With the class cheering on, Teacher Pham managed to hoist the sail of their sailboat. It was an unusually hot day in October, and without air conditioning in most of their classrooms, the sixth graders at Life Academy were thrilled to traverse the Bay by boat – many for the first time. “It’s very powerful to watch kids experience something incredible for the first time,” says Kaitlin Levenstrong, the Executive Director of Oakland Goes Outdoors (OGO), which organized the trip. “Being in a wide open space provides awe and wonder instead of stress and fatigue.”
One of the first district-wide programs of its kind, OGO launched during the 2018-2019 school year, with the initial goal of providing inclusive outdoor experiences to all middle school students in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Spending quality time outdoors has proven health, social-emotional, and academic benefits – and the Bay Area has a surplus of magnificent parks and open spaces to explore with amenable weather to do so year-round.
Yet barriers prevent all youth from having equal access to outdoors experiences. “Many students have not had the opportunity to go camping or backpacking, so this is a very memorable experience for them,” one teacher shared. “It is wonderful to be able to provide an opportunity to spend a sustained amount of time in nature with students, see a different side of them emerge — often more curious and playful — and see them make connections and build community with their classmates.”
Since its launch, OGO has expanded to serve 24 OUSD schools, which include sites supporting Transitional Kindergarten to 8th grade, and 6th-12th grades, alongside pilot programs in select standalone elementary and high schools. Over the past five years, the program has served more than 15,000 students, bringing them on more than 500 trips to local, state, and national parks including Point Reyes National Seashore, Tilden Regional Park, and Mt. Tamalpais State Park.
Says one student, “I liked being outdoors and just taking a break — to spend time with my friends while on a trip. This is a great way to improve someone’s mental health and happiness.” Another OGO participant shared that “field trips make me want to come to school.”
A Unique Partnership
OGO’s seeds were first planted in 1995, when the Riddell family opened a donor advised fund with the San Francisco Foundation (SFF) to help bring their nature-focused principles to life. The family believes that access to nature is a fundamental right and necessity, and sees educating young people as key to creating a better future for all.
After several years of grantmaking to local nonprofits through a new vehicle the family seeded with SFF in 2015, the Youth Access to Nature Fund, a new opportunity emerged to dramatically expand access to nature in the Riddell’s East Bay community: supporting outdoor learning during the school day and beyond through a partnership with the Oakland public school system.
With the support of SFF as the hub for coordination with expertise in cross-sector partnerships, the family provided the pilot funding for a multi-stakeholder partnership to bring OGO to life with key implementation partners including OUSD, Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) and the Oakland Public Education Fund. From its homegrown roots, with the Riddell family following OUSD’s lead, OGO has blossomed into a thriving program expanding access to transformative nature experiences at the intersections of education, health, and climate.
SFF’s involvement in OGO has built on our long history of investing in environmental justice and conservation to build a Bay Area where everyone can thrive. SFF provided seed funding to some of the most powerful environmental nonprofits in the Bay Area, including the Trust for Public Land in the 1970s, the Environmental Defense Fund and Nature Conservancy in the 1980s, and Asian Pacific Environmental Network in the 1990s.
Looking Ahead
SFF encourages donors to support OGO’s ability to continue serving students in Oakland. Funding for OGO helps cover the cost of transportation and gear rental, stipends for teachers and chaperones, and personnel and administrative expenses to manage the program. Long-term support will help OGO expand to serve additional students, schools – and even districts beyond Oakland.
Inspired by a 2016 measure in Oregon, which approved public funding for outdoor schools, OGO is working with a coalition in California to explore a statewide campaign to pass legislation that would support and fund significantly more outdoor learning in this state.
OGO’s continued expansion helps propel our shared vision of providing equitable access to nature – as part of an inclusive Bay Area and state. “Mom had a new idea that if you really want to preserve nature,” said Jim Riddell, son of the late Kay Riddell. “It’s going to need defenders a long time into the future, and that means you need to start with kids now.”
Support Oakland Goes Outdoors and an environmentally sustainable Bay Area
- Support OGO: Contact Kaitlin Levenstrong, Executive Director, Oakland Goes Outdoors, kaitlin[at]oaklandgoesoutdoors.org
- Support OGO and/or the Youth Access to Nature Fund through your SFF DAF: Contact J. M. Johnson, Sr. Advisor, Philanthropy and Engagement, at jmjohnson[at]sff.org
- Contribute to SFF’s new fund, Ensuring an Environmentally Sustainable Bay Area, where together donors can pool their grantmaking resources to ensure environmental equity and fight the impacts of climate change on our region: Contact J. M. Johnson at jmjohnson[at]sff.org
- Learn how SFF can support your philanthropy: Contact Pamela Doherty, Senior Director of Gift Planning, pdoherty[at]sff.org
