Bus Grant Program

Each year thousands of school children and their teachers from around the Los Angeles County visit Eaton Canyon Nature Center in northeast Pasadena for an introduction to the wild outdoors. Eaton Canyon Natural Area is a 190-acre zoological, botanical, and geological nature preserve situated at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Some children have never been in a natural setting before. The experience can change a life.

How do they arrange to come? They come on scheduled school tours, led by our experienced docent-naturalists. We lead tours for grades two to six, on Wednesdays and Fridays. (Call 626-398-5420 to schedule a tour)

Remember, if you would like to plan a school field trip to Eaton Canyon, your school district must have a MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) in place with the County of Los Angeles Parks & Recreation for any and all use by a school, including picnics, field trips, athletic programs, aquatics, physical education classes, tournaments, graduations, et al. If your school does not yet have a MOA in place with the county, please plan a couple months in advance to apply. Parks and Recreation will work with you to complete the process. If you cannot complete the process, you will unfortunately be turned away upon arrival. Please download the PDF for more complete information on the MOA and how to apply.

And how do they get there? By school bus of course.

But schools have seen reduced funding in recent years, which means schools, especially “Title 1” schools, may not have the funds to rent buses for the trip. Thus the Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates have created a grant program to help schools defray the cost of bus hire. A principal, school administrator, or classroom teacher is eligible to submit the simple one page application.