This toolkit is based on the three-year experience of more than 17 environmental education organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area who participated in the LEAPS (Leadership and Evaluation to Advance Program Success) Initiative. The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation funded Learning for Action (LFA) with Haile Johnston and Frances Tompkins to design the LEAPS initiative to strengthen programs and build capacity in these organizations. The LFA team was led by Steven LaFrance and Jessica Xiomara García and supported by many of our excellent colleagues.

LEAPS organizations range in program focus from urban gardening to sustainable farming, habitat restoration, media, residential energy efficiency, ecology education, and other areas, but all focus on increasing stewardship behavior and supporting youth development in local underserved communities.

Photo credit: Student Conservation Association - Richmond Weed Crew