Students

The John Garcia Youth & Wildlife Foundation helps connect urban area kids from underserved communities with the great outdoors. We fund scholarships, field trips, assemblies, and classroom programs that emphasize nature, habitat and wildlife conservation. We could not accomplish this without the help of our many partners. Following are some of our more popular programs.

Habitat boxes
In this program, students build wooden habitat boxes for ducks, owls and bats. The boxes are then placed in the wild, where they provide nesting for animals, particularly in areas where no other nesting materials are available. By participating in the program, students gain firsthand knowledge of a wild animal’s entire life cycle. They also learn how to use GPS coordinates in to locate the boxes on return trips. In addition, building the boxes is often the student’s first introduction to wood shop. McClellan Business Park provides the work space for the project.

Fishing trips
There’s nothing quite like watching a kid catch his or her first fish. The excitement and sense of accomplishment truly help boost self esteem—along with creating greater appreciation for the outdoors. The John Garcia Youth & Wildlife Foundation provides the funds so youth can attend fishing trips offered by organizations such as the Roseville Police Activities League. These expeditions take place at recreational fish parks such as the Big M Fishery in Lincoln. The environment is supervised, safe and everyone is sure to catch a fish, so no youth goes home without a smile.

Conservation and wildlife management
The John Garcia Youth & Wildlife Foundation works with public agencies to help provide youth real-world experience with conservation and wildlife management practices. For example, students who participate in the Sacramento City Parks’ storm water run-off demonstration learn the relationship between storm run-off and local waterways as well as the importance of keeping debris out of our streams and rivers.

Teacher Training
In addition to helping K-12 students experience the outdoors, the John Garcia Foundation offers workshops to teachers interested in learning outdoor skills. Activities include a basic introduction to gun safety and skeet shooting as well as a class on the history of outdoor cooking and food preservation. These workshops have proved useful for teachers seeking to bring the outdoors into their classrooms. For more information, please contact us.