Early experiences shape how we see the world. The ways we come to know land – through family, culture, language and community – influence how young people experience belonging in outdoor learning.
However, access to these kinds of outdoor exploration has never been guaranteed. Across San Diego, many young people don’t have the same access to outdoor learning that reflects who they are and where they come from.
Rooted in Relationship
Across their work, identified a shared challenge: outdoor and environmental learning too often separates culture from science, overlooking how deeply identity, land and learning are connected.
This collaboration is supported by the Thrive Community of Practice (TCoP), an initiative of San Diego Foundation environmental work and funded by the Alumbra Innovations Foundation, which convenes educators, community partners, and system leaders to co-develop culturally relevant, place-based learning pathways.
Each organization encounters this gap differently – through Indigenous-led land stewardship, affirming space for queer and two-spirit youth and expanding access to outdoor learning for young people furthest from opportunity. Yet the impact is the same: too many young people don’t see themselves reflected in environmental spaces.
“The Thrive Community of Practice project has really been thinking about how we can – as a collective and a unified movement – enhance outdoor learning and environmental education within the San Diego landscape,” said Mario Ordoñez-Calderón, Executive Director of Un Mar de Colores.
The organizations are working together to develop a shared framework for youth-serving organizations and nearby school districts to strengthen outdoor learning rooted in relationship and culture.
Seeing Themselves in Nature
The collective’s approach comes to life most clearly when outdoor learning adapts to young people, instead of asking young people to adapt to it.
“To see our youth come in and get their hands in the ground really shows that shared sense of reciprocity and respect for where each of us comes from,” said Lacey Cannon, Executive Director of Indigenous Regeneration. “The best place for that to happen is in a natural setting.”
When young people are invited to learn with the land, a sense of belonging can take root.
That approach shows up in moments like one Mario recalls – a young person’s first experience learning to surf – while working through sensory sensitivities.
“The sand, the splashing of the water, putting on a wetsuit — it was all overstimulating,” Mario said.
With time, individual support and patience, their experience changed. Eventually, they put on the wetsuit, braved the ocean and surfed – on their own terms.
“Their mom came up to us and said, ‘I really appreciate the way this program was created with a child like mine in mind,’” Mario said.
According to Mario, moments like this are made possible by a willingness to let young people lead the experience.
Supporting Through Lived Experience
The three organizations believe culturally grounded outdoor learning isn’t about pushing through discomfort or meeting a predetermined outcome. They believe in meeting young people where they are.
For Juan Reynoso, Co-Executive Director of Queer Sol Collective, that approach is deeply personal. Drawing on his lived experience as a Kumeyaay, queer, two-spirit person, he brings an awareness of safety, identity, and belonging into his work with youth.
“I had to operate and conform to what was safe, and I don’t want our youth to experience some of the harms that still exist,” he said.
Through support from people like Juan, young people can engage with the land and learn in ways that feel more affirming and truer to who they are.
For Lacey, the impact of that care is visible in how young people show up.
“Their excitement for life and the lens that they have – it gives me a lot of hope,” she said, “If we could be more like kids, the world would be a better place.”
