The TEAM (Teaching Environmental and Agricultural Memories) field trip is a unique education program offered to elementary youth county-wide in partnership with Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District. The content of the TEAM program incorporates the significant role that Sonoma County’s characteristic agricultural landscape plays in environmental stewardship.

About the Program

Funded by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space), the program invites 3rd to 5th grade students to experience our diverse agricultural heritage of Sonoma County on a number of properties to learn about: the importance of maintaining bee populations for apple production, how native pollinators can impact biodiversity, what a CSA is and how they can improve the viability of farms, local supply chains, and how to navigate our local terrain using tools such as compasses and binoculars. TEAM field trips emphasize the importance of partnership among diverse stakeholders in protecting our natural resources and the renowned agricultural landscape of Sonoma County.

The TEAM program serves elementary schools only in Sonoma County. Priority is given to Title I schools, schools with 50% or more students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Scheduling is also completed on a first come first served basis annually with interested schools.

2025-2026 Program

The Sonoma RCD is excited to announce field trip dates for Fall 2025. We will be accepting field trip date requests through Friday Sept. 5th. We will then be sending out final date selections the week after. This is different than our traditional system of signing teachers up. We hope that by offering a request period it allows for more classes to attend the field trip as well as ensure that schools have secured transportation before holding a date for them.

2025 Fall Field Trip Informational Flier
TEAM Program Application
Transportation Reimbursement Application

Please submit your field trip date requests to Maria Wnorowski, Community Engagement Program Manager, at mwnorowski@sonomarcd.org. After your field trip date has been confirmed, you will receive student liability waivers in both English and Spanish and a TEAM Program Agreement Form for your administrators to sign. We will then begin to schedule your pre- and post-classroom visit.

We also want to shoutout Envirchment and Stephanie Lennox. She has supported us in developing curriculum that aligns with California-state standards, including NGSS, and leads both the pre-classroom visit as well as a station at each field trip.

Please contact Maria Wnorowski, Community Engagement Program Manager, at mwnorowski@sonomarcd.org to learn more or with questions. We look forward to seeing you out on the land!

Donations

If you’re interested in sponsoring or donating to the TEAM program please see our donation page for more information or contact Maria Wnorowski, Community Engagement Program Manager, at mwnorowski@sonomarcd.org.

During COVID-19, Gold Ridge and Sonoma Resource Conservation Districts partnered with the Sonoma County’s Ag and Open Space District to take local 3-5th grade students on a virtual field trip to Open Field Farm, a protected organic, biodynamic CSA farm located in Petaluma. Our educators guided classes on an interactive farm tour to learn about the farm ecosystem, visit the CSA barn to collect fresh produce, and buzz through the flower patch to study the farm’s tiniest farmers.

Our virtual program enabled learners to study the diversity of local agriculture from their homes. Students of the TEAM program explored and engaged with the interconnectedness of our landscapes and the people that steward them. They explored questions such as, How do farmers adapt to the seasons? Where does our food come from? Why do we need pollinators?