Learn in Nature, Transform Lives

School-Based Programs

Learning in nature is transformative. 

A hike through oak woodlands to a waterfall. Hands-on lessons about compost and pollinator plants at a community garden. An exploration of the Russian River watershed by kayak. 

Our school and group-based youth programs connect your students with nature in Sonoma County. We make these opportunities not only possible, but accessible for all. Since 1999, our award-winning environmental education programs have impacted hundreds of local youth a year.  

Led by our experienced field specialists, In Our Own Backyard (IOOBY) gives your students time to explore, connect with a nearby natural space, and create a lifelong bond with nature. Teachers will be happy to know that our environmental education curriculum aligns with California’s Next Generation Science Standards, making your job easier. 

Too often, once kids leave elementary school, nature curriculum disappears. Inspired Forward, for teens and young adults, gets youth into nature, creating opportunities for wonder, leadership-building, ecological literacy, confidence-building, and an ethic of land stewardship.

Cynthia Spigarelli, 3rd grade teacher at Luther Burbank Elementary School

" One day with IOOBY is worth 30 in the classroom! "

In School Programs

In Our Own Backyard (IOOBY)

Inspired Forward

Stories + News

Stories from the Field

Enter the Big Tree Month Photo Contest – January 2024

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It’s time for the Big Tree Month Photo Contest!   Large and big old-growth trees in Sonoma County captivate LandPaths participants with their immense size and complex network …

Enter the Big Tree Month Photo Contest – January 2024 Read Article

Reflections: Slow Restoration Community Forestry Project for Women and Nonbinary Participants

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By Lara O’Herlihy, Stewardship Field Specialist This past October, fourteen strangers met for the first time at Riddell Preserve, LandPaths’ 400-acre protected open space preserve in the …

Reflections: Slow Restoration Community Forestry Project for Women and Nonbinary Participants Read Article

Students Make More Nature and Science Connections through New Environmental Education Pathways Project in Sonoma County

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Students Make New Connections WithEnvironmental Education Pathways  On a brisk and sunny day at Glen Oaks Ranch, 3rd graders from Flowery Elementary School chat merrily as they hike …

Students Make More Nature and Science Connections through New Environmental Education Pathways Project in Sonoma County Read Article

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