Learn in Nature, Transform Lives

School-Based Programs

Learning in nature is transformative. 

A hike through oak woodlands to a waterfall. Hands-on lessons about compost and pollinator plants at a community garden. An exploration of the Russian River watershed by kayak. 

Our school and group-based youth programs connect your students with nature in Sonoma County. We make these opportunities not only possible, but accessible for all. Since 1999, our award-winning environmental education programs have impacted hundreds of local youth a year.  

Led by our experienced field specialists, In Our Own Backyard (IOOBY) gives your students time to explore, connect with a nearby natural space, and create a lifelong bond with nature. Teachers will be happy to know that our environmental education curriculum aligns with California’s Next Generation Science Standards, making your job easier. 

Too often, once kids leave elementary school, nature curriculum disappears. Inspired Forward, for teens and young adults, gets youth into nature, creating opportunities for wonder, leadership-building, ecological literacy, confidence-building, and an ethic of land stewardship.

Cynthia Spigarelli, 3rd grade teacher at Luther Burbank Elementary School

" One day with IOOBY is worth 30 in the classroom! "

In School Programs

In Our Own Backyard (IOOBY)

Inspired Forward

Stories + News

Stories from the Field

What Happens Now? A Letter from Executive Director Craig Anderson to Friends of LandPaths

November 14, 2024

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The results of the U.S. presidential election, one week ago, sent shockwaves through our community, neighborhoods, and families. It makes a person pause, and it certainly should. At a time when it seemed there was momentum to move ahead, for many people what seems a U-turn has emerged, surrounding us. Click one of the tags above to read the entire post.

Community Gardens Internship  

November 11, 2024

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Are you interested in learning all about what it takes to run a successful community garden? Consider becoming a community garden intern with LandPaths! Bayer Farm, Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood, and Jeff Bodwin Community Garden, in southwest Santa Rosa, together contain 120 garden plots adopted out to community members in addition to a teaching garden for students to learn about growing food and nutrition. The internship is offered on a part-time basis, unpaid, up to 20 hours per week, with an option of work in exchange for course credit. Click on one of the tags above to learn more.

Caring for the Land at Ya-Ka-Ama Indian Educational Center

September 12, 2024

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Stewardship is a strengthening of the relationship between person and land. When we steward, we connect directly with the plants and animals, fungi and watersheds, but we also connect with history. This is because for tens of thousands of years people have lived on this land and cared for it, as we try to now.

In Sonoma County, these people are the Pomo, Coast Miwok, and Mishewal Wappo. They are represented through various federally recognized and unrecognized tribes. On August 31, we had the privilege of joining community stewards and Sonoma Earth School in an amazing day of stewardship at Ya-Ka-Ama Indian Education and Development, Inc. Click one the tags above to read the entire story.

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