School Programs
The Learning Among the Oaks school programs serve public elementary school students in San Luis Obispo County. Our programs are curriculum based and pair classroom sessions with outdoor educational experiences including hikes for our older elementary students. We currently engage with students from nine schools in four different school districts. We dream of adding additional schools and districts in the future. We submit grants and seek sustainable funding to allow us to bring quality outdoor environmental education to more SLO county youth.
Thanks to district and school support, we are able to offer hikes, a library project, and the Oak Ambassador program to the following schools.
Santa Margarita Elementary School | Vineyard Elementary School | Ocean View Elementary School
Home of the Mustangs
Santa Margarita Elementary School
Santa Margarita Elementary School (SMES) is where LATO started in 2005. It is a K–5th grade rural school within the Atascadero Unified School District. SMES is surrounded by the privately owned 13,000 acre Santa Margarita Ranch, one of California’s historic ranchos that is still operated as a working cattle ranch.
Home of the Eagles
Vineyard Elementary School
Vineyard Elementary School (VES) is a 3rd–5th grade rural school within the Templeton Unified School District (TUSD). Since 2018, we’ve worked with VES faculty, staff and families to make the most of outdoor learning opportunities at the VES Nature Trail located on TUSD property a short walk from campus.
Home of the Cougars
Ocean View Elementary School
Ocean View Elementary School (OVES) is a K–6th grade suburban school located within the Lucia Mar Unified School District. A 4th grade field trip to Santa Margarita Ranch LATO Trail launched LATO at the school in 2016. By 2017, OVES had its own trained junior oak naturalists leading hikes at the Pismo Preserve.
