Inside The Outdoors Foundation

The Mission of the Inside the Outdoors Foundation is to provide financial, educational, and advisory support to the Inside the Outdoors Science Study Programs. Inside the Outdoors programs empower students, teachers, parents and the community through hands-on educational experiences in the natural world to expand their knowledge, understanding and stewardship of the environment.   

Inside the Outdoors empowers students, teachers, parents and the community to explore natural areas and increases their knowledge, understanding and stewardship of the environment. Founded in 1974, Inside the Outdoors has helped bring science and environmental education concepts to life for generations of children – more than 3 million in all – through nature’s classroom.

We offer Traveling Scientist, Field Trip, and Service-Learning programs that teach environmental education aligned with California curriculum standards. Each year, more than 100,000 K-12th grade students, teachers, parents and community members connect with nature through the hands-on lessons of an Inside the Outdoors program.

In all, Inside the Outdoors offers four types of programs:
· Field Trips – Students visit one of a half dozen sites to experience and interact with science, math, and social-science concepts. They experience hands-on lessons as they collect data on habitat quality and make observations about how different ecosystems are changing.
· Traveling Scientist – Students get hands-on lessons from a naturalist in a small, in-class session. Natural and physical science concepts come to life for students – who may, for instance, not only learn about the parts of a spider but get to pet a tarantula.
· Service-Learning – A hands-on multiple experience community service program focused on the real life application of STEM principles.
· Community Programs – Students, their families and community members connect to nature through outdoor education programs, including an Astronomy and Stargazing Family Hike, Get Outdoors OC! and Summer Day Camp.  

Inside the Outdoors is a recognized leader in science and environmental education. We have received numerous awards, including: the 2008 and 2015 California School Board Association’s Golden Bell Award for academic excellence and the 2008 and 2011 California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for children’s education. Our community partnerships have been highlighted in the corporate reports of The Walt Disney Co., Disneyland Resort and Boeing.

Since it was founded in 1974, Inside the Outdoors has:
· Served more than 4,000,000 students, teachers and community members, providing hands-on lessons in nature’s classroom, awakening students’ innate curiosity and bringing new understanding to concepts that students of various learning styles might struggle with in the classroom.
· Provided a broad range of learning opportunities to students in grades K-12, through our four programs – Field Trips, Traveling Scientist, Service Learning, and Community Programs.
· Led the formation of a Youth Stewardship Council made up of high-school students, allowing them to take science lessons and create action plans to restore wetlands, clean-up beaches, build recycling programs and tackle other projects setting the foundation for them to become environmental stewards and, perhaps, pursue science careers.

Each year, Inside the Outdoors delivers 100,000 hours of STEM education and engages over 100,000 students in hands-on learning. With continued funding, Inside the Outdoors will:
· Continue to lead the way in providing schools-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education that is engaging and accessible for tens of thousands of students in grades K-12, making science both fun and understandable.
· Reach out to more students in low-income neighborhoods so that they can participate in one of our programs and improve their science knowledge regardless of their financial situation.
· Provide Community and Service-Learning programs that allow students – and family and friends – to continue to discover and learn outside of the classroom, improving understanding and changing habits that will improve the environment and make them happy, healthier and smarter, along the way.

Inside the Outdoors’s staff is proud of its nearly 50 year history as a leader in providing hands-on science and environmental education to thousands of students annually. Our program is administered by the Orange County Department of Education, which ensures top-notch curriculum and the highest levels of student safety and care.
Inside the Outdoors programs, however, are completely self-sustaining and receive no taxpayers funds to operate. The Inside the Outdoors Foundation works hard to establish strong partnerships with corporations and other private funders to ensure that any child who wants to participate in our programs can do so.

Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of the students who participate in one of our programs require a sponsorship to attend. Inside the Outdoors Foundation is looking for financial help that goes directly to sponsoring students to attend one of our programs:
· $75 will send a student on a Field Trip program
· $500 will provide a Traveling Scientist program for an entire grade level
·$500 will provide a Family Science Night for 100 children and families
· $2,500 will send 30 students on a class Field Trip
· $5,000 will provide annual support for an Inside the Outdoors' Traveling Scientist Animal Ambassador

Orange County, California. Also counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and San Diego.