Environmental Volunteers

At Environmental Volunteers, founded in 1972 in Palo Alto, we inspire people of all ages to learn about the wonders of the natural world. We train volunteers to lead hands-on science and nature programs in schools, community organizations, and at the EcoCenter in the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. For schools, we offer science curriculum for grades K-6 which meets State of California science education requirements and NGSS. Each grade has several subject areas to choose from, such as Scientific Investigation for Kindergarten, or Earthquake Geology for 4th grade. In the classroom, our volunteers lead hands-on learning stations in small groups. On follow-up field trips, students discover natural science concepts through guided hikes to local nature preserves. We also offer private programs for schools and community groups at our EcoCenter in Palo Alto.

Our national Sprout Up Program deliveries 8-week hands-on science programs to students in K-2 (currently in New York and California) through volunteer chapters at local colleges and universities. College-aged volunteers manage and run these programs as a training opportunity to gain experience in the Environmental Education sector.

About

Sector:

Service Area: Multi-state/National

Address

2560 Embarcadero Rd
Palo Alto CA 94303

In the Weather and Climate Program, students will explore the differences and similarities between these two meteorol…

Themes
Climate Change, Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), STEM
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
3rd Grade Students / Youth
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In the Water on the Move program, students explore the various qualities of water and its vital role in our environme…

Themes
Climate Change, STEM, Water
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
2nd Grade Students / Youth
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In the Structure and Function program, students discover the variety of structures living things have for movement fr…

Themes
STEM, Structure & Function
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
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During Sprout Up's 2nd-grade program our college-student instructors get kids thinking about the full lifecycle of t…

Themes
Air Quality, Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Justice, Food Systems/Nutrition...
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
2nd Grade Students / Youth
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Over the course of Sprout Up's 1st-grade program, our college student instructors help students understand the role t…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), Environmental Justice, Food Systems/Nutrition, Marine & Coastal, Water
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
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In the Investigation program, students will explore the environment around them, learning skills related to observati…

Themes
STEM, Scientific Observation
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
Kindergarden
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Students practice their investigation and observation skills just outside of the classroom.

Themes
STEM
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
Kindergarden
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In the Power Generation program, students will explore how we generate electricity and learn about the trade-offs, in…

Themes
Air Quality, Climate Change, Energy, Waste
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
4th Grade Students / Youth
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“Nature in Your Neighborhood” field trips are designed to help students get to know their local city parks and op…

Themes
Climate Change, Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), Outdoor Learning, STEM
Offerings
Direct teaching
Field trips
Audiences
2nd Grade Students / Youth
3rd Grade Students / Youth
4th Grade Students / Youth
5th Grade Students / Youth
6th Grade Students / Youthmore...
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In the new Marine Ecology program, students will explore the interdependence of different organisms living in the Mar…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), Marine & Coastal
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
5th Grade Students / Youth
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In the Human Impacts program (formerly called “Energy and Natural Resources”), students will take an in-depth look …

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), Waste
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
5th Grade Students / Youth
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Students are guided on nature explorations in local Open Space Preserves, focusing on the natural history, biodiversi…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), Outdoor Learning
Offerings
Direct teaching
Field trips
Audiences
2nd Grade Students / Youth
3rd Grade Students / Youth
4th Grade Students / Youth
5th Grade Students / Youth
6th Grade Students / Youth
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Our trained volunteers guide students in small groups on a hike through the Los Trancos Earthquake trail to explore s…

Themes
STEM, Earth Systems
Offerings
Direct teaching
Field trips
Audiences
4th Grade Students / Youth
5th Grade Students / Youth
6th Grade Students / Youth
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In the Earthquake Geology program, students will explore how earthquake movement creates the land patterns they see i…

Themes
STEM, Earth Systems
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
4th Grade Students / Youth
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In the Bird Traits program, students will explore the concepts of inheritance and variation of traits through the wor…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), Biodiversity
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
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What Was That? In the Biodiversity program, students will imagine they went for a hike and collected clues about an a…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), STEM, Biodiversity
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
2nd Grade Students / Youth
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In the All About Birds program, students will explore the wide variety of birds typically found in our local neighbor…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat)
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
Kindergarden
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In the Adaptations program, students will learn about how animals and plants have adapted to live in specific habitat…

Themes
Conservation (Wildlife/Habitat), STEM, Adaptations
Offerings
Classroom volunteers/presenters
Direct teaching
Audiences
3rd Grade Students / Youth
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