Friends of the Desert Mountains

This year, Friends of the Desert Mountains (FODM) is celebrating 37 years of connecting people to the land through land conservation, community education and scientific research. Realizing that future generations will be the stewards of our earth, FODM has turned our attention to educating our local children and youth through our Environmental Connection por Vida (ECV) education program. What began as a pilot program of environmental education for school age children, ECV has grown to become the only afterschool program of its kind here in the Coachella Valley. Since 2020, our ECV program has made great strides expanding into all 14 Coachella Valley Unified School Districts elementary schools. We provide an outdoor lesson and field trip each Wednesday to 3rd graders. Trips have included the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountain National Monument Visitor Center, La Quinta Cove, Anza Borrego State Park and Salton Sea Recreation Park.

We also expanded summer programs throughout the Coachella Valley that include 15 in-classroom environmental courses at local day care centers and youth organizations, and five trips to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Students learn about outdoor recreation opportunities, safe and responsible hiking, native plants and local wildlife in the region. Students learn interactively with engaging talks, worksheets, art supplies, and hands-on projects. They are equipped with sun hats, backpacks and reusable water containers. They join our education staff on a short hike where we identify plants and animals, describe some of the ways these species survive in our desert climate, and ways we can take care of our natural resources and local wildlife.

In partnership with the City of Palm Desert, Anderson Children’s Foundation, and other sponsors, we produce the annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival, a fun, educational experience for the entire community, held at the Palm Desert Civic Center Park in March.

Our program provides Coachella Valley -specific, hands-on environmental science education and field trips for local school-aged children. We are incorporating cultural components to all of our programs, acknowledging the celebrating the rich Indigenous history of our area, as well as making sure to meet the stated demands and needs of local schools for education opportunities that incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM). As the majority of our Environmental Education programming is through educational outdoor activities, professional experienced youth educators lead children on guided hikes. We prepare children for their Natural Area visit so they will get more out of their time in nature. While continuing to provide quality outdoor programs, we will build on our previous program successes.

We focus on providing outdoor educational opportunities to children from the Eastern Coachella Valley because despite the richness of the natural resources surrounding it, the ECV is severely under-served, especially when it comes to outdoor education. We hope to inspire and empower ECV children to become the solutions to or planet’s environmental and social challenges by connecting them with joy to the land they inhabit.

Contact: Oscar Ortiz, Director of Education

Phone: (760) 568-9918

Email: oortiz@desertmountains.org

Friends of the Desert Mountains’ Explore Coachella Valley Program introduces children to the beauty and wonder of the natural world right here in the desert. Explore Coachella Valley is a growing outdoor education program that links the Next Generation Science Standards to hands-on, real-world observations of nature and natural phenomena. Our purpose is to get kids active and outdoors and engaging in scientific inquiry—all the while enjoying every moment of it! By reflecting on these positive, direct experiences with nature, kids begin to think critically about how humans and the natural environment are interdependent. Our goal is to get kids to connect with the land and all its creatures. By fostering that connection, our hope is that they will make conscious decisions that will enable both humans and the natural environment to thrive in the 21st century and beyond.