open space authority funds contributed to project
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With this project, the Authority will help fund standards-based outdoor education programs to students from deep-engagement communities (DEC), Title I schools, and special needs groups for three years. Funding underwrites costs for 120 Title I field trips and 75 transportation stipends, and 24 special needs field trips and transportation stipends. Authority funds will also support training staff on distance-learning/in-person instructional strategies, best practices for working with students with special needs, & cultural relevancy and racial justice.
The Authority funded Bay Area Wilderness Training's South Bay Capacity Building Project (Getting Underserved Youth Outside). This project expanded services in Santa Clara County through hiring a new South Bay Community Outreach Coordinator, conducting a Hiking Leadership Training course, conducting two Front Country Leadership Training courses, and expanding outdoor equipment lending and trip support services through the Milpitas Gear Library. This project will increase the number of program partners and environmental educators in Santa Clara County and boost the number of outdoor trips and diverse youth visiting Authority land and other area parks, including Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve.
The Authority contributed funds towards the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's Park and Play Initiative, which aims to address health equity related to park utilization by underserved communities. The goal of this Initiative is for families to visit Santa Clara County Parks, participate in park programming, and become comfortable utilizing parks on an ongoing basis to increase their physical activity and overall understanding of environmental stewardship. Park utilization has many known benefits including diabetes management and prevention, depression and anxiety reduction, and increasing community cohesion. Many of the families in the geographic focus area for this initiative (Milpitas and East San Jose) have had limited opportunities to visit parks and limited exposure to environmental education.
