The Pescadero Conservation Alliance is a nonprofit group Bennett founded in 1999 with the calling of restoring Coastside ecology through hands-on education programs. The centerpiece of that effort is to be a “research station” where young students would go to learn about environmental stewardship. The station, currently undergoing a major upgrade, was a children’s refuge called The Mountain Camp for nearly 25 years, until it closed in 1989. Its buildings remain nestled in the forest near Gazos Creek in Pescadero, and include a lodge flanked by a cluster of wood cabins and a biology lab.
Bennett intends to resurrect the camp as a learning center.
  
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That’s an attitude shared by the leaders of environmental education groups along the Coastside – groups that sense a growing need each year.
One of those groups is Half Moon Bay-based Vida Verde, an organization focused on exposing underprivileged urban youths to their natural surroundings and food cultivation. In spite of a growing handful of eco-centric education programs in the area, Vida Verde co-director Tim Ward welcomes new additions. In fact, he’s been in touch with Bennett about collaborating when the camp is operable.
“We’re barely scratching the surface,” Ward said. “There are a lot of kids not getting field trips like Vida Verde … I doubt (the alliance) would ever have to worry about being too redundant because the need is so great.”
From 1999 until 2006, Bennett and the group’s directors orchestrated renovations to the camp facilities, but much is incomplete. A new kitchen, fire safety system and drinking water system are all on pause.
Bennett estimates he’ll need about $250,000 to get the program moving. That would cover final renovations to the station as well as staff wages and programming for the camp’s first year.
He put out a newsletter in December announcing the group’s return and asking for support. He’s got less than $10,000 for the center right now. His goal is to draw in the full amount needed and open camp this coming fall. That target, Bennett admits, is “lofty.” But any audacious endeavor comes with obstacles, he says.
“If I don’t aim high and I don’t try, we’re not going to get there,” he said.
For more information on the alliance and the research center visit www.gazos.org.
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