Our Work
With every opportunity to surf, bike, kayak, or climb, our programs provide thousands of youth each year with two things that greatly increase their chances of success…
First, opportunities to share new experiences, cultivate belonging, and discover their strengths. And second, meaningful connections with supportive peers and mentors who believe in their potential.
Through partnerships with 40+ schools and social service agencies, Outdoor Outreach provides adventure-based positive youth development programming for youth ages 9-24 whose communities have been historically impacted by social inequities.
OUR PROGRAMS BY THE NUMBERS
Total youth served since 1999
%
of Outdoor Outreach instructors are programs graduates
hours of annual instructor training
KEY INITIATIVES
Positive Youth Development
Our overarching purpose is to support critical needs of youth from under-resourced communities through meaningful outdoor experiences and mentorship. Outdoor Outreach’s adventure-based program model provides youth with tools, support systems, and confidence to face down their unique challenges, thrive, and succeed.
Workforce Development
Our intensive, nature-based job training program connects participants with pathways to employment in the outdoor industry and beyond. This type of early work experience has been shown to help young people graduate from high school, attain higher levels of education, avoid substance abuse, and develop a sense of self-efficacy and desire to succeed.
Environmental Education
Building on the stepping stones of outdoor recreation, every Outdoor Outreach program has ingrained lessons on sustainability and conservation, inspiring young people to respect and protect the places where they play and forging an action-oriented connection with close-to-home green spaces.
Outdoor Advocacy
Outdoor Outreach youth advocates inform local, state, and federal decision makers on the barriers some youth face in accessing outdoor spaces, and encourages them to make policy decisions that support outdoor opportunities for all. Outdoor Outreach participants have the opportunity to partake in several advocacy trainings and events each year.
Our Participants
Through partnerships with 40+ Title 1 schools and social service agencies, Outdoor Outreach programs engage youth ages 9-24 whose communities have been historically impacted by social inequities like residential segregation, wealth inequality, mass incarceration, disparities in healthcare and education, and environmental racism. Through our programs, we aim to provide participants with tools, support systems, and confidence to face their unique challenges with strength and courage.
GENDER OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
%
Female
%
Male
%
Non-Binary
FROM A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE
- Lack transportation to outdoor spaces 75%
- Not aware of green spaces near their homes 44%
- Gangs or crime make close-to-home green spaces unsafe 13%
ETHNICITY OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
OUR PARTNERS
Barrio Logan College Institute
Bayfront Charter High School
California State Parks
Chaparral High School
COMPACT
Crawford High School
Crest Elementary School
DETOUR – FANCY Teen Girls
e3 Civic High
El Cajon Valley High School
Gompers Preparatory Academy
Health Sciences High and Middle College
High Tech High Chula Vista
Imperial Valley Regional Occupation Program
Ingenuity Charter School
Juvenile Court Community Schools
Keiller Leadership Academy
King Chavez Community High School
Latino Outdoors
Lincoln High School
Monarch School
Morse High School
Mount Miguel High school
Health Sciences High and Middle College
Nature Collective
Palomar Family Counseling Service
Rady Children’s Hospital
San Diego County Behavioral Health Services
San Diego County Probation – Urban Camp and Girls Rehabilitation Facility
San Diego Youth Services
San Ysidro High School
South Bay Community Services
The Blue Heart Foundation
The O’Farrell Charter School
Risk Management
Learn more about our Safety and Risk Management Philosophy and Goals
Partner With Us
Interested in partnering with us on a program for your school or community organization?