Youth and Families
We support social, educational, and environmental equity; and climate stewardship for Chollas Creek Communities youth and families.
Our dedicated staff and partners provide environmental and climate science information and experiential learning activities at EarthLab Climate Action Park and at the many bio-diverse locations in our region.
With our dynamic learning approach, our youth and families are fortified with the latest climate science information and are further empowered to take action at home and advocate in the community with the goal of achieving climate safe neighborhoods.
3rd grade (2 trips/ year)
Engage in EarthLab exploration to see the wonderful world of plants and their pollinator and animal companions. Learn about the Kumeyaay connections to the land through the Native Lands, Native Peoples curriculum from the Natural History Museum.
NGSS Standards: Life Sciences Ecosystems, Heredity & Biological Evolution to include Native Peoples, plant and animal life cycles, and Plant and animal habitats.
Youth Programs
EarthLab
Elementary Schools: Chollas Mead, Johnson, Webster, Horton, Encanto Elementary Schools participate in educational field trips to EarthLab to focus on Our Natural Environment and Adaptation.
4th grade (3 trips/year)
Get to know the EarthLab even better by exploring plant and animal adaptations. Fourth graders are also introduced to ecosystems and how the Chollas Creek Watershed works and why upstream activities are important for downstream health.
NGSS Standards: Molecules to Organisms, Earth's Systems, Earth and Human Activity to include Plant and animal adaptations, watershed ecosystems, and engineering projects to reduce flooding.
5th grade (5 trips/ year)
Our 5th grade Kids to the Coast program brings students to the EarthLab and out of the watershed to 4 coastal locations: Birch Aquarium, Cabrillo National Monument Tidepools, Living Coast Discovery Center and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Students learn how the land and sea are tied together, the impact of humans on the ecosystem and the importance of environmental conservation.
NGSS Standards: Physical Science, Energy, Ecosystem Interactions, Earth’s Systems, Earth’s place in the Universe, and Human Activity.
Middle School Learning
We augment the Millennial Tech Middle School (MTM) student experience by breaking down classroom walls to experience STEAM education and service-learning outdoors. The MTM School Wellness Wheel class activities achieve this focus with 3 classes: EarthLab Climate Action Park, Culinary Lab, Climate Action Lab.
Through the lens of climate science, projects and activities include habitat restoration, cooking and growing for the climate, and conjuring up engineering solutions in the Makers Space.
High School Learning
The Groundwork Green Team members are selected each summer for a 200-hour year-long environmental justice internship. Weekly activities transform climate science concepts into community action, along with career exploration and job readiness. Learn More about the Green Team.
Summer Program
Rising 6th, 7th and 8th grade students enjoy 3 weeks of summer camp chock full of STEAM education and fun experiences at EarthLab and in our greater San Diego community.
Summer camp creates big smiles, laughter, and memories with activities such as the “hands-on” experience at a farm, exploring San Diego’s coastal areas, finding animals at the zoo, fishing off a pier, kayaking in the ocean, and more!
PARTNERSHIPS
UCSD Center on Global Justice and SoCal Heat Hub,
Natural History Museum, San Diego Botanic Garden,
San Diego CityCollege, San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego Canyonlands,
GRID Alternatives, BIPOC Support Foundation
Family Activities
Groundwork provides community information, climate science education, and opportunities to build our community.
Learning events cover topics ranging from cutting-edge approaches to storm water protection, water conservation and heat abatement, to ways on how to test drinking water contaminates, composting, and tree planting.
We open the outdoors and invite families to visit their community’s nature spaces and advocate for improvements and acknowledge student successes with celebratory events that build community spirit.
As we move forward, the focus turns to Community Climate Science activities to center the community’s energy to what is most important in making the Chollas Creek Watershed a Climate Safe Neighborhood.
Learn More about Community Climate Science.