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1. What program options are there?

Our program offers field trips to natural areas and parks near your school. Each field trip consists of environmental education activities and hands-on habitat restoration.

Within each program, educators can choose from core themes: Sense of Place, Plant Adaptations, Water, Soil, Animal Adaptations, and Interdependence. Activities within each theme can be tailored to meet your group’s current educational focus and any special needs.

2. Where are trips facilitated?

Trips are limited to the parks and open spaces within the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. That means that educators have over 220 parks to choose from. However, we ask that you consider several factors when selecting a park such as:

• your group size
• size of the park
• your group’s age and whether or not access to a bathroom is essential
• what you want your youth to gain from the experience
• and lastly, your proximity and ease of transportation to and from the park

In partnership with the Port of San Francisco, the Youth Stewardship Program also facilitates field trips at the EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park (HHP). Trips at HHP touch on environmental justice principles, wetland ecology and watersheds.

3. What is the cost to participate in YSP?

Nothing. All Youth Stewardship Programming is free of charge.  Following our free services we ask that participating educators encourage their students to continue healthy engagement and stewardship of the parks, refer us to a new teacher, teach students about the San Francisco Children's Bill of Rights, and complete our feedback survey so that we can continue to improve our program and offer free services to educators city-wide.

4. When should I apply?

As soon as our application opens. Our application opens in September and by December, our Full and Abbreviated programs are fully booked for the year.