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.

MEarth began by providing instruction to students in the Carmel Unified School District (CUSD) at the Hilton Bialek Habitat. We continue to serve CUSD students throughout the year through our six-week “Ecoliteracy” curriculum for all sixth-grade students of Carmel Middle School, and customized culinary and science-based programming for the school’s World Language, Science, History, and English-Language Arts classes. Each year, approximately 1,500 CUSD students come to The Habitat for sustainability education.

MEarth offers an ever-expanding array of place-based hands-on environmental learning opportunities to the broader Monterey Peninsula community. We work in partnership with schools and organizations throughout the County, including the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County, Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, and the Recruitment in Science Education program of California State University at Monterey Bay.

MEarth’s school day, after school programs, and summer camps introduce sustainability and healthy lifestyle choices to the community students who attend our programs each year. Program content focuses students on the pressing environmental issues that face our planet, such as: habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution (specifically plastic pollution), overpopulation and overconsumption.

By working side-by-side with community partners, we are preparing the next generation of environmental leaders through collaborative community-based programs that build the knowledge, skills and inspiration needed to tackle current and future environmental challenges.