RESILIENCE, RESPONSIBILITY, RESTORATION: The 3rs Through Wilderness Adventure
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'Ready on the mainsail?'
'Ready on the mainsail!' responds a dozen seventh graders from Ellen Ochoa Learning Center as they prepare to haul up the mainsail on the Exy Johnson. These children are participating in just one of the many outdoor experiences being provided to inner city youth through the Wilderness Adventure Club . |
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| The Wilderness Adventure Club serves children at Ellen Ochoa Learning Center, a K-8 public school in Cudahy, California, part of Los Angeles Unified School District. Ninety-eight percent of the students are Hispanic and sixty-six percent are English Language Learners. The community is considered one of the poorest and most densely populated communities in Los Angeles County.
A San Felipe Board Member-- Patrick Del Conte-- heard about this program and went out to see for himself. It is everything we hope for in a school wilderness program it really does meet it's goals therefore we are giving them our attention and support.
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| Led by teachers, Ms. Kathryn Stevens and Ms. Elizabeth Neat, sixty students get the opportunity to venture far outside their neighborhood to experience nature first hand.
This year the Wilderness Adventure Club is focusing on the wetland and ocean resources. Students have adopted Cabrillo Beach and have done two beach clean ups with another one scheduled.
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Students also worked alongside adults cleaning brush from Bolsa Chica wetlands to prepare for native plant introduction. After a morning of hard work, the children went across Pacific Coast Highway to spend the afternoon playing in the surf.
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| For the second year, students are participating with the Maritime Institute in learning to sail a traditionally rigged tall ship. The culmination of the training will be a five day sail to Catalina where the students work in teams to prepare meals, clean up the ship, hoist sails, look for whales, climb to the crow's nest as well as rowing to land, hiking and snorkeling.
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Ms. Neat and Ms. Stevens designed the club to provide students experiences they otherwise would not have. The trips are organized to promote persistence, endurance and courage in the young people. All trips involve team work which develops leadership skills as well as a sense of responsibility to the group as a whole. Finally, the trips are used to make the students aware of our precious natural resources and to develop a sense of stewardship.
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| Next year, the Wilderness Adventure Club wants to emphasize our national and state forests and parks. The trips will involve camping, hiking and a final five day trip to Yosemite.
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