Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Committee applies for planning grant for the Outdoor Education Center

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.
The existing house at the Cain Ranch compound, home of the Committee's Outdoor Education Center. Expansion would allow more kids to experience the Mono Basin. Photo by Elin Ljung.
One of the existing buildings at the Cain Ranch complex, home of the Committee's Outdoor Education Center. Site improvements would allow more youth to experience the Mono Basin. Photo by Elin Ljung.
Last week the Mono Lake Committee submitted a grant request to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to complete a Specfic Plan and Environmental Impact Report for an outdoor education center at the Cain Ranch. The site is located near Highway 158N and Highway 395, on property leased from the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. The Cain Ranch has been serving students from Los Angeles and California since 1995, connecting youth to their city’s watershed through education and stewardship work. Thousands of Los Angeles and Eastern Sierra youth have participated in restoration work on Mono Lake’s tributary streams, helping to heal the damage from past decades of excessive water diversions. The program has enjoyed years of steady growth and success, but the site does not support a high-quality experience for the number of student groups that stay overnight in the Mono Basin. There is exciting potential to improve infrastructure, demonstrate water and energy conservation, while allowing for a diversity of education and stewardship programs in the region. To learn more please contact Bartshe Miller at (760) 647-6595.
A groups of Los Angeles youth sponsored by City Council Member Tony Cardenas at Mono Lake in August 2010.
A group of Los Angeles youth at Mono Lake who stayed at the Cain Ranch in August 2010. These youth were sponsored by LA City Council Member Tony Cardenas.
Planning Grant project summary Mono Basin Outdoor Eduction Center

Education links:

Education at Mono Lake

Outdoor Experiences Program

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