NatureBridge in the News: Outside Magazine
An excerpt from the article “The National Parks 100.” “A lot of kids don’t understand that national parks are places where you can go camping and fishing and travel where nobody ever drives a car. Programs like NatureBridge allow them to see that the parks are their world. We’ve been operating in Yosemite since 1971, and educate some 13,000 kids a year, K through 12 students who come for five days. This fall we’ll finish the first phase of construction of a $56 million National Environmental Science Center. It makes a massive statement about the Park Service’s dedication to education. Technology is a big part of it. In outdoor programs, it’s always important to figure out how to incorporate what the students are using in their daily lives. We want kids to embrace the natural world, and if the way they do that is through taking pictures with their iPhones, great. At the new center, kids can upload their pictures of a fox or bear onto a big digital screen that serves as a mural for their time here. We have these digital microscopes that project via Bluetooth onto tablets, so one kid is zooming in on a bug or mineral while six others are sitting around a screen. Of course, there are times when technology is not appropriate. Ultimately, we are an outdoor school designed to maximize a kid’s experience. On the last day, a student should think, I’m going to bring my children here someday, so how do I make sure it’s even better for them?” —Reed Schneider, Director of Education, NatureBridge Yosemite
To read the full article, pick up the May issue of Outside Magazine at your local newsstand.
The National Environmental Science Center at Yosemite #
In 2016, during the second century of the National Park Service, NatureBridge will bring more kids, in more places, to national parks. Our latest project, The National Environmental Science Center is an unprecedented project. It heralds a new era for science-based environmental education on a national scale by serving as a residential laboratory for modeling best practices and promoting innovation within the broader field of environmental education. This project is not a dream; it’s a declaration. It’s a resounding commitment to conservancy, an investment in hundreds of thousands of life-changing educational experiences and their cumulative impact on multiple generations of young people.
To become involved in this project, reach out to Kristina Rylands, Yosemite Director, at krylands@naturebridge.org or 209-379-9511 ext. 14.
Stories
Fall Reflections from NatureBridge Yosemite
As an environmental science educator, I spend a lot of time teaching about nature, but this season I’ve been finding that as it turns out, nature has a lot to teach us, too. Sometimes I can let the trees, the meadow, and the lichen teach for me. They show us how to respect each other’s boundaries, how to celebrate differences, how to work together, and how to lean on each other’s strengths in order to exist in a new place. These lessons felt incredibly relevant to me heading into the first week of November, a notoriously busy time at NatureBridge Yosemite. I wanted to focus on messages of kindness and inclusivity with my students, I wanted them to feel a sense of belonging in this new space, and I also hoped that they would share those messages with others.
An Incredible 10th Anniversary of Evening on the Lake
On October 25, the Amazon Meeting Center in downtown Seattle buzzed with celebratory energy as over 300 NatureBridge guests and supporters gathered for the 10th anniversary of "Evening on the Lake," our signature Pacific Northwest fundraising event for our Olympic campus.
"Science became fun" at NatureBridge for Alum Laura Lomeli Russert
Laura Lomeli Russert is a NatureBridge alum who grew up in Groveland, CA and now calls Washington, D.C. home. Laura’s journey with NatureBridge began when she attended the Golden Gate campus as a young student with her class from Tenaya Elementary. Laura credits NatureBridge with shaping not only her love for nature but also her passion for education and science. "Science became fun,” she recalls. “You weren’t learning from a textbook anymore, and it became so much more real." Her hands-on, scientific experiences at NatureBridge laid the foundation for her eventual pursuit of a Ph.D. in psychology. “I feel like I owe a lot to NatureBridge."