Outdoor Education

What Outdoor Education does

Outdoor Education is a publicly operated residential environmental education program run by the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), a California government educational agency. It delivers weeklong residential outdoor education experiences to fifth and sixth grade students from all 23 public school districts in San Mateo County, reaching a district system that collectively serves approximately 84,000 students. The program is part of SMCOE's broader Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative.

The program's core product is a structured residential camp experience delivered in cooperation with the San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch, located in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains in La Honda, California. Curriculum is built around hands-on environmental literacy, science, sustainability, teamwork, and leadership outcomes in a natural setting, rather than around any proprietary software or technology platform. The program has accumulated sustained recognition, including the SMCSBA Kent Award (2023), the California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award (2023), the Sustainable San Mateo County Award (1999), and California Green Ribbon Schools recognition across 2018–2025.

The business model is public-sector: the program is funded through school district allocations and county office budgets rather than direct tuition, and pricing is not publicly disclosed. SMCOE as a parent organization manages nearly $117.98 million in state, local, and federal funding annually, but no revenue figure is broken out for the Outdoor Education program specifically. Distribution is direct-to-district via the County Office, with program schedules published for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 school years indicating continued forward operation.

Name

Outdoor Education

Legal name

San Mateo County Office of Education

Website

https://smcoe.org

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Outdoor Education, operated by the San Mateo County Office of Education, provides weeklong residential environmental education programs for fifth and sixth grade students across all 23 public school districts in San Mateo County, delivered at the YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Environmental Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Outdoor & Wilderness Education Schools (Field-Based Learning) (THAAAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation) (EDAMABAD)

Keywords

• Residential environmental education
• Outdoor learning programs
• Environmental literacy curriculum
• School district programs
• Nature-based education

Headquarters

HQ city

Redwood City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Outdoor Education provides weeklong residential environmental education programs for fifth and sixth grade students across all 23 public school districts in San Mateo County. The program is conducted in cooperation with the San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch, located in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains in La Honda, California. It delivers hands-on environmental literacy, science, sustainability, leadership, and teamwork learning experiences in an immersive natural setting, and is part of SMCOE's broader Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative.

Product overview

The Outdoor Education program is a single, integrated educational program operated by the San Mateo County Office of Education in partnership with the San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch. The program offers residential outdoor education experiences for students in a camp setting within the Santa Cruz Mountains redwoods. Documents available include program schedules for 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• YMCA Camp Jones Gulch Partnership: The program is conducted in cooperation with the San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch, located in La Honda, California in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Products and services

• Outdoor Education Program A weeklong residential environmental education program for fifth and sixth grade students from public school districts in San Mateo County, delivered in cooperation with the San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains in La Honda, California. The program provides immersive environmental literacy, hands-on science, sustainability, leadership, and teamwork instruction in a natural camp setting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 88.9% of students in County Office programs recognized for positive behavior

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones GulchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe San Mateo County Office of Education conducts its award-winning Outdoor Education program in cooperation with local schools and the San Francisco YMCA Camp at Jones Gulch. The camp is nestled in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains in La Honda, California, providing the natural setting for residential outdoor education experiences for students.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Project WET Foundation: Project WET is a global nonprofit that develops and disseminates water, environmental, and sustainability education curricula used by schools and educators worldwide. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive, supplying the type of curriculum frameworks that COE outdoor education programs often adopt.
• YMCA of San Francisco — Camp Jones Gulch: San Francisco YMCA's Camp Jones Gulch is the actual facility and operational partner hosting SMCOE Outdoor Education. As the venue provider it is functionally an ecosystem enabler and would be the single most disruptive partner loss; comparable YMCA outdoor camps also host similar COE programs elsewhere in California.

Emerging players

• Living Classrooms Foundation: Living Classrooms delivers hands-on, place-based environmental and maritime education programs for K-12 students, including residential experiences. It overlaps with SMCOE Outdoor Education in the experiential, environmental literacy niche but operates across multiple East Coast sites with a different funding mix.

Direct peers

• NatureBridge: NatureBridge operates residential environmental science programs at multiple national park venues (Yosemite, Golden Gate, Olympic, Channel Islands, Santa Monica Mountains) serving K-12 students. While multi-site and nonprofit rather than single-county, it directly competes for the same residential outdoor environmental education use case and target student populations.
• Walden West Outdoor School (Santa Clara County Office of Education): Operated by an adjacent Bay Area County Office of Education, Walden West delivers residential outdoor environmental education programs to school districts within Santa Clara County using its own on-site camp facilities. It is the closest structural analog to SMCOE's Outdoor Education program in terms of public-sector funding model, residential format, and district-by-district delivery.
• San Joaquin County Office of Education Outdoor Education: SJCOE runs a residential outdoor education program serving 5th and 6th graders from districts across San Joaquin County. It shares the County Office of Education operating model, residential camp format, and environmental literacy curriculum focus with SMCOE Outdoor Education.
• Alameda County Office of Education Outdoor Education: Alameda County Office of Education runs residential outdoor education programs for district 5th and 6th graders, comparable in operating structure, county-wide district delivery, and curriculum scope to SMCOE's program. It is one of the closest regional analogs in Northern California.
• OCDE Outdoor Science School (Orange County Department of Education): The Orange County DOE Outdoor Science School runs weeklong residential environmental science programs for 5th and 6th graders across Orange County school districts. It mirrors SMCOE Outdoor Education's grade band, residential format, and county-office funding model almost exactly, making it a textbook direct peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sanmateocountyofficeofeduc2153
• Facebookfacebook.com/SanMateoCOE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-mateo-county-office-of-education/posts/?feedView=all
• Instagraminstagram.com/sanmateocoe

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Outdoor Education