Guadalupe River Park Conservancy

The Conservancys environmental programs offer high-quality nature-centered education, awareness, and enrichment to youth in our region and the general public. Our programs utilize the park and gardens as a natural lab to teach hands-on lessons and instill a sense of environmental stewardship. The education program provides science-based field trips to students of public and private schools, adapted field trips for special needs students, homeschooled students, and various community groups. The organization also provides low-cost fitness, gardening, and other enrichment classes for the general public. In 2023, we provided 119 programs engaging over 1,000 youth through our education and enrichment programs and 1,600+ participants in our regular River Trail tours, nature walks, and special park activities.The organizations community engagement and advocacy efforts focus on promoting the parks use and development. Window on the River Park is our signature annual celebration where we uplift our communitys commitment to nurturing and cherishing the Guadalupe River Park, San Joses front yard and a civic greenway that connects people to nature and each other. Pumpkins in the Park brings thousands of visitors to enjoy a fun-filled family celebration and spread awareness of one of our regions unique natural resources, the Guadalupe River Park. The Guadalupe River Art Walk initiative connects artists to the River Park to help enhance public space and advocate for the preservation of our natural habitats through visual public art installations, with 8 new murals painted in 2023. The expansion of the Rotary PlayGarden, San Joses first all-inclusive playspace, opened in June. Our work invited over 73,000 park users to engage with the River Park through the expanded facility.Stewardship includes recruiting volunteers, individuals, and corporate groups to help care for a historic orchard, a rose garden and other demonstration gardens through integrated pest management practices. These beautification efforts are critical to the City of San Jose and benefit the chinook salmon and the steelhead trout in the river. Volunteers help with trail clean up, festival staffing, and other tasks as necessary. In 2023, over 1,200 volunteers provided 6,000+ hours of stewardship, removing 36,500+ pounds of trash and debris, and supported the delivery of our programs and development of park amenities.