Conceived as a public space that educates, the EarthLab is dedicated to experiential environmental learning supported by a variety of outdoor exhibits, that transform a San Diego Unified School District-owned 4 acre site into a unique open-air environmental classroom. As EarthLab develops in the next years, it will increase its capacity to serve as a resource for the 6 public schools within walking distance of the site, promoting experiments in K-12 informal learning through experiential environmental literacy, and participatory climate action through community engagement, and how these intersect with advances in new energy technologies.
These four acres of open space contain the four habitats that characterize our region: riparian, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and oak woodland. This makes Earthlab the first Climate Action Park of its kind, an ideal living laboratory for emerging young environmental professionals, inspiring the diverse residents of the Encanto neighborhoods that surround it to be stewards of their own environment and the future planning of their communities.