Ventura Land Trust

Ventura Wild

By Katrina McDowell on Aug 28, 2024 in Giving

Quality time in nature is one of Venture Land Trust’s greatest gifts to the community for a sustainable future.

Yardi-supported nonprofit Ventura Land Trust, established in 2003 in Ventura, Calif., connects the community with educational programs about nature and fosters the next generation of environmental stewards. Then, in 2009, Ventura Wild was established as the primary education initiative that supports youth aged two to 13 years old with meaningful outdoor learning experiences. Serving nearly a thousand students annually, Ventura Wild’s programs connect children to nature by nurturing awareness, knowledge, skills, and stewardship in the natural world.

“With the support from funders, scholarships are made available throughout the year for any of our sessions-long programs and summer camps,” said Sarah ‘Trudy’ Trudeau, education manager for Venture Land Trust.

In addition to Venture Wild, Venture Land Trust offers another educational initiative called Nature by Design that provides subsidized field trips and session-long programs for Title-1 schools in Ventura County. These programs are designed, often in line with the classroom’s objectives, to connect children to nature through hands-on learning experiences related to the natural sciences.

“By balancing the school day with time in the outdoors, students return to the classroom happier, healthier and with a great sense of motivation,” explained Trudeau.

Ventura Land Trust hopes to expand and grow its scholarship fund to support more families with financial assistance. With the help of Yardi funding, it can offer more subsidized programs for local schools and underserved communities to create excellent access to the outdoors.

“We are incredibly grateful for the funding received from Yardi! It has greatly supported our ability to provide scholarships and connect more families to nature in our community,” said Trudeau.

Reaping Native Plants

Being in reciprocity with nature is a key part of Ventura Land Trust’s environmental programs. In addition to modeling Leave No Trace principles, it facilitates stewardship projects to encourage children to give back and take part in restoring wild spaces. In 2022, its preschool-aged students supported a large planting project at one of Ventura Land Trust preserves. With the support from its team, these eager three-year-olds carefully chose their native plant to place into the earth. Students were encouraged to water and care for their plants each week that followed.

Today, many of these students are still in these programs. Now five years old, Wesley is delighted to see that the Black Walnut tree (Juglans californica) he planted has grown taller than him!

Volunteer Opportunities

Join the community and Ventura Land Trust with volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Those interested in leadership opportunities and internships for teens and young adults can apply here or contact Ventura Land Trust at (805)-643-8044 extension 4 or [email protected].

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