Since the launch of the Mother Lode River Center’s Greenhouse Action Plan (GAP) in February, 2007, it has become a fertile branch of the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship. It has brought about major changes and developments starting with our waste vegetable oil fueled Ecobus and on-site refinery, photovoltaic solar-electric arrays, solar hot water heaters, and an organic garden and greenhouse. We began to present these projects to our guests, who were pleased, impressed, many downright excited. This, we realize is the budding of a new branch, one that even more directly includes you!
We are very excited to offer Sustainable Practices, the newest program now available at the Mother Lode River Center. Though unconventional, we believe its aim is vital: to inspire and empower people through progressive experiential education and recreation. Program participants will explore what sustainability truly means by learning about the applications and effects of Solar Power, Alternative Fuel, Organic Gardening, Recycling/Reuse, Conservation, and Advocacy through a variety of group and individual challenges and games led by our facilitators. Team-building, communication, problem solving, and other life skills taught in our challenge ropes course that, combined with our fun and innovative curriculum, will spark the students’ sense of wonder and curiosity and direct that energy toward intellectual challenges. Several California education science standards for grades K-12 are also met by the curriculum and can be tailored to your specifications. We offer full and half day programs, as well as individual modules, which can be combined with any of our other programs by request.
How Sustainable Practices Works
As with all of our programs, Sustainable Practices is designed to be hands-on and can be tailored to meet the needs of youth and/or adults. You can combine it with one or more of our other programs to create fun and informative multi-day adventures. Or, spend the day at our camp on the American River and learn how a little creativity and initiative can result in dramatic changes in your use of energy, and the various ways we can all reduce our impact on the ecosystems that support us all.
