We at the Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Foundation are excited to share about our new educational program for teens who love the outdoors and may seek careers in nature-related fields.

The MTRP Foundation’s Eco Ambassadors program will offer inspiring programming at the park to a cohort of 20 high school students on Sunday afternoons.

With the MTRP Visitor Center as their learning hub, the teens will hear from speakers about different aspects of Mission Trails, build community around environmental stewardship, and explore fields and careers related to nature and conservation.

They will also explore local ecosystems, learn about monitoring techniques, collaborate with peers on projects, and consider different career opportunities and fields of study. Thanks to a generous grant from SDGE, three groups of 20 students will participate in the Eco Ambassadors program this year. The inaugural session will begin on April 2.

The Eco Ambassadors program is free and open to high school students in San Diego County. There is an application process through which the 20 cohort members will be selected, and youth of color, LGBTQ+, and individuals of all abilities are encouraged to apply.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and accepted candidates will be notified on March 10. The program will take place from Sunday, April 2, through June 4, 2023, and participants will earn an Eco Ambassador certificate at the conclusion of the program.

A link to the application can be found on the homepage of the MTRP website. For assistance during the application process, or for more about the program, contact MTRP Foundation Lead Educator Alissa Lustgarten via email at [email protected].

* For even younger learners, we continue to offer the free Trail Tykes program (pictured). Every second and fourth Sunday and Monday mornings, two- to five-year-old children arrive at the Visitor Center excited for Trail Tykes, a Foundation/volunteer-led story time and craft program. At each session, MTRP Foundation volunteers read a story aloud to the children, sing songs, create a nature-inspired craft, and explore the “small wonders” right outside the Visitor Center’s doors.

* Adult learners will be pleased to know that the MTRP Foundation will resume in-person lectures this spring. Among the talks will be a presentation about mountain lions by naturalist and MTRP Trail Guide Don Endicott. These lectures fill quickly and those on our email list are the first notified about them, so if you don’t already receive our email communications, I encourage you to sign up through the link in the footer of the park’s website homepage: mtrp.org. You can also call the MTRP Foundation at (619) 668-3280.

Photo credit: Angie Ollman

– Jennifer Morrissey is executive director for Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.