Wake Up to Nature
Wake up to nature 2025
On Saturday, March 8th, 2025, Environmental Volunteers (EV) successfully hosted our annual “Wake Up to Nature” event at the Mitchell Park Community Center in Palo Alto. The 175 attendees that joined us made the gathering a resounding success!
The morning was filled with inspiration, connection, and celebration of the work that we do to nurture the next generation of environmental stewards. Attendees became 1st graders through our bee activity, mingled with old and new EV’s alike, and enjoyed an inspiring speech by Scott Loarie, Executive Director of iNaturalist. We extend our deepest gratitude to all our sponsors and participants who shared this heartwarming morning with us!
Check out our event photos to see more about this exciting event. All of the photos used are gratefully provided by Chris Cassell from ProBonoPhoto.org.
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The event not only met but exceeded its fundraising goals, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and two of EV’s incredible nature-loving supporters, Ralph Eschenbach and Carol Provan who generously pledged the $50,000 Nature Lovers matching challenge! This success will further aid Environmental Volunteers in their mission to inspire local kids and families to develop a love for science and nature. If you missed the event, you can still make a difference! Consider making a donation so we can continue to inspire local kids and families to develop a love for science and nature.
“We are true believers in EV’s work to bridge the science and nature gap for underserved elementary school children. As environmental challenges continue to grow, we feel EV’s immersive science lessons and nature experiences are more important than ever.”
– Ralph Eschenbach and Carol Provan
You can still make a difference and donate!
Since 1972, EV has provided hands-on science and nature education to over 550,000 children in more than 400 schools in 15 school districts in the Bay Area, and across California and New York City. Your support will help us expand our efforts and reach more students in underserved communities next school year. Together, we can empower future leaders to protect and preserve the natural world for years to come.
Wake Up to Nature Event Speakers
Alison Cormack has worked for Hewlett-Packard, Google, and the people of Palo Alto as a Councilmember. Her favorite job was running the library bond in 2008 so she is looking forward to celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Mitchell Park Library and Community Center in November. Alison has two adult children and one friendly labradoodle and loves hiking in Foothills park.
Scott Loarie is the CEO of iNaturalist. Scott has BS & MS degrees in biology from Stanford and a PhD in environmental science from Duke. Scott was a research fellow in Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institute for Science and a lecturer in Geography at UC Berkeley with research focusing on global biodiversity loss from African elephants to the California flora. He co-directed iNaturalist with Ken-ichi from 2011-2023.
Anu Ramamurty is the Executive Director of Environmental Volunteers and climate change campaigner. Over the past 15 years, Anu has built and led global communication campaigns for businesses, governments and NGOs around pressing social and environmental issues. She has worked to give voice to frontline communities affected by climate change and was one of an army of climate advocates who played a role in achieving the Paris Climate Agreement. A firm believer that kids are powerful agents of change, in 2019, Anu founded Kat Kid Adventure, an eco-educational awareness brand on a mission to raise a generation of eco-heroes.
Thank you to our generous sponsors!
Environmental Volunteers (the EV) is an environmental education non-profit founded in 1972.
Our mission: We engage volunteers to inspire a love of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education.
We train volunteers to deliver hands-on science and nature learning through our classroom programs, summer camps, community events, college led Sprout Up programs hosted in nine universities, and at our EcoCenter in the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. It is our vision to give everyone an opportunity to give back to nature and the next generation.