Creating an Eco Ethos in a Low-Income Community
Year 1 Annual Report |
Jump to annual report details (2023-2025)| Amount | $700,000 |
| Grantee | Ocean Discovery Institute |
| Award Year | 2022 |
| Funding Source | General Fund, Outdoor Equity Program |
| Project Type | Program Operation |
| Project Status | In Progress |
Description
Conduct the Eco Ethos Program in a low-income community for residents near the Ocean Discovery Institute in the City of San Diego. This program will include approximately 575 activity days in the community for approximately 15,800 participants and 17 trips to natural areas for approximately 410 participants during three years of programming.
Activities in the community will include ocean habitat-based science camps for K-8th graders, ocean leaders intensive program for 9th-graders, community events, family meetings for overnight trips to Rancho Cuyamaca State Park, and family meetings for trips to Monterey Bay.
Trips to natural areas outside of the community will include ocean leaders 2-day overnight for 9th-graders to Rancho Cuyamaca State Park, ocean leaders summer 12-day overnight for 11th-graders to San Diego, ocean leaders 9th grade rocky intertidal trip to La Jolla Tidepools, rocky intertidal trip at Cabrillo Tidepools in San Diego, coastal wetland trip to the Coastal Wetlands & Living Discovery Center in Chula Vista, and whale watching trip with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.
Community Home Base Location
4255 Thorn Street San Diego, CA 92105
| County | San Diego |
| Assembly District | AD 79 Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins (D) |
| Senate District |
SD 39 Akilah Weber Pierson (D) |
| Congressional District | CD 52 Juan Vargas (D) |
Program Goals
Service Learning/Career Pathway/Leadership Opportunities
6 residents will take part in AmeriCorps Fellowship program, which will assist with delivering hands-on STEM and conservation lessons to participants of all ages in the field and at the Living Lab, assist in program coordination and implementation such as supply management, curriculum development, student management, and instructor support. Work with participants and community members in numerous roles (in-person mentorship, program instruction assistance, homework support, field trips) that support participants on their path to academic success and beyond.
8 residents will take part in College & Career Mentorship program to provide the tools and knowledge to transition into careers in science and conservation fields.
20 residents will be part of the Family, Science, & Alumni Advisory Council. Members of these Advisory Councils are residents in the community who provide valuable insights and guidance for Ocean Discovery's programs and operations. Specifically, Advisory Council members will: meet a minimum of twice per year and provide expertise and guidance on a multitude of topics including, program design, marketing, events, recruitment, giving, and volunteering. Council Members will serve as important volunteers and bring a diversity of experience, expertise, and perspectives to the organization. These volunteers will strengthen Ocean Discovery's work and will gain a robust volunteer experience to add to their resumes.
Partnerships
Feeding San Diego provides nutritious food for all programming, free of charge.
San Diego Unified School District supports recruitment efforts such as targeted calls encouraging families to register. For natural area trips, this partner provides access to low-cost busses for transporting participants.
AmeriCorps members work part-time or full-time, supporting Ocean Discovery instructors in all aspects of outdoor program delivery. They help in supply management, student management, program set-up, teaching, supply breakdown, and mentoring program participants. A partnership with AmeriCorps allows for recruiting specifically from the community of City Heights.
USC's Wrigley Marine Science Center will allow participants with live in dorms, eat at their cafeteria, visit their laboratories, and engage with their staff of scientists as they are introduced to a working field research site.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Monterey Bay. NOAA will provide leadership staff from the Office of Education to help plan, develop, and implement the program. Participants will stay near the Marine Sanctuary during the trip, have meals with NOAA scientists, visit their laboratories, and conduct authentic research alongside scientists during the 14-day experience.
Mentoring
Approximately 100 high school and college-aged participants will be selected to participate in Ocean Discovery's ongoing leadership programming. Here participants will have the chance for intensive peer-to-peer mentoring during the school year, science and conservation professional-to-student mentoring through summer residential experiences, and intensive college and career mentoring as they navigate the transition into college and career.
Approximately 1,000 K-8th grade participants will have the opportunity to continue their participation in after-school and summer camps. Participants demonstrate their potential to become future environmental leaders by opting into the program. These participants will receive hands-on science and conservation lessons, opportunities to hear from science and conservation professionals acting as mentors, and tools for success.
Annual Report Details
Programs may span from one year to multi-year, not to exceed four years. The specific length of the program is contained in the description above.
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Served | 5,324 | 11,000 | 16,324 |
| Days for Activities in the Community | 166 | 339 | 505 |
| Nature Area Trips | 8 | 27 | 35 |
List of Educational Goals Achieved
2023
The Ocean Leaders 9th grade intensive program focused on sharing more about career pathways to careers in science and conservation. To achieve this, we integrated mentors who are in science careers to share about their career pathways and our students had the chance to ask questions and learn more. Reflection was integrated daily so that the students could practice expressing their voice. The after-school science camps focused on teaching young people about the natural environment and ways they could make a difference to protect these natural resources. For example, students learn about the importance of wetlands and how they treat and filter water. This year’s summer ocean science camps were extended to a full day of learning. In the previous year, our summer camp program was a half day (9 am – 12 pm) and this year we hosted program for a full day (9 am – 5 pm). We were able better reach educational goals because of the extended learning day.
2024
List of Formed Partnerships
2023
We work closely with the San Diego Unified School District as a partner, and they are providing bus transportation services from surrounding elementary schools to Ocean Discovery’s Living Lab. Because of this, we have seen increased participation and attendance in our afterschool ocean-habitat science camps. Before having bus transportation, families would have to disrupt their workday to take their children to afterschool camps, making it challenging for student participation. Now, with transportation provided at no cost, it allows a seamless continuation of learning for young people.
Feeding San Diego has been a critical partner in providing meals for our afterschool and summer science camps. However, given their recent change in services, they can no longer provide meals at no cost for our camp programs. We are grateful that our partnership with San Diego Unified School District as they stepped in and (in addition to transportation) SDUSD is providing meals for students in our afterschool and summer ocean science camps, at no cost.
We continue to partner with AmeriCorps to reach thousands of students each year. In 2023, 7 AmeriCorps members completed their year of service. As part of this cohort, 2 are City Heights residents, and all of them are from diverse backgrounds with shared lived experience with our students. Our partnership with California State Parks is strengthening.
This year, we tapped into the incredible leadership training available to staff and students. Our Program Manager and alum of Ocean Discovery, Carolina Barraza, attended the leadership training, allowing us to use the Fam Camp program at Cuyamaca Rancho State Parks. We brought 22 9th grade students for a 2-day camping trip to Cuyamaca Rancho and utilized all the supplies from the Fam Camp trailer. And then, over 30 of our students participated in the Outdoor Youth Connection Training in Castaic Lake.
2024
Lessons
2023
Lesson Learned: After hosting field trips with families, we learned that it is critical to have sufficient staff to ensure families and students feel a sense of community and belonging. We were excited to see the connections made across families and generations and look forward to growing these connections at future experiences.
Lesson Learned: We have two recruitment specialists on our team, and they are parents from our community. This has been incredibly helpful as it builds trusts and encourages parents to enroll our students in after school and summer ocean science camps.
Lesson Learned: The short 2–3 day overnight experiences truly creates connections among the students. And this continues to translate into student participation and commitment.
