THE GROWING UP WILD STORY
Growing Up Wild is an outdoor environmental education program that has been providing programs for youth in Santa Cruz County since 2008. Fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit organization, The Children Are Our Future, Growing Up Wild is a part of a bigger network of experiential education programs that share a vision to give youth transformational learning experiences directly in nature.
Growing Up Wild is based on a private five-acre campground in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Located only 15 minutes outside the city of Watsonville, Camp Cruz is an ideal forest setting for hands-on outdoor environmental education. It has a year-round creek, a garden, a covered outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, a sweat lodge, plenty of open space, and more.
With the help of donations and grants, we provide scholarships to youth from low-income family backgrounds who otherwise don't get much opportunities in outdoor education. As part of our commitment to cultural relevancy, we hire staff who are bilingual in Spanish and English. We build partnerships with local schools and community-based organizations. We have worked with the City of Watsonville, the CASA Program, the Santa Cruz County Youth Probation Dept., the Santa Cruz Police PRIDE Program, and schools in Watsonville such as New School High School and Lakeview Middle School. lastly, we collaborate with organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as the Ujimaa Foundation and the Wild Child Homeschool Program.
Growing Up Wild is based on a private five-acre campground in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Located only 15 minutes outside the city of Watsonville, Camp Cruz is an ideal forest setting for hands-on outdoor environmental education. It has a year-round creek, a garden, a covered outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, a sweat lodge, plenty of open space, and more.
With the help of donations and grants, we provide scholarships to youth from low-income family backgrounds who otherwise don't get much opportunities in outdoor education. As part of our commitment to cultural relevancy, we hire staff who are bilingual in Spanish and English. We build partnerships with local schools and community-based organizations. We have worked with the City of Watsonville, the CASA Program, the Santa Cruz County Youth Probation Dept., the Santa Cruz Police PRIDE Program, and schools in Watsonville such as New School High School and Lakeview Middle School. lastly, we collaborate with organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as the Ujimaa Foundation and the Wild Child Homeschool Program.