Despite all the uncertainty and unprecedented challenges this year, Biocitizen remains committed to inviting students “off the screen, and into the green!” We are excited to offer a nature After School Enrichment focused on fun nature outdoor classrooms and forest school learning!

Our nature After School Enrichment is an amazing opportunity for your student to get to know our local ecology, explore with their peers, and form lasting connections outside!

The Essentials

Although Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States, our special city is proximal to so many spectacular outdoor classrooms. Some of these include Echo Park Lake, Elysian Park, San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, the Los Angeles River Watershed, and many more!

• Ages: 5 – 12 
• Cost/Day: $60
• Meeting times: 3:00 – 5:30 PM (2.5 hrs.)
• Program Length: (14 Weeks) Sept 7th – Dec 17th
• Days per week offered: 2, or 4 days/week
  • • • •       M/W, T/Th, M-Th (NELA)
• Transportation: drop-off & pick-up provided by families (Covid-19 Protocols)
• Locations: Localized offerings in North East LA, San Fernando Valley, West LA

North East LA – Echo Park, Silver Lake, Elysian Heights, Atwater Village, Los Feliz, Pasadena, Altadena, etc.

San Fernando Valley – North Hollywood, Valley Village, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Encino, Sherman Oaks, etc. 

West LA – Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, Pacific Palisades, etc.

Daily Itinerary

Here’s what a typical day in the field looks like:

3:00 – 3:15 PM – Student Drop-off/Sign-in
3:15 – 3:30 PM – Group Circle + Intros + Plan for Day
3:30 – 4:15 PM – Hiking/Activities
4:15 – 4:30 PM – Snack Break
4:30 – 5:00 PM – Nature Journaling / Nature Craft
5:00 – 5:15 PM – Hike back to the trailhead
5: 15 – 5:30 PM – Closing Circle + Gratitude Share
5:30 – 5:45 PM – Student Pick-up/Sign out

What can we expect from Biocitizen’s “Our Place”?

With an abundance of hiking opportunities, natural-history exploration, sensory awareness games, nature crafts, medicinal plant explorations, indigenous history, and field journaling, your student will form a profound connection to place, all while living in one of the largest cities in the country!

Actively combatting the widespread Nature Deficit Syndrome we bring our students “Off the screen and into the green”. We know that even just a couple hours a day in outdoor spaces can have dramatically positive impacts for your student, including improvements to their mental health, self-confidence, connection to nature, and resilience!

How does that magic happen?

That’s a good question! It all starts with our amazing staff and our unique educational philosophy. Through inquiry-based learning, nature-play, exploration of our biocultural history, and community building techniques, we will help your child stretch their comfort zone!

Our combination of experienced and friendly staff, spectacular outdoor classrooms, community building techniques, and long-term mentorship will provide your child with connections to nature, their peers, and themselves, which will give them the depth of experience you always wanted for them. 

So do you think my child will have fun visiting the same location more than once?

Yes, and here’s why!

Instead of viewing nature as a one-time visit like at an amusement park, we have a slightly different perspective. At Biocitizen, we view our outdoor classrooms, more as an onion, whose true character and inner depth is revealed the more we peel back its layers.

By returning to a particular outdoor locale, it has been our experience that kids really love the mastery that they gain.  Learning to read the subtle nuances of a landscape, tracking seasonal changes, learning where birds nest, which berries are ripe, or where the bobcat sleeps are all acquirable skills. However, this depth doesn’t happen in one visit. This depth of experience grows out of the investment in time and place!

Out of the mouths of babes:

“Something I’ve learned this week… is some of the different bird calls, it’s cool because I don’t usually focus on those things!”  – Armando, 10

“My favorite plant I’ve learned about this week is probably the Lemonadeberry. It’s cool that we get to eat it, and you can put it in your water and then it tastes like lemonade” – Sydney, 11

“Before I started Biocitizen, I wasn’t really good at making lots of new friends. Like, I had one best friend, and that was all I needed. But after coming to Biocitizen, I’ve felt more confident making lots of new friends”                   – May, 10

“One special wildlife moment I had with Biocitizen was… when we got to see a mama bear and two baby bears! They were so cute, I didn’t know bears live in Los Angeles!” – Itamar, 6

Wonder | Connection | Stewardship

Biocitizen LA’s After School Enrichment provides your child with the opportunity to experience the environment in playful, mindful, AND wild ways while exploring the meanings and systems that formed the places we inhabit each day.

​Our Place is designed to “unplug” your child by bringing them into direct contact with “Our Place,” the natural and urban environment of the Los Angeles River Basin Biome.

Our daily explorations bring students into direct contact with LA’s myriad of wild and urban habitats and ecosystems. Our classes are active, immersive, and reflective: We hike, climb, swim, share, and always take time to simply sit and observe the world around us.

Our Philosophy:

Biocitizen LA provides experiential learning via Field Environmental Philosophy (FEP). FEP is simply the practice of inquiry-based learning while we walk! Programs are designed to increase student’s perceptual abilities; stimulate their critical thinking skills; inspire their creative imaginations, and counteract “nature deficit disorder.” Through active physical and mental engagement with “our place,” they gain a deep & lasting appreciation of LA—and of themselves.

On a treasure hunt in pursuit of natural and cultural signs and stories…an active and immersive adventure! Our students walk 1 – 3 miles per day and will get to carry all their belongings!