Mission
To build Earth stewardship by connecting youth to nature through joyful, hands-on, place-based environmental education experiences.
Vision
A world where people’s actions cultivate a thriving, healthy environment that supports all life.
Core Beliefs
- Humans are an inseparable part of the environment.
- Joyful, hands-on experiences in nature cultivate an environmental ethic.
- Global impact begins with local, place-based environmental education.
- Today’s youth are tomorrow’s environmental stewards and leaders.
Core Values
- environmental stewardship
- community
- inclusiveness
- collaboration and leadership
- stewardship of the organization’s resources (financial, human, facility, history/legacy)
Operational Guidelines
- We ensure access to environmental education for all youth.
- We ensure a continuum of environmental education opportunities so that youth can grow from entry level educational experiences to become stewards of the environment.
- We endeavor to create a world-class facility and an endowment that will ensure the fulfillment of our mission in perpetuity.
- We work primarily within Boulder County, in order to provide models for replication throughout Colorado and beyond through innovation and success. We work outside Boulder County when our expertise and resources are needed and the programming offered compliments and does not negatively affect the delivery of our Boulder County programs.
- We hire and support only the best environmental educators.
- We measure our success in terms of quantity of youth educated, the quality of their experience, the knowledge they gain, and the actions they take to cultivate a thriving, healthy environment.
- We annually review this document, our strategic plan, our financial position, and the needs of our community (people and environment) to ensure a sustainable and relevant future for our organization.