School Programs
Field Trips
Discover our outdoor field trip programs with adaptable curriculum, designed to connect students with nature through hands-on activities at the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve or the Outdoor Classroom at Mountain Meadow Preserve (opening for programming in the 2025-26 school year). To learn more about our field trip options, please see the inquiry form at the bottom of the page.
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Featured Program: Schoolyard Safari
Through the Extended Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) and in partnership with the Escondido Union School District, we are able to offer after-school enrichment classes to elementary-aged students through our Schoolyard Safari program.
This program introduces students to the wonders of nature that can be found in their own schoolyards and neighborhoods.
TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM
Did you know?
Steelhead trout were once abundant in southern California, but their populations have plummeted due to urban development, dams, and degraded water quality conditions. The Conservancy has a dream of repopulating Escondido Creek with steelhead trout. But first, we first need to improve our water quality.
That's why we started Trout in the Classroom: to foster environmental stewardship in the future leaders of our community.
Trout in the Classroom is a highly engaging program in which 2nd – 11th graders raise trout from eggs to juvenile fish for release in an approved lake. As students care for their fish, they come to realize the importance of clean water and healthy ecosystems.
After completing the program, students have a greater understanding of watersheds, water quality, and civic engagement. We're confident that the future environmental stewards who participate in this program will help to make our dream of trout in Escondido Creek a reality.
CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE OUTDOOR LEARNING
Introducing: CalSOL
In 2020, the Conservancy acquired funding to organize a campaign for statewide outdoor education so that all California school children can experience outdoor learning at every grade level, and that such opportunities are an integral part of California public education. The Conservancy launched this campaign and corresponding website to develop and implement a strategy for providing standards-aligned outdoor education programs throughout California. To learn more or add your name as a support of CalSOL visit www.californiasol.org
THE ESCONDIDO
UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
CONSERVATION CONSORTIUM
During the 2018-2019 school year, multiple organizations banded together with the Escondido Union School District to provide outdoor and environmental education opportunities across multiple grade levels.
Over the years, this effort has grown to serve every student in Escondido Union School District from TK-8th grade - a combined total of 24 schools!
OUR CONSORTIUM
PARTNERS
TK - 2nd Grade
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
3rd Grade
Escondido Creek Conservancy
4th Grade
Coastal Roots Farm
5th Grade
Nature Collective
6th Grade
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
7th Grade
Friends of Daley Ranch
8th Grade
Palomar Health Foundation
ADVENTURE CAMP
5 Days of Fun in Nature
Escondido Creek Adventure Camp is a wildly engaging 5-day outdoor summer day camp for students from 3rd - 5th grade. Campers explore the enchanting Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, where they discover the natural world by hiking, playing, and conducting hands-on science with daily themes including Exploration and Discovery, Plants and Pollinators, Amazing Animal Adaptations, Watershed Wonders, and Pollution & the Solution. Each year we provide this program pending funding opportunities.
