Parks for All Californians

Monitoring water quality at Ventura River or at Matilija Dam

Home and school environmental assessments in prep. For Student Carbon Footprint Challenge (water, waste & energy/class cohort; 3 assessments per class average) for 8th graders

Ocean's Day Festival and Beach Cleanup (at beach, natural area) for all grades and community of West Ventura

Kalorama Wetland Restoration for 7th graders Education objectives met within Goal #2. Through activity 2.1, ATCI Promoted service-learning opportunities between the school and local communities; Community Outreach & Civic Engagement when 7th grade students performed water, waste, or energy audits of their school campuses.

World’s Ocean Day Festival for the Avenue’ project team and partners organizations provided marine science-based STEAM activities including beach clean-up, and urban runoff prevention demonstrations that connected multigenerational families to the ocean through educational experiences and built environmental stewardship. Through activity 2.3, instruction in STEM disciplines that connected the nature experiences, and environmental stewardship by De Anza 7th grade students participating in habitat restoration led by MERITO Foundation at Kalorama Wetland in Buenaventura State Beach Methods used to measure meeting education objectives in Goal #2.

Training students to use bike transportation has the potential long-term goal of promoting active transportation vs using fossil fuels. ATCI Goal #4.

During a camping trip students needed to carry all their belongings and used equipment from the pier at Santa Cruz Is. Scorpion’s anchorage and walk with it for a mile on uneven terrain. Most student had never camped.

The students actively participated in nature interpretation and monitoring such as bird ID, fish ID, bird and marine mammal ID. ATCI Goal #7.

Career pathway mentoring related to natural resource agencies, environmental protection agencies, park operations, and therapeutic. Methods used to measure meeting education objectives for goal #7: The job shadowing and mentoring opportunities provided to a cohort of 9-10 senior students from De Anza MS and/or youth-adult residents of the Avenue within Ventura County by MERITO Foundation with support from partners.

The high participation of the nine Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Youth Stewards (OR&EYS), selected in summer 2022 (prior to initiating the program), and trained by State Parks Office of Community Engagement staff and MERITO Foundation staff on August of 2022 during Outdoor Youth Connection training at San Luis Reservoir. - By the high volume of parents’ requests for their children participation of their children as OR&EYS. We originally envisioned 15 participants per year, but this task is too time demanding and kindly request to change to 9-10 students who we can transport each summer to OYC training with 2 vehicles, plus give them the time they require to guide.

The key partners in Year 1 (Aug 2022 – July 2023) and Q1 of Y2 (Aug 2023-Dec1 , 2023) have been: Ventura Water, a division of the City of Ventura, provided abundant support. Their senior staff provided lectures to DATA MS science teachers during teachers training in September of 2022, February 2023, and September 2023. Senior staff also from Ventura Water assisted as judges during EECCOA Challenge 2023 reviewing and grading students’ projects. Their biggest contribution was their hosting most 7th grade students (~ 150) of DATA MA at the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility for a tour of the wastewater treatment plant, career talk.

The day activities were supplemented by MERITO Foundation staff leading students through a water quality monitoring of effluent water activity, and bird identification and census around the settling pond (known as snoopy pond). See video of students link as respond to question 6.

The Port of Hueneme provided a full day of Job shadowing and career pathways experiences for 12 8th graders Outdoor Recreation & Environmental Stewards who participated in Aug. 2022 in State Parks Outdoor Youth Connection training. The Port Engineers, Scientists and Communications specialists delivered lectures, hands on activities, career talks and tours of to the students at the Port facilities. In addition, the sponsored most of the expenses of the community of the Avenue event titled ‘World Ocean Day Ventura’ on June 10, 2023. Their contribution covered the cost of the event rental of stage, sound, musicians, printing of bilingual event flyers and banners to promote the event CREW (Once Upon a Watershed) have been instrumental in our ability to provide in depth watershed education for DATA MS 6th grade students, and particularly in leading the recycling, gardening, and composting programs at DATA MS with support from the City of Ventura Sustainability Division.

California Department of Parks and Recreation, Channel Coast District; Coordinated with their staff to involve DATA MS students in restoration efforts this State Parks division at Buenaventura State Beach, specifically sand dune habitat, and on Job Shadowing and career pathways experiences NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary partial sponsorship for the use of their Research vessel during the full day education cruise part of the professional development training for DATA MS science teachers, and contributed with researchers’ time to train DATA MS teachers on marine environmental data collection, such as plankton tows and ID.

In addition, one of NOAA CINMS provided Job Shadowing and career talk to the 12 Outdoor Rec. and Env. Stewards at DATA MS through their Clean Seas/Balloon Free Campaign. Patagonia store staff has invited MERITO Foundation in at least 5 occasions over the past 16 months to hold an informative table at public events organize at their store. These events have been great opportunities for DATA MS Young Outdoor Recreation & Environmental Stewards to communicate to the public the mission of our organization, the objectives of the Avenue to the Channel Islands Program, their role as young leaders, and/or who the public can contribute to ocean protection.

In addition, Patagonia store staff contributed as chaperones during various trips to natural areas, including the last trip at Santa Cruz Island on November 8-9, 2023; however, they are requiring a fee from MERITO Foundation to have our students assist them in restoration of their owned land efforts. We prefer to involve our students in assisting State Parks in these endeavors.

REI has recently approached us (since September) offering help. Store staff has assisted as chaperones during teachers education cruise, and at activities in natural areas during the beginning of this the 2nd year of the ATCI program. Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has been another amazing partner. They allow MERITO foundation to take DATA MS students to their property for students to perform water quality and other environmental monitoring techniques at their preserved along Ventura River, or during teachers’s training.

Note the above are partners, which contribute in kind or financially in one case (port of hueneme). We are not including here vendors other than CREW. Vendors do nor provide in kind support. We contract them for a fee. These include: Santa Barbara Adventure Company, COAA, Surfclass, Bike Hub, etc.

• Choose wisely the home base.
• Choose staff that reflect and engage your audience.
• Most task require more time and effort than expected.
• Request estimates from multiple vendors for budgeting and make sure they indicate are valid for the grant period, not the day of the request.
• Stay away from activities in which only one vendor has the concession of the place, such as in National Parks.