Stories from the Field

When your first outdoor adventure is a week-long wilderness canoe camping trip with your parents at the tender age of 18 months, you might have a hunch that nature is going to play a big role in your future!

Referred to as “the last perfect place in California”, the Dangermond Preserve is one of the last remaining stretches of wild coast in California. The sprawling 24,000-acre preserve is located at Point Conception in Santa Barbara, CA and it is a living laboratory that facilitates scientific research and environmental education.

12 Days, 12 Ways to Support Nature and NatureBridge

Originally hailing from North Carolina and New Orleans, Sarah Sugarman has lived in Yosemite for the past five years, working as an educator for NatureBridge and the National Park Service (NPS). Sarah currently works at the NatureBridge Yosemite campus as an Educator, Crane Flat Site Manager and the WildLink Program Coordinator. “I love teaching, playing outside, and creating art in many forms,” Sarah says. Working with both NatureBridge and NPS affords Sarah many opportunities to engage in all three of those passions!

This post is part of NatureBridge’s 12 Days, 12 Ways countdown, in which we are highlighting ideas and practices for celebrating a more sustainable holiday season. Courtney Lane is a guest blogger and an Environmental Science Educator and Evening Manager at NatureBridge Yosemite.

NatureBridge recognizes and is grateful for the land upon which we are privileged to run our programs and the indigenous peoples who continue to care for and have stewarded these places for thousands of years.

As a physician in Washington, DC, Laura knows all about the importance of the physical and mental health benefits of spending time outdoors. That’s why she has been on the board for our Mid-Atlantic Region (MARE) campus located in Prince William Forest for the last six years.

Mary visited us as a student back in 1977 when NatureBridge was known as the Yosemite Institute. Nearly 20 years later, Mary completed the cycle when she returned as a teacher, bringing her first group of eighth graders to our Yosemite campus.

For Environmental Science Educator Linnea Joy Pierson, the moments she cherishes most are the times when she can see the joy, curiosity and community developing in her students while exploring the Yosemite wilderness.