Outdoor Education

What If We Had a Field Trip & Nobody Could Attend?

What If We Had a Field Trip & Nobody Could Attend?

As we know all too well, the pandemic events of the last year and a half have caused myriad activities to be curtailed or cancelled altogether. Our formerly robust field trip programs actually saw mass cancellations even before the schools closed in March, 2020.

OUTDOOR EDUCATION: Mentors

OUTDOOR EDUCATION: Mentors

But there is one bird that has recently returned that always reminds me of a dear friend, and mentor, who literally changed the course of my life. Barbara Courtois was the coordinator of the Environmental Education Program at Ballona when I first became a volunteer at the wetlands, in 1999. She would proudly tell you that she was a “lifelong learner”.

OUTDOOR EDUCATION: Experience and Perspective

OUTDOOR EDUCATION: Experience and Perspective

I grew up in a coastal city in Orange County. I was able to attend some very good public schools, and enjoy endless summer days riding bicycles to the beach with my friends. My hometown was often singled out as a hotbed of conservatism, and in some ways, this was quite true.