At the heart of Solano County Office of Education’s (SCOE) outdoor learning initiatives are California’s Environmental Principles & Concepts (EP&Cs). These five principles guide educators in connecting classroom content to real-world environmental systems and challenges. Through professional learning sessions and collaborations with regional and statewide partners, we’re helping teachers create lessons that bridge standards, wellness, and community engagement.
In Part 1 of our Rooted in Nature series, we highlighted how outdoor learning is taking root across Solano County—from early learning to school gardens and research-based citizen science projects. In this second installment, we dive deeper into how we collaborate with community partners to enhance student learning and create opportunities for all. Together, we can continue to expand these efforts and inspire a future where every student is connected to nature and empowered to learn, ask questions, and consider their role in building and caring for our community.
Exploring Solano’s Wild Spaces: Field Trips That Inspire and Educate
SCOE supports the Solano Resource Conservation District (RCD), where students have the opportunity to engage in place-based experiential learning within their local watersheds. The funding supports field trip transportation, allowing students to visit parks and open spaces throughout the region.
These educational experiences include exploring local watersheds, engaging in science and writing activities, collecting stream samples for analysis, and examining soil health. All of this takes place in the beautiful natural settings of Solano County’s parks and open spaces. “Our partnership with the Solano RCD is a powerful example of how collaboration can bring learning to life. By connecting local students to hands-on, place-based educational experiences, we’re not only enriching academic understanding but also cultivating future environmental stewards who feel a deep connection to their community and the natural world around them,” remarked Lisette Estrella-Henderson, superintendent of schools for Solano County.
Through these field trips and classroom lessons, students learn about the natural world, build a sense of community, and create lifelong memories that will inspire them for years to come.
🎥 Watch the video | 📖 Read more in this article | 📸 View field trip photos
Nature and Technology Unite: Exploring Solano’s Wildlife – Community and Family Engagement
Solano County Office of Education’s Solano Outdoor Explorers program invites students, families, and residents to experience local parks and open spaces in a new way. Through self-guided courses and an engaging short video series, the program highlights native plants, animals, and ecosystems found right in Solano County. These vibrant learning stations, placed along popular and accessible trails, are designed to offer small but meaningful entry points to recognizing local species and engaging with broader environmental concepts. They help build awareness of the natural world while fostering a deeper understanding of our connection to and dependence on natural spaces and resources. It’s an invitation to observe more closely, learn more deeply, and connect to the land we all share.
Getting Outside with Access Adventure: Learning and Thriving
Each week, students in SCOE’s Adult Program head to Rush Ranch Open Space for an unforgettable outdoor learning experience with Access Adventure. Set against the stunning Suisun Marsh, students connect with nature, care for horses, and take part in the rhythm of ranch life. SCOE’s Adult Program serves neurodiverse students ages eighteen to twenty-two who receive personalized support across a range of focus areas, including vocational training, community integration, communication, self-care, mobility, and daily living skills. The program also emphasizes functional academics, social skills, recreational activities, and self-advocacy, empowering each student to take meaningful steps toward independence.
Founded by Michael Muir, the great-grandson of naturalist and writer John Muir, Access Adventure creates inclusive outdoor spaces where people of all abilities can grow, heal, and thrive. Powered by dedicated volunteers, this partnership brings hands-on learning, meaningful animal interactions, and a sense of belonging to students.
🎧 Listen to the podcast to learn more about this powerful collaboration
Work, Learn, Lead: Solano County Youth Interns in Action
SCOE’s teams support the Xplore Solano Summer Youth Internship, which offers high school students and recent graduates a unique opportunity to learn outdoors, gain real-world experience, and make a lasting impact in the community. Through hands-on projects like trail building, watershed education, gardening, and park restoration, youth interns work side by side with professionals at organizations such as Sustainable Solano, Solano Land Trust, Solano Resource Conservation District, Solano County Parks, and Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District.
This effort is led by Solano Workforce Development Board, in collaboration with community partner organizations, and managed by the Student Conservation Association. This immersive outdoor learning internship helps youth build career readiness and life skills—like leadership, communication, and teamwork—while deepening their understanding of the outdoors. Interns are supported with mentorship, resume-building, and workforce development tools, and they connect with peers and professionals for vocational development training at the end of each week.
In essence, the Xplore Solano Summer Youth Internship is more than a job—it’s a transformative experience that nurtures youth potential, strengthens community partnerships, and sows the seeds for lasting environmental impact in Solano County.
Empowering Educators: Practical Resources for Teaching About the Environment in Solano County
To support Solano County educators and leaders, SCOE created the “Pre K – 12 Educator Resource Guide: Quickstart ideas for teaching students within and about the environment in Solano County.” This living document is packed with practical ideas and local resources to inspire environmental education and outdoor learning.
At its heart, this guide reflects our deep trust in educators—those who know their students, families, schools, and communities best. It is crafted to spark creativity and provide a foundation of resources that can inspire and guide thoughtful, meaningful environmental education and outdoor learning experiences. We know that educators are innovators, and we are confident that they will take these ideas and customize them to fit their unique contexts, enriching the learning experience for all students. This guide includes ideas for creating green schoolyards to support outdoor learning, play, hands-on lessons, connections with community partners, college and career readiness, and more!
As we look to the future of education, outdoor learning offers a powerful path forward—one rooted in hands-on learning, student engagement, inclusion for students of all abilities, and opportunities for human connection. Every region has its landscapes, communities, and strengths to build on. Whether you’re starting small with a nature walk, designing professional learning for educators, or forging partnerships—your leadership matters. Let’s grow this movement together, stepping outside and into what is possible, as we work to balance screen time with green time for today’s students—and tomorrow’s leaders.
3 Responses
Thanks, Summer, for this second article! It’s heartening to learn that there is so much outdoor learning going on in Solano County that it won’t all fit in one article! So many opportunities for your students in school gardens, citizen/community science projects, and on field trips with partner organizations! Do your students also participate in a weeklong overnight outdoor school program? And what advice would you give to other county offices of education or districts that might be just getting started? Where is the best place to begin? adopting instructional materials? teacher professional learning? building school gardens?
I am more than impressed by all the opportunities we are providing youth and, more importantly, educators for connecting to nature. We are not an agency of doom and gloom but a grower of understanding and well-being. Thank you, Summer.
This is wonderful Summer! I’m so happy to see all of the wonderful things that SCOE is doing being highlighted by Ten Strands.