventure Calling Oasis Elementary School is a program planned to cover three academic school years beginning in the fall of 2023 and running through spring of 2026. A large part of the program will focus on our desert environment, the natural oasis that exists at their school and revival of that oasis making it an outdoor learning space that can be nurtured and used by students for years to come.
JTREE is supported on this grant program by its partners, Joshua Tree National Park and Oasis Elementary School.
From David Smith, Superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park: “Educating the next generation of park stewards is paramount to protecting parks for the future. JTREE’s founders have a passion for learning, and for our parks, specifically for Joshua Tree. The grant they have received will allow them to take the first step toward the ultimate goal of creating a residential education campus in the park. Their highly anticipated work with Oasis Elementary School will supplement the park’s long-standing educational programs in schools.”
As an added benefit to our community, this program will allow JTREE to hire a Camp Director and Field Instructors to operate the planned program. If you have qualifications and may have interest in applying for these employment opportunities, please subscribe to our news at www.JTreeOutdoorEd.org or follow us on Facebook @JTreeOutdoorEd.
With our planet’s ecological future facing many uncertainties, it’s clear that there is no better cause than supporting efforts to educate today’s youth about the natural world. It’s been widely acknowledged that providing youth outdoor ecological education can increase self-confidence and inspire youth to live healthy, positive, and socially engaged lives.
