Client Spotlight: Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the trend toward sedentary living could mean that today’s children are the first generation at risk of having a shorter lifespan than their parents. Research also shows that kids who spend more time outside are healthier, happier and perform better academically. Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center is on a mission to engage children and families with the natural world in order to help them succeed in school and in life.To say that Westcave has been busy is an understatement. In the last 7 years, they have created a cross-sector collaborative, merged it with an another group, and integrated it as a core program; they developed a strategic plan, created a new business model, and adopted a new name; they hosted the first-ever Technology in Nature Summit, ran a Kickstarter campaign, refurbished an Outdoor Adventure Bus, and were selected to lead the local establishment of a nation-wide partnership here in Austin. And Mission Capital has been by their side the whole way.
Planning Brings Innovation to the Children and Nature Movement
In 2009, then Westcave Preserve launched the Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin. Shortly thereafter, a second collaborative called the Consortium of Green Schools was launched. With similar missions and goals, the organizations sought to merge in order to avoid competition and duplication of services. In 2012, with Mission Capital’s guidance, the two collaboratives merged under Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin (CiNCA), which was was then adopted as a core program of Westcave the following year. Following the merger, Westcave partnered with Mission Capital to create a three-year strategic business plan, articulating a vision and long-term goals and adopting a new name to reflect the new business model.
“Through this work we became Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center and strengthened our impact beyond the boundaries of our preserve,” says then Board Chair, Hayden Brooks
The average American child spends more than 8-11 hours each day in front of electronic screens, and only a few minutes outside. In April 2015, Westcave and CiNCA hosted the first-ever Technology and Nature Summit right here in Austin. This sold-out event brought together environmental educators and leaders from all over the world to explore new and innovative ways that technology could be used to inspire outdoor learning and play. In 2016, Westcave purchased and refurbished a used school bus, called The Roadrunner Outdoor Adventure Bus, to provide a creative, low-cost transportation option for budget-challenged Title 1 schools, and for all 31 CiNCA members to take underserved kids on nature-based field trips and outdoor adventures.Each new level of success brings a new level of challenges. What’s the best business model for our Roadrunner bus? Should it be solely grant-funded or does it offer an opportunity for earned revenue for Westcave? And as our collaborative work grows on a local and national level, what best practices can we implement to make that process as effective as possible? Brooks thanks Westcave’s continued work with Mission Capital for helping them find those answers.
“I’m certain that the good work of Mission Capital has helped us discover more of the answers – and also taught us to ask more of the right questions,” adds Brooks.
Nationally-Recognized to Lead Public-Private Partnership
In 2016, the city of Austin was selected as one of seven cities in the U.S. to be awarded a planning grant for a new collaboration called Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN), a national public-private partnership bringing together more than two dozen nonprofit, private and city agencies to ensure that all kids get to play and learn in the outdoors.
“These seven cities are on the leading edge of the children and nature movement … and, in fact, could help define the nature-rich city of the 21st Century.” Richard Louv, Author of Last Child in the Woods and C&NN Co-Founder
Austin was selected due largely to the existence and success of CiNCA, which will be launching as a pilot site for Cities Connecting Children to Nature. The selected cities will receive technical assistance to complete community assessments and will also have extensive opportunities for peer exchange and learning. Mission Capital will facilitate the initial working group for Austin’s involvement in the CCCN initiative in partnership with the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department to develop a collective impact model to steward these efforts moving forward.