Environmental Volunteers Inc

Inspiring a Love of Science and Nature

Who We Are:

Environmental Volunteers is an environmental education non-profit founded in 1972. Our goal is to inspire a love of nature in people of all ages. Each year, we reach over 10,000 kids in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties through school programs and field trips to local nature preserves.

We work to ensure that natural science education is fun, hands-on, and available to all members of our community. That's why we also offer nature programs and activities at our EcoCenter, aimed at inspiring enviornmental stewardship and deepening our connection with the natural world.

 

Our Volunteers:

Each year, our dedicated volunteers inspire a love of nature in people of all ages. We train everyday people (like you!) to deliver hands-on programs. In the 2014-2015 school year, our 100+ active volunteers gave 6,949 hours of their time to nurturing the next generation of nature stewards!

 

Our Mission:

To promote the understanding of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education.

 

EcoCenter & Community Programs:

The EcoCenter is a public nature center and education resource. Through events and community programs, the EV offers educational, hands-on science and nature learning to people from all backgrounds. Programs include: Kid Powered!, Women in Science, Youth Leadership Board, guided walks, nature art exhibits, interactive touchscreen exhibits, public lectures, nature craft activities, and lively outdoor summer camps.

 

Testimonies from Teachers and Students:

"Every year, the EV has come to our school to provide expert instruction and hands-on science experiences to our students from kindergarten through their fifth grade year. Here's why the EV is so important to us: we are a Title I school. We are a school that is under great pressure to raise our math and literacy scores. When the EV work with my students, I always renew my sense of wonder at how children can touch, smell, and giggle their way to knowledge."

Donna Hamane, 1st grade teacher at George Mayne School, Alviso

 

"Thank you so much for providing this learning opportunity for my students. They have begun playing a Native American game at lunch recess and searching for acorns. Several have tried carrying over what they learned by doing follow-up activities at home, like building a shelter out of back yard materials, making their own cordage, and grinding their own acorn meal."

Heather Peterson, 3rd grade teacher Las Lomitas School, Atherton

 

“Dear Environmental Volunteers,
I really liked your presentation. I can’t wait to see you again. I remember all the animal prints and the once-alive animals we got to feel. I remember that owls do not digest bones, they only digest the meat. I also remember how soft some of those animals were. I really liked doing the animal prints. I remember that all cats are toe-walkers. I liked finding animal bones. It was so much fun having you here!"

Olivia, 3rd grade, Bishop Elementary School, Sunnyvale

 

Fact:

The EV regularly serves Title I schools where a high percentage of students are from low-income families. At these schools, less than half of the students have a basic proficiency in grade-level science, and 75% come from low or extremely low-income families.

 

Fact:

A UC Berkeley Bay Area study revealed that 80% of K-5th grade teachers spend only 60 minutes or less per week on science, and 16% spend no time on science at all. The EV provides elementary schools with hands-on classroom and field trip programs that help more than 400 local teachers meet state science standards.

 

Fact:

In March and April 2016, the EV brought natural science education to over 2,300 students in classrooms and 1,260 on field trips! One of our most popular learning stations, “Animal Tracks” shows students how to identify the tracks of deer, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, raccoons, and skunks. A field trip to Huddart Park allows students to discover the animals’ habitat (and even find their scat!).

 

Join us in connecting others to nature. Visit www.EVols.org.