Natural devastation becomes an opportunity for education

When wildfires destroyed wilderness in the Santa Ana Mountains belonging to a local environmental education program, its staff rallied to use the devastation as a learning opportunity. Working through local schools, Inside the Outdoors conducted fire ecology walks at its Rancho Soñado headquarters at Silverado Canyon to demonstrate to Orange County students the vital role that wildfire plays in Southern California’s ecosystems. With assistance from the Orange County Community Foundation and a grant from the Disaster Relief Fund -- established at OCCF by the County of Orange in 2007 -- Inside the Outdoors was able to stabilize nature trails damaged by the fires, ensuring continued community access to environmental education.

Additional Impact Stories:
Education - Draper Family Foundation Scholarship                                                                                    
Scholarships - Joshua Dean Hall Memorial Scholarship
Health & Wellness - PE4ME
Human Services - Angels Charity
Disaster Relief - Disaster Relief Fund
Arts & Culture - Barbara Steele Williams Fund
Legacy - Bila Legacy Fund

For a printable PDF file of all the impact stories, click here for our 2008 Annual Report.