Education
Community
Stewardship
Our Mission
The Wild Classroom Project inspires the next generation of community-rooted, ecologically aware leaders through hyper-local native classrooms and our unique Whole Community Curriculum.
Centered on compassion, agency, and stewardship, we empower students to engage with and tend to the natural world, connect with their own histories and identities, and take meaningful action toward a healthier, more vibrant future for all our communities.
Our Story
The Wild Classroom Project is the brainchild of David Newsom, who converted his own sterile yard into a refuge for the butterflies, birds and bees of his region in 2015. Since then, David has helped to convert countless lawns into habitat through his Wild Yards Project, appeared in countless podcasts, been featured in articles around the globe and speaks publicly on the profound value of this essential (and absurdly gratifying) work.
In 2023, David began working with schools to create outdoor classrooms that offer kids respite from urban dissonance while offering a deeper understanding of the “whole community” of plants and wildlife surrounding their school. Inspired by traditional cultural practices of tending land and driven by increasing rates of mental unwellness among teens and pre-teens due to limited access to green spaces¹, David created The Wild Classroom Project in the summer of 2024. The WCP combines living classrooms with a Whole Community Curriculum that celebrates the natural and cultural history of place and empowers students with agency and stewardship while fostering deep connections to their surroundings—all while meeting national and local curriculum standards for science, sociology, and history.
Our People
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David Newsom
Founder / Creative Director
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Jenna Friedenberg
Grant Coordinator / Administrator
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Zoe Alamillo
Curriculum Director / Field Educator
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Haley Hopkins
Botanist / Field Educator
Board of Directors
Founder, Lafayette American
Toby Barlow
Aleigh Lewis
Founder, Angelenos For Green Schools
Chris Paine
Filmmaker & Activist
Katherine Pakradouni
Founder, Seed to Landscape
Carol Bornstein
Author & Horticultural Consultant
Help us grow
Your tax-deductible donation allows us to empower the next generation of environmental stewards and leaders.
Get in touch
Interested in learning more or working with Wild Classroom Project? Please use the form here and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you!
