Funded organizations will bring over 3,000 youth to California’s redwood forests

When someone has a memorable interaction with the natural world, it can shift their perspective, reveal new possibilities, sometimes even shape an entire life. Especially when that someone is a young person.
That’s why the League is thrilled to announce the recipients of this year’s Redwood Connect Grants. These 18 organizations will bring over 3,000 young people to a coast redwood or giant sequoia forest for an inspirational experience. Our recipients span nine California counties, include five different schools, and serve youth from kindergarten to young adult. Looking at our list of grantees below, it’s easy to imagine the impact these experiences could have on young people’s lives and futures.
For example, students experiencing an overnight camping trip with Vida Verde will come home with memories to last a lifetime. Whether it is their first time milking a goat, touching a banana slug, going on a night walk, or visiting the ocean, students get to spend three days fostering a lifelong love of nature and curiosity about the world. As one visiting schoolteacher explained it:
“Vida Verde is a place where kids have the safety, freedom, and resources to listen to nature and their own hearts. It is a beautiful merging of adventure, trying new things, and purposeful community building. The change from anxiety about leaving phones and family, to true joy in new friends, animals, hiking, and newfound independence is truly outstanding. The worst part of Vida Verde is going home.”
The League has supported Vida Verde for 11 years, helping to bring over 8,000 students into redwood forests to explore, learn, and simply have fun.
For Unity Care, receiving the League’s Redwood Connect Grant will mean bringing current and former foster youth from across the Bay Area into the redwoods. Unity Care will use the amazing healing power of redwood forests to enhance well-being, provide outdoor exposure, and encourage connection. Through various day trips in nature, foster youth will participate in guided hikes, mindfulness exercises, and team-building activities. The hope is that these trips to the redwoods will introduce these young people to new environments, creating a sense of adventure and expanding their perspectives. The League is happy to support Unity Care for the first time this year in their redwood programming.
Check out our complete list of grantees and learn more about these wonderful organizations that support health and wellness, redwood ecology, stewardship and conservation, team building, and more:
Bell Avenue Elementary School – Redwood Forest Weekend Immersion
Big Sur Land Trust – Youth Day Camps at Mittledoft Preserve
Brothers on the Rise – Trail Brothers – Standing Tall and Proud
Chicano Youth Center – Hood to the Woods
Community Nature Connection – To Be Present with Redwood Trees
Community School for Creative Education – First Forest Program
First Place for Youth – Summer Bridge Program
Girls Inc. – Redwoods and Climate Change
Horizons at SF Friends School – City to Canopy – Horizons Outdoor Education
LandPaths – In Our Own Backyard, Redwood Immersion and Stewardship Program
McDowell Elementary School – 6th grade outdoor education
Nokomis Elementary – Field Trip Through Time: A walk in the woods, I notice, I wonder?
Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks / San Mateo County Parks Foundation – Redwood Outings for youth facing barriers to redwood forests
Santa Lucia Conservancy – Redwood Education in Potrero Canyon
Saved by Nature – Outdoor Access for At-Promise-Youth
Unity Care – Beyond the City: Redwood Adventures
Vida Verde – Redwood Exploration for Bay Area Youth
Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative – WALC in the Redwoods