OUR MISSION
Is Top Promote Educational Equity
by providing free, overnight environmental learning experiences for students who don’t otherwise get the opportunity.
Over 1K+ Active Student's
Best Awards
About Us
At Outdoor Education
For a young person who has never before walked in the majestic Redwoods, spent time getting to know the birds in their neighborhood, or doesn’t have access to nature spaces to discover their strength and drive, Vida Verde can be life-changing and vital. A large and growing body of data indicate numerous positive outcomes of time spent in nature, from reduced biological measures of stress in the body, to improved test scores, to long-term improvements in self-esteem, cooperation and conflict resolution. Yet, youth from low-income communities have disproportionately less access to such experiences.
Since 2001, Vida Verde has provided students from low-income, under-served schools with the powerful opportunity spend immersive time in nature and to improve their academic performance and classroom behavior, to develop the social and emotional skills that will help them be successful, and to establish meaningful connections with nature.
“It’s our belief that all kids are good, all kids can succeed, and it’s our job to give them the opportunities to realize their strengths,” Shawn Sears, Co-Founder and Director of Facilities and Capital Projects.
It’s our belief that all kids are good, all kids can succeed, and it’s our job to give them the opportunities to realize their strengths.
Shawn Sears, Co-Founder and Director of Facilities and Capital Projects
Complete Regular Growth Goals
Meet Independent Work Expectations
Meet Attendance Expectations
Report Strong Relationships With ACE Staff
We Value
1. The Mission First
We are a mission-centric organization. We make every decision with the kids' benefit and the mission as our guide. We specifically tailor the program to meet the unique needs of the kids we serve, with deep respect for students and their communities.
2. Persistent Improvement And Our Best Practices
We are driven to continually improve and reach the highest standards across the organization for the benefit of the kids we serve. From program quality to healthy communication, from strategic goal setting to prioritization: we utilize, documented systems. We are detail-oriented, reflective, and strive to serve as a model. We balance our best practices and lessons from our history with innovation and inspiration for improvement.
3. The Environment And Natural Resources
We practice responsible and long-term thinking regarding land stewardship, facility management, building, and design. Using resources wisely, we value the earth's resources over convenience and cost, and share that value with the greater community.
4. Relationships And Community
People are at the heart of this work. We strive to create long-lasting relationships with our staff, supporters, students, and teachers. We believe that by honoring and including diverse perspectives, our organization is stronger and more sustainable. We believe in love, not hate. We help different people see each other and all that we share in common, as well as what we can learn from each other.
5. Making It Happen
We overcome outrageous obstacles and successfully achieve ambitious goals by using a combination of resourcefulness, a positive mindset, and our team's diverse set of skills and experiences, without compromising our work/life balance and well-being. We know that beliefs lead to actions, which lead to results. We "make it happen" even when circumstances would lead most to think progress impossible.
Why Choose Us
Our History & Values
Vida Verde was founded in 2001 by two former Teach for America classroom teachers who saw a pressing need for youth experiencing poverty to have meaningful educational experiences outside of the classroom. Their original vision has been carefully developed into a highly effective and acclaimed educational program. Vida Verde has provided our core program, a three-day, two-night camping trip taken as a class, for over 12,500 students and teachers from low-income Bay Area schools, and we are currently launching our 21st year of programming. In 2020, we launched the Summer Leadership Project (SLP) as a second and complimentary Vida Verde program that serves teens with a one-week immersive camping trip, followed by the opportunity for leadership and engagement throughout the school year.
In 2015, we were thrilled to purchase our own educational farm property in San Gregorio (Ramaytuch Ohlone land) and to create an endowment for the ongoing care of that property. In 2018 we purchased local housing for eight staff members, and in the coming year we will begin construction on an Education Barn on our new property. These accomplishments are all fulfilling our long-term vision to create a “Home for Educational Equity” for generations to come.
Happenings on Social Media
We Acknowledge That
Everything is not okay.
We live in a world and society with personal, structural, and institutional injustice based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other differences. This is affecting the lives of the Vida Verde students and the Vida Verde community in myriad profound ways.
We see our role as:
We have a deep commitment to examining, understanding and working intentionally, every day, and for the long run to do our small part in dismantling the pieces of institutional injustice that we are able to. Vida Verde is one of the few outdoor education organizations that is focused on educational equity and is dedicated to engaging Bay Area youth from low-income families and communities who do not have free access to outdoor education experiences. Even though equity is a cornerstone of Vida Verde’s mission, intentionally and actively engaging in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work more holistically will only continue to support these young people in accessing quality culturally relevant and inclusive nature education experiences that translate to positive outcomes in their traditional classrooms.
Why?
Culturally relevant outdoor programs better engage students and support them in developing necessary critical thinking skills, improving their health and wellness, and more meaningfully connecting them to the land and food, and often fostering a passion and interest in the outdoors.
The future of the environment is tethered to connecting the diverse youth of today to the outdoors.
Research shows diversity in staff, an inclusive workplace culture, and culturally responsive practices lead to both better experiences and outcomes for students, and better attraction and retention of talented staff.
Vida Verde aspires to serve as a blueprint/model for other values-aligned organizations (especially outdoor education organizations) who are looking for an example in JEDI work.
Our commitments:
To steadfastly work toward our mission to promote educational equity by providing culturally relevant, free, overnight, environmental learning experiences for students who don’t otherwise get the opportunity.
Through culturally relevant programming, work to ensure Vida Verde students view nature as a place FOR them; a place they have a fundamental right to access, and a place that may influence them as leaders to vote, act and spend with the environment in mind.
To build and grow a more racially diverse staff and board, and foster an inclusive culture within Vida Verde where all staff, donors, and volunteers feel they are valued and belong.