Embudo Valley Tutoring Association
Grants Awarded
The Embudo Valley Tutoring Association, in partnership with the Embudo Valley Library, will implement an agriculture-based outdoor program for K-6 students in the Embudo Valley, enhancing their understanding of local natural and agricultural resources. Participants will engage with guest educators from the farming community, fostering skills in productive gardening that promote recreation, aesthetic appreciation, and nutritional awareness. In case of COVID-19 restrictions, the program will provide activity bags to ensure continuous exploration and connection with the community and environment.
The Embudo Valley Tutoring Association and Embudo Valley Library offer an after-school program four days a week for local school-aged children. This free program emphasizes cultural relevancy, agriculture, and land stewardship through outdoor activities whenever weather permits. The objective is to supplement in-school learning with outdoor experiences, under the guidance of a director and an assistant. Despite having a dedicated building for the program, the focus remains on outdoor learning and recreation.
The program engages children in gardening and farming activities that celebrate local culture, such as apple harvesting and seed gathering. By providing Grab n Go activity bags for use on program days off, participants will enhance their outdoor skills and creativity, fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world and promoting community involvement. Overall, the initiative aims to inspire environmental appreciation and encourage hands-on learning among youth.
We provide a safe outdoor and indoor (when needed) space for children to learn and recreate in a rural area with no afterschool childcare services for families. Much of school time is spent indoors working in classrooms or on computers. The After School Program gives Dixon/Embudo children a chance to get outside and play together after school. First, 15-20 minutes are spent on the school playground. Then, after a walking transfer to the service site (which this year will be either the Presbytarian Mission or the new building by the library-depending on the speed at which construction of the new building reaches completion–on the library and library orchard grounds), children engage in organized activities as detailed below. 2. Provide opportunities for children to learn about local culture, specifically agricultural and land stewardship practices. The After School Program follows a seasonal curriculum which begins with the close of the growing season, harvest, and seed collection for the following year and then progresses to planning, preparing, and planting before school closes for the following summer. Emphasis is given to locally grown foods, native plants, and heritage seed preservation. 3. Provide opportunities for children to enjoy their community’s environment through creative and scientific activities, sports, gardening, and organized or unstructured play. Program leaders lead children into the community for a variety of purposes, bringing them new perspectives on their home environment. Adjacent to the library are Bureau of Land Management lands with hiking and biking trails, a dry river bed where fossils and rocks can be gathered, a baseball diamond, and dramatic landscapes to be explored and enjoyed. To the other side, behind the schools, runs the rio Embudo, which is surrounded by its own rich environment and localized wildlife. The library grounds themselves house a community garden, a pollinator garden, fruit trees, an open field, and an acequia.