ABOUT

Mission: 
The guiding principle of Wild for Schools is always the full immersion of children and young people in nature. In this case, nature recreated or replicated on school campuses with wild California plants.
Vision:
Making a thousand campuses bloom
Values:
Immersion in nature has two great attributes:
  1.  A calming and therapeutic effect. Many studies have been done on this and the effect has a long history. The Japanese have an ancient concept called “forest bathing” and the British know about the calming effect of nature on children after immersing kids in nature at their “forest schools.” Then, too, children are often more social and cooperative after nature immersion. Certainly with today’s stresses kids should have more and more opportunities to encounter the balm of wild scenes on school campuses. Another term lately for the benefits of nature is "social/emotional education."
  2. Contact with nature encourages intense observation and exploration. Therefore, enabling an educational effect beyond the scope of the normal, indoor classroom. Shouts of ‘what’s that?’ or ‘look, a lizard!’ and ‘look, a butterfly!’ are testimonies to that fact.
Background:
The genesis of the idea for Wild for Schools grew slowly over time from the creation and stewardship of Prisk Native Garden, a large schoolyard habitat/nature center on the campus of Prisk Elementary School in Long Beach. Founded by teacher Candace Jennings, and designed by native-plant enthusiast Mike Letteriello, Prisk grew into being the very template and model for any schoolyard habitat in Southern California with its large size and many resources for outdoor education. Mike is now its sole director for many years and has acted as teacher, docent, and guide for the school and for the public at large.
While he was stewarding Prisk Native Garden, Mike has worked, as volunteer and professional, on: 
  • The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific
  • Hill Middle School, now called Sato Academy of Math and Sciences
  • Jack Dunster Marine Preserve
  • The restoration of the Colorado Lagoon
  • The first native Greenbelt in Long Beach
  • Theodore Payne Foundation projects and as well as CA Botanic Garden
  • Watts Towers Arts Center's Garden
  • Numerous consultations, designs, and occasional installation of plants for public projects and private individuals.
 Currently, Mike is working on:
  • Stoner Ave. Elementary School in Culver City with the LA Unified School District
  • The Kuruvungna Sacred Springs on the campus of University HS, LAUSD.
  • Cubberley Elementary/Middle School in Long Beach. 
  • Whittier Elementary School in Long Beach
  • The "Tenth to Termino" Greenbelt in Long beach
  • Ongoing Stewardship of Prisk Native Garden