Connecting Children to Nature

With the current California wildfire season in full swing we are reminded of the affects fire had on the Inside the Outdoors program at Rancho Soñado in 2007.

Rancho Soñado is Inside the Outdoors’ (ITO) headquarters and a natural outdoor education site. Rancho Soñado is located in the midst of pristine chaparral at the edge of the Cleveland National Forest. It is used by Orange County elementary and high school students for outdoor environmental education field trips.  It is also the home of ITO’s traveling animal collection used for in-class programming. 

The facility was significantly impacted by the Santiago fire in October 2007. Thanks to a well-executed fire prevention plan and the efforts of firefighters, the facility’s buildings, animal shelters (all animals were evacuated), and infrastructure were spared.  Damage included the total loss of trail structures, several outdoor learning stations (including shade structures and amphitheatre seating), and native chaparral ground cover.  After the fire the facility was at risk of erosion and had reduced capacity to support school field trips.

To stay committed to our mission of providing students, teachers, and families with multiple environmental education experiences at Rancho Soñado, there was no question we would rebuild. In order to allow the burn area to recover but also return school field trip programs to full capacity, new school field trip teaching areas were constructed with the help of Disney VoluntEARS and Boeing Engineers. These teaching areas included new hiking trails, step and bridge construction, and wilderness area teaching stations. 

Inside the Outdoors committed to using the burn area as a learning opportunity for students, teachers, and community members. Fire is an integral part of the chaparral ecosystem that comprises most of the natural area at Rancho Soñado.  As such, we integrated fire ecology into the field trip curriculum for students visiting the site.  Students lessons included; fire prone ecosystems, the fire triangle, natural and manmade ways that fires start, fire followers such as obligate resprouters, facultative seeders and obligate seeders, how fires affect plants and animals in an ecosystem and if the ecosystem is able to recover.

In 2008, Parker, a student from Wagon Wheel Elementary School, attended a program at Rancho Soñado where he learned about fire ecology and was able to see firsthand the effects of a fire and witness the recovery to native plants and local animals. What started as lessons on a field trip turned into a career for Parker.  He is now a firefighter with Cal Fire Riverside.  We’d like to think Inside the Outdoors’ fire ecology program sparked his curiosity and started Parker on his lifelong path.

The fire ecology program has since been adapted and is now being taught by Inside the Outdoors at Irvine Regional Park where fire loss was experienced in 2017.

Inside the Outdoors Summer Day Camps nurture a natural curiosity — and kindness. From late June through early August, Inside the Outdoors (ITO) offers a series of week-long day camps for kids, led by the program’s field naturalists.

ITO’s Summer Day Camps run Monday through Friday and feature lessons, activities and games related to the theme of the week. Three sites located in Southern California include Inside the Outdoors’ Rancho Soñado headquarters in Silverado Canyon, the Shipley Nature Center at Huntington Beach Central Park and Irvine Regional Park in Orange.

Funding for Aspiring Anglers Scholarships, in honor of Allen Chariton, provide sponsorships for youth in underserved communities. For many of the youth served it is the first time they have been able to go to summer camp and an experience they will never forget.

Campers experience unique activities that incorporate science, fun, learning and leadership while tying lessons on nature, wildlife and the environment to kindness as part of  Orange County Department of Education's One Billion Acts of Kindness campaign.  #kindnessonebillion

Activities included fresh water pond experiments, wetland field studies, and native plant growth during a year with significant rainfall. Summer Campers learn how animals adapt to changing ecosystems as they became young scientists and performed field studies at Rancho Soñado, Shipley Nature Center, and Irvine Regional Park.

New Summer Camp themes are created each year. The 2019 ITO Summer Camps included:

Biggest, Brightest, Best Week Ever  

Celebrate all the "-est" of our natural world. Summer Campers learn about the fastest, tallest, slimiest, and most unique parts of our natural world through games, activities, and crafts.

Outdoor Superstars  

All about skills that will make your time in the outdoors the best it can be. Learn navigation and survival skills, make tools to help you learn and enjoy the outdoors. Summer Campers learn to Leave No Trace but only footprints and take nothing by memories.

Get Your Scientist On!          

Explore what it's like to be a scientist in different fields like Biologist, Engineer, and Meteorologist with games, crafts, experiments, and outdoor fun. Summer Campers conduct hands-on experiments, collect data, and make observations as they become Junior Scientists.

Water Week  

Dive into the world of water with games, science, and exploration of the wet stuff we can't live without. Summer Campers stay cool in the hot summer days while exploring the "What About Water" all around us.

Scales, Feathers, and Fur      

All about animals. Meet animals, observe them, and celebrate all their adaptations and habitats. Campers hike the local trails, explore the OC Zoo, meet some local species up close and personal, and take an OC Safari train ride.