Environmental Career Pathways (ECP) - Outdoor Education Apprentices

Green space, park access, and trees

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The ECP Outdoor Education Apprentice program was designed to combat income equity, and barriers to access to nature, especially for those clients that reside in park-poor and historically underserved communities. Nature belongs to everyone, regardless of their zipcode. Access to nature is a right not a privilege.
In Spanish the phrase that we keep in mind during on programmatic planning is "dar ganas de" . We as ourselves what are the values drive us to help our community members thrive? Our communities need vocational training along a pathway which will lead them to good paying jobs that will benefit all Angelenos for generations to come.
We strive to give our neighbors the tools needed to self-advocate for environmental protections and sustainable employment opportunities.The curriculum for the ECP Outdoor Education program includes 7- months of coursework that takes places in our 'classrooms', our majestic CA State Parks.

Nature For All works hard to remove barriers for communities in Los Angeles County, California to spend time in Nature. The barriers are layered: from socio-economic and cultural but result is the same: L.A residents are still lacking equity in access to California's public lands, rivers, beaches and parks. Now, we are ready to reimagine the barriers to overall wellness, and dedicate some programming capacity to our work readiness programs while staying true to our overall mission of social justice and environmental education. Our Environmental Careers Pathways workforce readiness initiative, (ECP) is a seven month program designed to bridge the gap between traditional park youth programs and a permanent job with a park agency. The program includes field study, classroom learning, teambuilding, and an overview of the natural and cultural resources of our region. All this with an emphasis on career exploration and the development of foundational skills required of those seeking entry level positions as Naturalists. The course will have several professional certificate programs embedded within it including; CPR/FA/AED, Leave No Trace, and the UC California Naturalist Program (CalNat). The topics covered in this training will provide you with the necessary skills to pursue a park career in education and interpretation at the end of which you will be eligible to apply for a Naturalist position with Nature for All as well as other positions with State and Federal Park Agencies.

Environmental Career Pathways Program - Outdoor Educators will positively impact Los Angeles County because they are the rising generation of Angelenos. They grew up in the same neighborhoods they seek to connect with. They just need a helping hand - workforce readiness training in a field that LA and the world at large needs the most - more environmental stewards.
ECP Leaders will learn about Los Angeles’ green spaces and be inspired to incorporate natural spaces into their lives and to want to learn how to advocate for increased local green space development, protection of nature, and more public transportation to the larger natural areas around Los Angeles for the future.The community members that participate in these programs become local advocates in their communities and learn more about the local funding sources, their elected officials and the various agencies that help shape and determine their quality of life.

Since receiving the award in 2022, more than 770 participants have completed leadership training, many continue to make a difference through increased environmental awareness and activism. Participant feedback to our workshops is overwhelmingly positive and demonstrates both increased subject matter knowledge and an increased desire and confidence around implementing learning. Nature for All provides training and volunteer hours for at least 20 Leadership Academy alumni who will receive their California Naturalist certifications, develop educational and activity programming and serve as interpretative guides in their community. Our proposal for this year's application - ECP Outdoor Education Apprentices will help us one step further towards the yellow brick road leading to a way to good jobs in a green sustainable industry and will help them climb the ladder towards economic stability for participants and their families.