OUTDOOR ADVENTURE PROGRAM

The outdoor Adventure program is designed to increase the time students spend in nature-rich spaces. A nature-rich space is defined as more than energy efficiency. It is about green spaces, beauty, health, biodiversity, creativity, and social justice.  Higher Ground increases the presence of BIPOC youth on the hiking trails of East Bay Regional Parks. During the Pandemic of 2020, the disparity in access to nature-rich spaces for inner-city children and their families was highlighted.  At the same time it also highlighted the positive impacts that nature-rich spaces had on inner-city children, coping with feelings of and the literal isolation brought on by the pandemic. Higher Grounds' Outdoor Adventures address both highlighted conditions.  Through providing a program that encompasses hiking, environmental education and justice we develop environmentally conscious City Kids.  By participating in mitigation, anti-errionsion, and restoration work, we create service minded young people ready to contribute to the healing of their neighborhoods and greater environment.

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With over twenty years experience of experience taking inner-city children on the hiking trails of East Bay Regional Parks from Concord to Oakland we are uniquely qualified to provide parents, school districts, and school sites a program that builds the capacity of families to incorporate nature into health and wellness practices. 

 

Outdoor Adventures has experienced BIPOC naturalists who have been working and hiking the trails of the Bay Area for over twenty years.  We have strong school/neighborhood partnerships that expand our reach.  Higher Ground provides transportation to and from outdoor adventure experiences.  Students will engage with lessons that increase their awareness of geography, ecology, and the habitat that live within the East Bay Regional Parks.