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Discover. Experience. Connect.

GIVE

Discover. Experience. Connect.

GIVE

ED UCATION

Meet Your Backyard

To foster stewardship of the outdoors, Get Outdoors Nevada seeks to create environmental literacy. This is an individual's understanding, skills, and motivation to make responsible decisions that considers his or her relationships with natural systems, communities, and future generations.

We strive to provide student learners with:

  • An increased understanding of the unique aspects of Nevada's outdoor landscapes.
  • Engaging, exciting programs that enrich children’s lives by providing experiential learning opportunities.
  • Sound scientific information that inspires a lifelong respect for the outdoors.
  • Skills for critical thinking and strategic problem solving.

In creating our programs, we have been committed to ensuring they are sustainable. Therefore, we’ve grown our programs incrementally, allowing us to support community needs while ensuring long-term viability of our numerous initiatives.

Water in the Desert Field Trip

Mojave Yucca

Meet Your Mojave!

Meet Your Mojave is an interpretive curriculum that increases knowledge about habitats and natural resources.

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Beetle

Outdoor Classrooms

Outdoor Classroom programs and field trips help youth discover and experience nature.

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Outdoor Classroom

Get Outdoors Nevada Microgrants

Get Outdoors Nevada Microgrants connect youth to the outdoors by providing field trip transportation grants to schools & community organizations.

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Kids - outdoor learning

Microgrant Recipients

Get Outdoors Nevada receives requests to deliver these programs to many organizations in the community!

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Kid curiousity

NGSS Program

Get Outdoors Nevada delivers Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) programs to help CCSD schools increase science proficiency through outdoor experiences.

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Get Outdoors Nevada - Schoolyard Habitat

Schoolyard Habitat

Restore Your Backyard (RYB) creates and protects the native habitats for local wildlife in urban locations.

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Mojave Max

Mojave Max

Get Outdoors Nevada partnered with the Desert Conservation Program to deliver the Mojave Max Education Program.

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Interns appreciate the outdoors

Internship Program

Get Outdoors Nevada offers Internships to introduce participants to outdoor work and careers.

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Meet Your Mojave!

Meet Your Mojave is an interpretive curriculum that increases knowledge about natural resources. With a focus on habitats, land and water use, outdoor recreation, and other natural resources, this program addresses the value of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) education for youth through outdoor classroom education.  GON has developed a range of curriculum intended for both formal and informal education.  Examples of curriculum include Early Childhood Program - Camping 101, Leave No Trace Camp Oh-No! (developed for elementary and middle school ages, and the Trash Timeline (developed for Middle School).

Outdoor Classrooms

Outdoor Classroom Program

This program address Nevada’s need for an outdoor science education program by providing a S.T.E.A.M. curriculum, transportation, program supplies, and logistic support to schools and community organizations.

Destinations include:

  • Lake Mead National Recreation Area
  • Desert National Wildlife Refuge
  • Spring Mountains National Recreation Area
  • Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area
  • Clark County Wetlands Park
  • Other regional parks and trails

The Get Outdoors Nevada Microgrant Program

The Get Outdoors Nevada Microgrant Program offers reimbursable field trip funding statewide!

The basics:
  • Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
  • Funding is awarded in $200 blocks and is reimbursed.
  • Each reimbursable microgrant can be used to cover transportation costs for science or outdoor-based field experiences for schools or community organizations.
  • Applications must be submitted a minimum of two weeks before the scheduled trip.
Our History:

In 2012, Get Outdoors Nevada (GON) began facilitation of the NV Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights Alliance which identified a lack of transportation as the major barrier for youth to visit Nevada's diverse outdoor places. In addressing this community need, GON developed The Get Outdoors Nevada Microgrant Program where schools and community organizations could apply for reimbursable funding. In seven years, GON has supported 636 bus trips transporting 26,576 participants to public lands, parks, and museums throughout Clark County. Now, we are able to offer this program to communities all over our beautiful state!

Download the application at the link below:

Field Trip Application

Thank you to our Program Sponsor

NVE Foundation Logo_2017-02_FINAL 2

For more information contact microgrant@getoutdoorsnevada.org

Get Outdoors Nevada Microgrant Recipients & Participants

Addeliar Gulf / Eva Wolfe Elementary Schools
After School All Stars - Lifetime Adventures
Aldeane Ries Elementary School
Allen Elementary School
American Prepatory Academy
Andre Agassi College Prep
Arbor View High School
Arturo Cambeiro Elementary School
Bailey Middle School
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Blue Diamond Elementary School
Boys and Girls Clubs - Desert Pines
Boys and Girls Clubs - Downtown
Boys and Girls Clubs - Engelstad
Boys and Girls Clubs - Gaughan
Boys and Girls Clubs - Gulbis
Boys and Girls Clubs - Kish
Boys and Girls Clubs - Lied
Brown Middle School
Camp Cartwheel
Children's Discovery Museum
Children's Heart Center
Clark County
Clark County Gang Prevention
Club Christ
Colorfully Candid Paradigm
CP Squires Elementary School
CT Sewell Elementary School
Dean Allen Elementary School

Derfelt Elementary School
Desert Pines High School
Desert Rose Adult High School
Detwiler Elementary School
Doris Reed Elementary School
East Career Technical Academy
Elanie Wynn Elementary School
Eldorado High School
Elise L. Wolff Elementary
Estes McDoniel Elementary School
Explore Knowledge Academy
Families in Nature
Fay Galloway Elementary School
Frias Elementary School
Gene Ward Elementary
Gilbert Magnet School
Gordon McCaw Elementary School
Goynes Elementary School
Grant M. Bowler Elementary School
Green Our Planet (Gibson MS)
Harmon Elementary School
Harry Reid Elementary School
Helen Herr Elementary School
Helen Marie Smith Elementary School
Helldorado Farm Days
Hummel Elementary School
I Have A Dream Foundation
Jack Dailey Elementary School

Jay Jeffers Elementary School
Jim Bridger Middle School
Jr. Master Gardeners Program - UNCE
K.O. Knudson Middle School
Kit Carson International Academy
Las Vegas High School
Las Vegas High School PAL Program
Leaders in Training
Liberty High School
Mater Academy of Nevada
Moapa Valley High School
Mohave Accelerated Learning Center
Monaco Middle School
Mountain View Elementary School
Myrtle Tate Elementary School (Communities in Schools)
Nate Mack Elementary School
National Park Service
Nevada Learning Academy
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Northwest Career and Technical Academy
NPS Centennial veterans group
Paul Culley Empowerment School
Pincrest Academy-Inspirada
Rainbow Dreams Academy
Robert Lake Elementary School
Robert Lunt Elementary School
Robert Taylor Elementary School

Ruby Duncan Elementary School
Sandy Searles Miller Academy
Saville Middle School
Schofield Middle School
Shadow Ridge High School
Silverado High School
Sothern Nevada Water Authority
Southern Nevada Trails Day
Southern Paiute Cultural Exchange
Spring Valley High School
Tarkanian Middle School
The Embracing Project
Tom Williams Elementary School
Triggs Elementary School
Twin Lakes Elementary School
Ulis Newton Elementary School
US Fish & Wildlife Service
US Forest Service
Ute Perkins Elementary School
Walter Bracken STEAM Academy
West Career and Technical Academy
Whitney Elementary School
Winchester Cultural Center
YMCA Centennial Hills
YMCA Durango Hills
YMCA Heinrich
YMCA Skyview

NGSS Program

Explore Your Backyard (EYB)

Next Generation Science Standard Program

Get Outdoors Nevada (GON) is pleased to offer Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS)-aligned science modules for K-5 during the school year!

Each module consists of three classroom programs and one associated field trip.  GON will send a trained science educator to your classroom to instruct all programs and lead the field trip.  GON will supply all staff, materials, as well as, coordinate bus transportation to your school. There is no cost for qualifying schools.

Each NGSS module is related to Life or Earth Sciences.  Activities are 3-Dimensional -  using Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, as well as Crosscutting Concepts to achieve a specific grade level performance expectation and engage various learning styles.

Modules are meant to be completed by an entire Elementary School grade level in approximately two weeks.

“This is a terrific opportunity to give students educational experiences that support topics we teach in class.”—Dean Allen ES Teacher 

According to the Education Week Quality Counts 2017 report card, Nevada schools are ranked worst in the nation – 50th out of 50. In Southern Nevada, only 58.6% of 5th graders are proficient in science.

Because of this, in 2017 Get Outdoors Nevada (GON) implemented Next Generation Science Standards STEAM Modules in the Clark County School District.  Developed with CCSD Science Teachers to meet new science standards, and lead by an GON Certified Interpretive Guide, each module is a dynamic unit of three classroom programs and a related field trip.  All supplies, materials, transportation, logistics, and staff for these science units are provided by Get Outdoors Nevada.

Discover our comprehensive Next Generation Science Standard modules for K-5!

Through our three-dimensional learning module, schools receive three classroom programs, one associated field trip, and program materials. All programs are facilitated by a trained GON educator and come at no cost for qualifying schools. Catch a glimpse of what our biomimicry classroom looked like for first graders at 100 Academy of Excellence - Imagine Schools in the video below.

Grade Program Field Trip Product
K Birds and Nests Wetlands Park Bird Nest Model
1st Biomimicry Springs Preserve Animal Adaptation Model
2nd Seed Movement Lake Mead NRA Desert Seed Model
3rd Flood Control Plans Wetlands Park Flood Control Plan
4th Landforms and Erosion Lake Mead NRA Erosion Map
5th Food Webs Lake Mead NRA Habitat Specific Food Web

GON is improving student interest and attitudes about science, helping CCSD schools increase science proficiency, and encouraging personal responsibility towards our outdoor places. Program success and outcomes are measured through teacher evaluations tied to a professional logic model.

This is the only program in Southern Nevada that combines standards based classroom programs with real world experiences. We are grateful to Barrick and the Clark County Outside Agency Grant program for their support!

100% of surveyed teachers participating in GON programs feel that "Outdoor places help my students learn more effectively."

Schoolyard Habitat

Get Outdoors Nevada - Schoolyard HabitatBuilding upon the Schoolyard Habitat project guide designed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), our Restore Your Backyard program engages school children and community organizations to work together to rehabilitate natural spaces to their original ecological conditions. With assistance and tools provided by Get Outdoors Nevada’s education department, school grounds are transformed into beautiful Mojave Desert spaces that serve as outdoor classrooms and laboratories.

Connect with Nevada's special outdoor places through our Native Habitat program.

Our program rehabilitates urban spaces into beautiful native habitat for threatened and endangered species. See how over 100 community volunteers joined us on November 17, 2018 to create City of North Las Vegas' largest Schoolyard Habitat at Craig Ranch Regional Park. This habitat provides food, water, cover and space for local migratory birds and pollinators!

What is the Schoolyard Habitat Program?

Schoolyard Habitat provides a knowledgebase on fostering naturalized habitat areas that are created hands-on by students, for students. It is ecologically sound and integrates with overarching school curricula including, but not limited to, English, science, mathematics, history, geography, social studies, and art. Further, the interdisciplinary program is designed to cultivate a commitment to long-term environmental stewardship in students.

Typical projects created in Clark County include native Mojave Desert habitats that benefit migratory birds, pollinators such as the Monarch butterfly, and desert tortoises. In other areas of Nevada, the program sites can range from riparian to coniferous forest habitats.

It is Get Outdoors Nevada’s goal to increase the number of school and community participants statewide. In order to develop a Schoolyard Habitat, apply to GON for assistance.  If selected, GON will then provide funding and technical guidance. Please contact Cheresa Taing, Program Coordinator at ctaing@getoutdoorsnevada.org or call (702) 997-3350 to learn more about bringing Restore Your Backyard and the Schoolyard Habitat program to your school.

Mojave Max

In partnership with the Clark County Desert Conservation Program, Springs Preserve, and the Clark County School District, Get Outdoors Nevada is proud to be a part of the Mojave Max team and deliver programming directly to schools so that everyone can learn how to keep the Mojave Desert safe!

Students explore Mojave Desert weather, Desert Tortoise biology, and the importance of conservation in each educational assembly or classroom Tortoise Talk. Ultimately, each of these topics gives them useful information they can each use to win the Mojave Max Emergence contest by guessing the date and time Mojave Max will emerge from his burrow for the first time each Spring.

For more information on which schools are participating and when, please contact Aaron Leifheit at aleifheit@getoutdoorsnevada.org or call (702) 997-3350.

Community Organizations/Fellow Non-Profits

Clark County School District and Charter Schools

  • West Tech Academy
  • Las Vegas HS
  • Elise Wolff ES
  • Myrtle Tate ES
  • Sandy Searles ES
  • Robert Lunt ES
  • Arbor View HS
  • Saville MS
  • Robert Lake ES
  • Derfelt ES
  • Doris Reed ES
  • Nevada Learning Academy
  • Schofield MS
  • Grant Bowler ES
  • Brown MS
  • Ruby Duncan ES
  • Dean Allen ES
  • Mater Academy of Nevada
  • Moapa Valley HS
  • East Career and Technical Academy
  • Frias ES
  • American Prep Academy
  • Kit Carson International Academy
  • Tarkanian MS
  • Tom Williams ES
  • Jack Dailey ES
  • Goynes ES
  • Jim Bridger MS
  • Harmon ES
  • Ute Perkins ES
  • Paul Culley Empowerment School
  • Bailey MS
  • Northwest Career and Technical Academy
  • Silverado HS
  • Jay Jeffers ES
  • Explore Knowledge Academy
  • Nate Mack ES
  • Desert Rose Adult HS
  • McMillan ES
  • Rainbow Dreams Academy
  • Twin Lakes ES
  • Shadow Ridge HS
  • Harry Reid ES
  • Elaine Wynn ES
  • Monaco MS
  • Mountain View ES
  • Sandy Miller Academy
  • Fay Galloway ES
  • Walter Bracken STEAM Academy

Community Organizations/Fellow Non-Profits

  • Green Our Planet
  • Southern Paiute Cultural Exchange
  • Southern Nevada Water Authority
  • Big Brothers, Big Sisters
  • Clark County Gang Prevention
  • Children’s Discovery Museum
  • The Embracing Project
  • Afterschool Allstars - Lifetime Adventures
  • YMCA - Bill & Lillie Heinrich
  • YMCA - Durango Hills Community Center
  • YMCA - Centennial Hills Community Center
  • YMCA - SkyView Multi-generational Center
  • Boys and Girls Club (BGC) of Southern Nevada - Desert Pines Clubhouse
  • BGC - Gaughan Clubhouse
  • BGC - Englestad Clubhouse
  • BGC - Lied Clubhouse
  • BGC - Downtown Clubhouse
  • BGC - James Clubhouse
  • BGC - Kish Clubhouse
  • Nevada Partnership of Homeless Youth
  • Helldorado Farm Days
  • Childhood Cancer Foundation - Camp Cartwheel
  • I Have a Dream Foundation (Core Academy)
  • Children’s Heart Center of NV
  • Southern Nevada Agency Partnership
  • Child Focus
  • Communities in Schools
  • University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
Who Explored?