Tech aims to sponsor field trips: Redwood City students get trip through new program

Redwood City middle school students visited a natural setting this week during a field trip they otherwise may not have been able to enjoy, if not for a charitable initiative with an innovative vision.

Students from John F. Kennedy Middle School traveled to the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City for free, under the sponsorship of GoPlaces, a program designed to coordinate science-centric field trips for schools in underprivileged communities.

The field trips, which took place Monday, March 14, through Wednesday, March 16, are part of an effort to spark student interest in learning more about natural environments, while making it easier for teachers to get their kids out of the classroom.

“We want to make information resonate and create experiences in different ways than showing a video or reading a book,” said Carrie Chen, the GoPlaces program manager and director of Education at Bay.org.

GoPlaces is born from a collaboration of Bay.org, a nonprofit environmentalism advocacy agency, and the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee’s sustainability initiative, focused on promoting ecological awareness.

Redwood City students are included in the roughly 50 classes from schools across the Bay Area granted free field trips through a pilot program offered by GoPlaces, said Chen.

The pilot program is just the tip of the iceberg though, for a much larger and ambitious goal.

Due to budget constraints, many teachers in public schools who wish to send their classes on field trips face roadblocks in funding transportation to get students out of the classroom, said Chen.

A survey of 70 teachers showed 56 would take their students on more field trips, if transportation was less expensive and easier to arrange, according to a poll conducted by Bay.org.

The ultimate goal of GoPlaces is to develop a network of charitable corporate donors willing to sponsor field trips for teachers who struggle to find the necessary resources.

To make process even more efficient, the program also aims to use the Internet to connect the funding source and teachers with a transportation agency that has the vehicles available to take the students on the field trip.

Chen likened the vision of the program to Uber, Lyft or other ridesharing services combined with the crowdsourcing movement, in which teachers from underserved communities could use technology to advertise their desire to send their students on educational adventures.

Sponsors could then commit the money needed to fund the field trip, and companies with the buses or vans could sign up to accommodate the transportation.

Though the goal seems challenging, Chen admitted, she said initial research shows the means and appetite exist locally for bringing such a program to fruition.

“Every meeting we had had makes us believe in the vision, and that the vision is attainable,” she said.

She said a variety of hurdles still exist though, as those who operate the program still need to work with technology partners to develop a platform to connect teachers with donors and transportation agencies.

Corporate sponsors are needed as well, said Chen, and more work should be done with school districts throughout the Bay Area to better understand the regulations which need to be navigated before the program can launch.

“There are still rocks that we haven’t turned over yet,” she said.

But Chen remains a firm believer in the core mission of the initiative, citing the need for students to get out of the classroom and develop a connection with nature, which could feed their potential ambition for pursuing a career in environmental sciences.

During the field trips to the Marine Science Institute, students had an opportunity to go on a boat ride, dig in the mud along the shoreline and learn more about the natural habitat in their backyard, said Chen.

“To get their hands dirty and wet is a whole other experience,” said Chen.

She said building an interest in nature during a student’s formative years can also be integral in building lifelong passion for environmental advocacy.

“When they become adults and are asked to vote and act on things such as the environment, they are going to have those experience that they can reflect back on,” she said. “It is building a connection to nature.”

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105