Existing law requires the Division of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation of the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop and implement a grant and cooperative agreement program to support the planning, acquisition, development, maintenance, administration, operation, enforcement, restoration, and conservation of trails, trailheads, areas, and other facilities associated with the use of off-highway motor vehicles, and programs involving off-highway motor vehicle safety or education.

This bill would require the Director of Parks and Recreation to establish the Outdoor Equity Grants Program to increase the ability of underserved and at-risk populations to participate in outdoor environmental educational experiences at state parks and other public lands where outdoor environmental education programs take place. The bill would require the director to, among other things, give priority for funding to outdoor environmental education programs that primarily provide outreach to and serve pupils who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, foster youth, or pupils of limited English proficiency, as provided. The bill would authorize the director to accept private funds to support the grant program. The bill would establish the California Outdoor Equity Account in the State Parks and Recreation Fund and would require any private funds donated for the grant program and any funds appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of the grant program to be deposited into that account. 

(1) Have a curriculum that is aligned to the content standards for California public schools adopted by the State Board of Education, including, but not limited to, the Next Generation Science standards, or the California History-Social Science standards.

(2) Foster stewardship of the environment and include, when available, curriculum established pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 71300) of Division 34.

(3) Integrate instruction in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

(d) The director may give additional consideration to outdoor environmental education programs that do any of the following:

(1) Maximize the number of participants that can be served.

(2) Demonstrate partnerships between public, private, and nonprofit entities.

(3) Contribute to healthy lifestyles, sound nutritional habits, and improved outdoor educational and recreational experiences.

(4) Include service learning and community outreach components for purposes of building partnerships between participants and local communities.

(e) The director may provide funding for professional learning, based on approved content standards, for the staff and volunteers of those programs given priority pursuant to subdivision (c).

(f) In implementing the grant program, the department shall work with relevant stakeholders to promote and implement the grant program in a manner that effectively reaches a wide geography throughout the state and ensures that regions in northern, central, and southern California, including both urban and rural areas, are adequately considered with an emphasis on addressing the transportation needs within these regions.

NOW RECENT IN 2020 GRANT REQUEST TO IMPROVE PARK UPGRADES CALLED SERCRITY LIGHTING WOW-WOW BUT NOT HEAR !!!!!

We need just one color to surface to the block walls with installing new block wall to stop them attacking property and to plant vine to cover the entire walls to combated graffiti and in long term end graffiti save money $$$$$$$ .

Blog post written by: Mike Edmondstone, Schools Communications Officer for the Edible Playgrounds programme from charity Trees for Cities.

Philip Hammond’s budget announcement in late October about a £2bn real-term increase in mental health funding will surely be welcomed by the education sector. There has been an alarming increase in mental health issues among the young, with researchers finding the proportion of children and young people reporting they have a mental health condition has grown six times in England in just two decades.

In 1995, 0.8% of 4-24 year olds in England reported a long standing mental health condition. By 2014 this has increased to 4.8%, according to the study conducted by University College London, Imperial College London, University of Exeter and the Nuffield Trust academics, published in the journal Psychological Medicine. The study also found an increase in records of mental health conditions between 2008 and 2014 of 60% in England, and 75% in Scotland.

Other reports have been just as damning. UK charity Action for Children surveyed 5,555 people aged between 13 and 15 from across the country and 1,840 – 1 in 3 – were found to have a mental health issue such as depression or inability to focus. And an Education Policy Institute investigation found that referrals to children’s mental health services in England had increased by 26% over the past five years.

There is evidence to suggest a factor in this rise could be the trend towards increased screen time among young people. A government report into children’s well-being found that ‘time spent playing video games was significantly and negatively associated with young people’s well-being’.

It went on to say that: ‘Children who spend more time on computers, watching TV and playing video games tend to experience higher levels of emotional distress, anxiety and depression’ and that, ‘The evidence suggests… each additional hour of viewing increases children’s likelihood of experiencing socio-emotional problems and the risk of lower self-esteem’.

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The Mental Health Foundation recommend a number of ways to help keep children and young people mentally well, including ‘being in good physical health, eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise’, ‘having time and freedom to play, indoors and outdoors’, and ‘going to a school that looks after the well-being of all its pupils’.

I’d be keen to add to that the importance of spending time in nature. Gardening is one method that is repeatedly shown to provide substantial mental and physical benefits, with reductions in depression, anxiety and stress, as well as a lowering of blood pressure, all linked to regular work in the garden.

Gardening gives us a sense of responsibility and thus a sense of purpose and worth. It connects us to nature, allowing us to feel at one with our surroundings. It is also great exercise and thus releases serotonin and dopamine, both of which make us feel good. And it helps people live mindfully, in the present moment, focused on the task at hand instead of allowing thoughts to wander into potentially unpleasant corners of the mind.

There are even antidepressant microbes found in soil: mycobacterium vaccae has been found to mirror the effects on neurons that antidepressant drugs provide, and there is evidence to suggest the bacteria stimulates serotonin production.

So my suggestion is that schools should look at gardening as a way to mitigate the increase in mental health issues among schoolchildren. The benefits to the mind are clear. It would also benefit the body, with food growing likely to contribute to increased fruit and vegetables in the diet.

Gardening at school doesn’t have to be an extracurricular activity either. It can be fully incorporated into the curriculum and used as a stimulating way to teach numerous different subjects. Learning outside benefits the children and also helps provide the teacher with a creativity that the classroom environment sometimes stifles.

If you don’t have the space or the know-how, you can start small: a few planters, some seeds, soil, water and sunlight will see you growing some crops. And your ambitions and knowledge can grow with them.

If you are keen to discuss possibilities of creating an Edible Playground growing space at a school, contact the author at mike@treesforcities.org. If you are already growing some crops – no matter what scale – at your school, think about entering the Edible Playground Grow On, Film It film competition. Gardening related prizes will be available for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

More information

• Mental health and well-being trends among children and young people in the UK, 1995–2014: analysis of repeated cross-sectional national health surveys
• One in three young people have mental health troubles, survey finds
• Access to children and young people’s mental health services – 2018
• How healthy behaviour supports children’s’ well-being

About the Author
Mike Edmondstone is the Schools Communications Officer for the Edible Playgrounds programme from charity Trees for Cities. Based in London’s Kennington Park, he promotes Edible Playgrounds to schools and coordinates enquiries at a national, regional and local level.

 Could gardening help the mental health of school children? | Learning Outside the Classroom (learningoutsidetheclassroomblog.org) 

 If you are keen to discuss possibilities of creating an Edible Playground growing space at a school, contact the author at mike@treesforcities.org. If you are already growing some crops – no matter what scale – at your school, think about entering the Edible Playground Grow On, Film It film competition. Gardening related prizes will be available for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.