The Youth
Stewardship Program (YSP) teaches environmental education,
science, natural history and habitat gardening to San Francisco’s
youth ranging from 4th- 12th grade. YSP’s
success is highly dependent on a strong partnership between the
Natural Areas and the Volunteer Programs of the San Francisco
Recreation & Park Department. This unique community
service-learning opportunity allows the students to witness
seasonal changes in San Francisco’s natural environments. This
free program runs the length of the school year, and consists of
an introductory class visit followed by five field trips. The
class visit involves a slide presentation, followed by a
habitat-based creative art activity. The theme-based fieldtrips
are held at one of San Francisco’s parks and are broken into two
segments. Half is dedicated to teaching principles of
environmental education, such as plant adaptations, water & soil,
animal adaptations, and interdependence. The other half focuses
on a particular restoration project assigned by a city gardener.
