“Healing the broken bond between our young and nature is in our self interest – not only because aesthetics or justice demands it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depend upon it and so does the health of the earth.”
~Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods
Why We Need Donations
The RVOEP is a community-supported project of the Ukiah Unified School District, which means that part of the costs of the program are supported by community donations and fundraising activities.
Each year, through the efforts of the RVOEP Coordinator, our wonderful Advisory Board, and our fundraising volunteers, we raise thousands of dollars to fund transportation for children to and from the RVOEP site, program supplies, and site maintenance and improvement.
Without donations, fewer students would benefit from this truly remarkable outdoor education program.
Why Supporting RVOEP is So Important
Community donations play a vital role in the continuing operation of the program.
If you believe in helping young people understand and value the connection between humans and the natural world, please consider supporting us financially or with your time.
Thanks to contributors like you, every Ukiah Unified School District student in grades one through six has the opportunity for their curiosity to be sparked, their scientific brains turned on, their appreciation of nature established. Maybe it’s the touch of a bird’s soft feather or the earthy smell as they hike along woodland paths. Maybe the experience shows them what they’ve never slowed down enough to see, things that have been right in front of them all the time. Whatever it is, something about the RVOEP experience changes the children who participate.
Children are smart and intuitive. From a very young age, they can understand the inter-dependence of ecosystems, and how important it is for all of us to care for the natural world since it is the source of all we need to survive.
We hope you will support the RVOEP’s outdoor environmental education program for children in Mendocino County. Here’s how!