CommUniverCity SJSU’s Growing Sustainably

The Authority helped to fund the San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum’s Happy Trails Project, which offers a free, multiple-experience program addressing the lack of opportunities for today’s urban children to connect with nature. Happy Trails blazes a path for diverse, primarily low-income children and families to explore nature's health benefits and natural resources of the Santa Clara Valley through facilitated programming in the Museum's unique outdoor learning environment and nearby Guadalupe River, guided activities and trail hikes at open space preserves, and a fun nature festival.

The Authority grant funded the San Jose State University Research Foundation's project, a signature CommUniverCity program, that aims to create a self-sustaining food system for low-income communities in Central San Jose where each child has opportunities to garden at a school garden or urban farm in their neighborhood. The program increases awareness of the importance of eating healthy, fresh foods, and promotes environmental stewardship among low-income children and their families.

The Authority contributed funds towards Guadalupe River Park Conservancy's environmental education program, which supports the use of the Guadalupe River Park as an outdoor lab to help familiarize children with the outdoors, instill a sense of environmental stewardship, and to teach hands‐on, standards‐based science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) lessons, with a special emphasis on serving students from Title One schools.