MEarth

Our experiential, educational programs aim to encourage youth and adults alike to become better stewards of our selves, our communities, and our environment. At the ten-acre Hilton Bialek Habitat in Carmel Valley, California, we provide hands-on, expansive learning opportunities to schools, county agencies, partner nonprofits, local businesses, and interested citizens throughout Monterey County. This nationally recognized outdoor learning center includes extensive grasslands, bird habitat, monarch butterfly habitat, a pond, an outdoor amphitheater, a LEED-certified culinary classroom, outdoor kitchen with wood-fired oven, organic vegetable and herb gardens, heirloom fruit orchard, off-grid solar greenhouse, and native plant nursery.

Our Vision

MEarth is building an interconnected community of engaged citizens and future leaders by promoting analytical thinking through experience-based learning at the Hilton Bialek Habitat.

Our Mission

MEarth educates and inspires through environmental stewardship.

Our Values

Sustainability

We recognize that our Earth’s living systems face unprecedented challenges, and we actively commit ourselves to embody solutions. We align our actions and decisions, individually and as a staff, with the principles of sustainability. Decisions regarding present needs will be made to ensure the continuity of resources for future generations, and will honor the integrity of Earth’s biodiversity.

Education

We believe education must be experiential, taking into account all the senses, expanding perspectives, and bringing about behavioral change. Through our teaching, we seek to inspire life-long learning that is engaging, exciting, and deeply fulfilling.

Stewardship

MEarth programs nurture a sense of wonder in the natural world, emphasizing a sense of belonging and building a foundation for a lifelong love of the outdoors. We teach stewardship for the planet through nature study that underscores an ethical responsibility and reverence for the preservation of biodiversity.

Community

Healthy community relationships are the basis for all life. We recognize that networks are inherent in biological systems, and we seek to mirror these natural systems in building mutually beneficial relationships in our community.

Integrity

We approach everything we do with responsibility, accountability, excellence and professional standards. We create a work environment that is inspired by shared common goals and fosters independence and flexibility. Our actions and relationships are based on integrity of character, openness, honesty, effective communication, and alignment with our core values.

Passion

We honor and encourage passion, creativity, enthusiasm, and vision as the underlying forces of all we do.

Leadership

We seek to inspire by example and empower others to make choices that embrace the principles of sustainability. We are committed to advocating for positive change in the lives of individuals, in our local community, in our country, and around the globe.

Sustainability practices and principles are the foundation of MEarth’s programming and curriculum. We teach students that all of their actions – from the clothes they wear, the food they eat, the cars they drive, and the homes they live in – have a direct impact, not only on their own lives, but also on our planet’s health. MEarth provides innovative hands-on instruction to students of all ages. We run most of our programs at the Hilton Bialek Habitat and in our state-of-the-art “Green Building” and kitchen.