The Fund: Neighborhood Fund
One local philanthropist created our Neighborhood Fund to support impactful organizations providing critical services in Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood. In 2023, we directed grants from the Neighborhood Fund to eight nonprofits supporting the vibrancy of the neighborhood. Sierra Nevada Journeys was one of those organizations.
The Organization: Sierra Nevada Journeys
Sierra Nevada Journeys’ mission is to deliver innovative outdoor, science-based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship. Its programs range from in-classroom lessons to overnight outdoor schooling, and supplemental programs to train teachers and engage local families.
At the heart of all its programs is a strong desire to create top-tier opportunities for children to learn science and fall in love with the natural world regardless of their socio-economic background or where they live.
Photos from Sierra Nevada Journeys’ program, Classrooms Unleashed
The Cause: Classrooms Unleashed
For decades, schools in Del Paso Heights have been underinvested and, as a result, educators at neighborhood schools often have fewer resources to offer engaging science education than those at better-funded schools. The Neighborhood Fund grant made it possible for Sierra Nevada Journey to offer its Classrooms Unleashed program to 50 students at two Del Paso Heights classrooms.
The program is comprised of two in-person lessons and a full-day field trip to a local nature site. Each lesson fosters students’ interest in science through hands-on activities as they explore topics such as forest fires and drought, animal habitats and adaptation, survival and conservation, weathering and erosion, plate tectonics, geology, rocks and minerals, the watershed and water cycle, and natural resource stewardship.
Educators then take students on a full-day field trip to apply what they’ve learned in a real-world context. At nature sites, they put their new-found knowledge to the test in a real-world experience. For many students, this is their first experience hiking or accessing the American River.
Classrooms Unleashed also provided resources to educators, including an orientation packet and materials to integrate these topics into other subjects.
To learn more about Sierra Nevada Journeys, visit its GivingEdge profile.
