Los Angeles Inspiring Connections Outdoors, an entity of the Angeles Chapter that focuses on providing outings for underserved students, believes The Three Rs -- respect, responsibility, and resilience -- are as important as the more traditional ones of reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic for those students about to enter adulthood.
With funding from the California Coastal Commission’s Whale Tail grant, LA ICO, as it's known, is set to launch a new pilot program with four high schools. The project is called Launching the Next Generation of Marine Stewards. Through this initiative, LA ICO will strive to promote respect for the marine environment and for each other; responsibility for one’s actions and decisions, especially decisions that impact our natural surroundings; and resilience, both environmental and personal.
The Whale Tail grant, by the way, comes from funds collected by Californians who purchase Whale Tail license plates.
Over the next 14 months, 100 students from four area high schools will be involved in visiting sites important to the health of the ocean, learning from docents and guest speakers, and developing a culminating service project.
The goal is that these activities will encourage students to take responsibility for engaging in environmental stewardship, both during the program and beyond in their adult life, whatever career path they choose.
LA ICO welcomes your participation—as a co-leader, as a volunteer, as a guest speaker or as a fund-raiser. Please join us. You'll find more information at www.angelesico.org.