Urban Youth Nature Project©️

Who we are... "We are a dedicated team of environmental enthusiasts, educators, and community leaders committed to bridging the gap between urban youth and the natural world. Our Urban Youth Nature Project aims to inspire and engage young people in exploring, understanding, and preserving nature within their urban environment. Through hands-on activities, educational programs, and community initiatives, we strive to foster a deep connection with nature and cultivate a new generation of environmental stewards. By providing opportunities for outdoor experiences and environmental education, we empower youth to become active participants in creating a sustainable future." - Jonathon Flores Certified CalNat/Founder of Outdoor Adventures+ & Urban Youth Nature Project #urbanyouth #nature #project #bipoc #outdoors #ecology #conservation #sustainability #diversity

Our Mission... "is to provide equitable access to outdoor experiences, cultivate a sense of environmental stewardship, and inspire sustainable practices within communities, all while celebrating and integrating cultural diversity and inclusivity. What does this look like? 🚪 Equitable Access to Outdoor Experiences: Objective: Ensure that all individuals, regardless of background or socioeconomic status, have the opportunity to experience and enjoy outdoor activities. Actions: Create programs that address barriers to access, such as transportation or equipment. Partner with organizations that serve underrepresented communities. Cultivate a Sense of Environmental 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 Stewardship: Objective: Promote a strong sense of responsibility and care for the environment among individuals and communities. Actions: Offer educational workshops, volunteer opportunities, and community events focused on conservation and environmental care. ♻️ Inspire Sustainable Practices: Objective: Encourage communities to adopt and maintain practices that minimize environmental impact and support sustainability. Actions: Share practical tips for sustainability, provide resources for reducing waste, and highlight successful sustainability initiatives. 🎉 Celebrate and Integrate Cultural Diversity and Inclusivity: Objective: Recognize and incorporate diverse cultural perspectives and practices within environmental and outdoor activities. Actions: Collaborate with diverse groups, include culturally relevant practices in programming, and create an inclusive environment where all cultures are respected and valued. We hope that by breaking down our mission into these components, it'll help us focus on specific goals and actions for each area, making it easier to implement and measure our progress." - Jonathon Flores Certified CalNat/Founder of Outdoor Adventures+ & Urban Youth Nature Project

Our Vision... "is to create a vibrant community where young people of color can reconnect with the natural world, develop leadership skills, and advocate for a more sustainable and equitable environment. Through our programs, we aim to cultivate a deeper sense of belonging and responsibility towards the planet, bridging the gap between urban life and nature while celebrating and elevating diverse voices in the environmental movement. What does this look like? 🫂Creating a Vibrant Community: We want to build an engaging and active group of people, specifically targeting young people of color. 🔗Reconnect with Nature: Our goal is to help these young individuals develop a stronger relationship with the natural world, possibly through outdoor activities and environmental education. 👷🏽‍♂️Develop Leadership Skills: We aim to provide opportunities for these young people to grow as leaders, equipping them with skills they can use in various contexts. 📣Advocate for Sustainability and Equity: We want to empower them to champion environmental causes and work towards a fairer, more sustainable world. 🌱Cultivate Belonging and Responsibility: Our programs are designed to help participants feel they belong in the environmental movement and understand their role in protecting the planet. 🌉Bridge Urban Life and Nature: We plan to connect urban communities with natural spaces, highlighting the value and relevance of nature in city life. 🎉Celebrate and Elevate Diverse Voices: Our vision includes amplifying the voices and experiences of young people of color within the environmental movement. In essence, our vision aims to integrate environmental awareness with leadership development, equity, and community engagement." - Jonathon Flores Certified CalNat/Founder of Outdoor Adventures+ & Urban Youth Nature Project

🌎We don’t just leave trash behind. We leave time behind…on pause. Every item we drop into the land carries its own timeline. Some vanish in weeks. Others outlive generations. And some don’t really disappear at all…they just shrink into smaller versions of themselves, waiting in soil, water, and wind. Nature doesn’t erase what we leave. It absorbs it, adapts around it, or carries the burden forward. This is why cleanup isn’t just about what’s visible. It’s about what lingers long after we’ve walked away. The land remembers everything…even what we forget. 💭What’s one item here that surprised you the most? And what’s one thing you’re committing to never leave behind again?

🌱Roots met pavement today, and something beautiful grew. For the first time, Outdoor Adventures+ set up a booth at the Earth Day 661 Festival right here in Bakersfield, CA…and it felt like planting a seed in our own backyard and watching it instantly come alive. We had powerful, real conversations with so many of you, sharing the heart behind what we do through Outdoor Adventures+, the @__uynproject__ , and @___naturespalette___ . Every handshake, every story, every moment of curiosity reminded us why this work matters… because the outdoors belongs to all of us. A huge thank you to @greencleanpros and @earthday661 for inviting us to stand as community partners. You created space for connection, learning, and joy and we’re grateful to have been part of it. Grateful for the organizers and every non-profit, business, musician, and food vendor who made Earth Day 661 feel like true community. And to everyone who stopped by our booth…thank you for your time, your questions, your laughter, and your openness. You didn’t just pass by, you showed up. This is just the beginning. The seeds are planted. Now we grow together. 🌿 *Thanks to my wife @__beckyflowers__ for boothing with me. 🌎What does Earth Day look like in your community and how do you stay connected to the land where you live?

🌎Bakersfield, the Earth is calling…will you answer? This Saturday, April 18th, come be part of something bigger than all of us at the 3rd Annual @earthday661 Festival presented by @greencleanpros at Beach Park from 10 AM to 3 PM. This is more than an event, it’s a living, breathing celebration of our planet and the people working to protect it. Bring your family, your friends, and your curiosity. Explore hands-on activities hosted by local nonprofits, businesses, and outdoor groups all rooted in conservation, stewardship, and community. Whether you're planting seeds, learning something new, or just soaking in the energy, there’s a place for you here. And don’t forget to stop by our booth, we’d love to connect, share stories, and grow something meaningful together 🌱 Free admission. All ages welcome. Just bring your love for the Earth. 🌿 Will we see you there? Tag someone you’re bringing with you and tell us what you’re most excited to experience in the comments below 👇🏽

The trail is calling and this Saturday, we’re answering. Join us for a morning hike at Wind Wolves Preserve... 🗓 Date: April 11th, 2026 🤝 Meet Time: 7:15 am at South High School or 8:00 am at Wind Wolves Preserve 🥾 Start Time: 8:15 am 🏞Trail: Tule Elk Trail, 8 miles, 1,500 ft. elevation gain This is a special three-way collaboration between South High School Alpine Club, Urban Youth Nature Project, and Outdoor Adventures+. Bringing community together through movement, nature, and shared experience. We’ll spend the morning slowing down, breathing deep, and reconnecting with the land and each other. This isn’t just a hike, it’s community, it’s culture, it’s healing. Whether you’re new to the outdoors or this is already part of your rhythm, there’s space for you here. Expect rolling hills, wide open skies, and moments to pause, observe, and take it all in together. Invite someone who needs this. Let’s walk together. 📸Photo by: @tekkstreks 💭Drop a 🌿 in the comments if you’re joining us!

🌿 April, let’s root into renewal 🌿 Longer days settle into warmth. The hills hum with life. Wildflowers paint the land in color, and the air carries the quiet energy of transformation. April invites us to root deeper, to not just notice growth, but to become part of it. To tend to what’s blooming within and around us, and to honor the balance between rain and sun, rest and becoming. Our April calendar is live, creating space to explore, learn, and root deeper in community. Whether you’re stepping onto the trail for the first time or returning like a familiar season, there’s space for you here. Come as you are. Walk in the light. Let the season stretch you. 📅 Swipe to see what’s ahead. 📍 Details, times, and sign-ups will be shared with those who RSVP. 🌿 All are welcome. 🌎Earth Month 🟩Tuesday, April 14th: Panorama Park, Bakersfield, CA (Cleanup) w/ @__juanflowers__ 🟩Saturday, April 18th: Earth Day 661 Festival, Bakersfield, CA (Festival) w/ @earthday661 & @greencleanpros 🟩Tuesday, April 21st: Kern River at Hart Memorial Park, Bakersfield, CA (Walk) w/ @__juanflowers__ 🟩Tuesday, April 28th: East Bakersfield, Bakersfield, CA (Cleanup) w/ @__juanflowers__ 💭Which event are you most excited for this month?

🌻Spring does not arrive all at once, it whispers before it sings. Long before the flowers show their faces, the Earth begins her quiet work. Beneath your feet, where your eyes do not wander, roots begin to stretch and remember their purpose. The soil softens, just enough to receive, just enough to give. This is where Spring begins…in the unseen, in the places most people forget to look. 👂🏽Listen. The wind changes its language first. It carries a different story now, warmer, gentler, filled with promise. The birds begin to answer, one by one, like relatives calling out across the land, reminding each other: we are still here… we made it through. 👁Watch closely. The buds do not force themselves open. They do not compete with one another for who blooms first. Each one listens to the sun, to the rain, to the rhythm placed inside of them since the beginning of time. And when the moment is right, they open…without fear, without doubt. 🌱This is how you must learn to move. You come from people who understood these rhythms. People who knew that life is not meant to be rushed, but honored. They watched the rivers, and learned how to keep going. They watched the seasons, and learned when to rest, when to grow, when to let go. Spring is not just a season, it is a remembering. A remembering that even after the coldest nights, warmth returns. A remembering that what looked lifeless was only resting. A remembering that growth does not always make noiseit often happens in silence. So do not be discouraged if you feel like you have been in your winter. Winter is not your ending. It is your preparation. Like the flowers, you do not have to bloom before your time. Like the rivers, you do not have to question your direction. Like the birds, you will find your way back to yourself. ⌚️Take your time. Step outside and place your hands on the land. Feel her waking up. Listen to what she is teaching you. Notice what is stirring, what is softening, what is ready to rise not just around you, but within you. Because Spring is not something you wait for…it is something you become. 💭What is your favorite thing about Spring? Comment 👇🏽

📚✨ Story Time at the Park is back! ✨📚 Join us on March 14, 2026 for our second Story Time at the Park event of the year. Same place, same time! This month we’ll be reading The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle in partnership with @uynproject Jonathon Flores and CSUB student Darlene Lopez. What to expect: 📖 Story time for kids 🍕 Pizza and refreshments 🎨 Activities for families & free play 🧠 Parent workshop led by a former teacher and reading specialist 🚻 Portable restroom available Come help us build a culture of literacy in East Bakersfield! Building readers and stronger families in East Bakersfield, one story at a time. 💛📚#eastbakersfield #literacymatters

🌼 March, let’s rise with the light 🌼 Longer days. Warmer air. The first wild blooms stretching toward the sun. March invites us to awaken, to notice what’s budding, what’s breaking through, and how the land reminds us that growth is both gentle and bold. Our March calendar is live, creating space to explore, learn, and root deeper in community. Whether you’re stepping onto the trail for the first time or returning like a familiar season, there’s space for you here. Come as you are. Walk in the light. Let the season stretch you. 📅 Swipe to see what’s ahead. 📍 Details, times, and sign-ups will be shared with those who RSVP. 🌿 All are welcome. ♀️ Women's History Month 🟨Tuesday, March 3rd: Panorama Vista Preserve, Bakersfield, CA (Hike) w/ @__juanflowers__ 🟩Saturday/Sunday, March 7th-8th: Catalina Island Experience, Catalina Island, CA (Backpacking) 🚫At Full Capacity w/@itspattyr & @liquidfoxiq 🟩Tuesday, March 10th: Lake Ming, Bakersfield, CA (Walk) w/ @__juanflowers__ 🟨Tuesday, March 17th: Hart Memorial Park, Bakersfield, CA (Hike) w/ @__juanflowers__ 🟥Saturday, March 21st: Slide Mountain Trail, Castaic, CA (Hike) w/ @diego_ventures x @shs.alpine.club x @__uynproject__ 🟩Saturday, March 21st: Brightwater Trail to Pocket Loop Trail, Huntington Beach, CA (Birdwatching) w/ @hikingwithsun x @___naturespalette___ x @n_o_c_s x @drinkrivr 🟨Saturday/Sunday, March 21st-22nd: Joshua Tree NP Experience, Joshua Tree, CA (Backpacking) w/ @itspattyr & @liquidfoxiq 🟨Friday-Monday, March 27th-30th: Outdoor Adventures+ 6 Year Anniversary, Redwood NP/SP Experience, Arcata, CA (Camping/Hiking) 🚫 At Full Capacity w/ @_outadvplus_ ❓️Which event are you most excited for this month?

🗓What if the month you were born held a lesson the land has been trying to teach you all along?🌿 Nature moves in seasons, and so do we. Each month carries its own rhythm, its own invitation to grow, rest, explore, or reflect. When we step outside with intention, the trail becomes more than a path; it becomes a mirror. The cold months teach resilience, the blooming months remind us of renewal, the hot months call us into courage and balance, and the quiet months invite gratitude and legacy. This isn’t about astrology or coincidence, it’s about awareness. The land is always offering guidance. The question is whether we slow down enough to listen. Your birth month can be a doorway, a starting point, a personal reminder that your journey has a natural pace and a natural purpose. When you align your adventures with reflection, every hike, shoreline walk, or forest pause becomes a lesson instead of just an outing. You’re not just exploring the outdoors, you’re exploring yourself. Step onto a trail this week and ask not only “Where am I going?” but also “What is this season teaching me?” 💭What lesson does your birth month hold for you and how can you live it out the next time you step outside?