Outdoor Experiences program activities

The Outdoor Experiences (OE) program connects urban youth to the source of their water through outdoor activities. Canoing, hiking, and service projects develop appreciation and stewardship of students' natural and urban watershed.

OE provides outdoor learning experiences that involve muscle-power recreation, while introducing a water conservation ethic through the success achieved at Mono Lake. OE is about learning, having fun, exercising outdoors, and giving back to the land through stewardship projects.

Paddling among tufa towers on Mono Lake. Alkali flies, brine shrimp, and birds are a paddle-stroke away.

Another Jeffrey pine tree planting project completed on Rush Creek. Resoration work continues on Mono Lake's tributary streams, some that flow through City of Los Angeles land.

Hiking high up in the Los Angeles watershed, 350 miles north of the city, in the high Sierra Nevada.

A student takes a break to write in his OE journal.

Students observe the enginnering required to bring high-quality Sierra Nevada water to Los Angeles. A local diversion dam marks the transition between natural and urban watersheds.

OE program activities include:

• night hike in the Jeffrey pine forest
• South Tufa walk
• canoeing on Mono Lake
• hiking to the Sierra divide—the edge of the Los Angeles and San Francisco watersheds
• tour of the Los Angeles Aqueduct
• exploring ghost towns and Eastern Sierra cultural history
• Panum Crater hike
• birdwatching at Mono Lake County Park
• stewardship projects—impromving trails and the watershed