2018 Shenandoah Scholars: Backcountry Adventures
Our Shenandoah Scholars came back from a WET yet rewarding backpacking trip late Wednesday.
Shenandoah received daily rainfall, making the wilderness experience all the more raw for everyone. The Scholars arrived back to the campground in high spirits on Wednesday afternoon with a sense of accomplishment having endured the wilderness, rain and all! They were rewarded for completing their backpacking journeys with showers and ice cream, as well as fresh fruit and veggies with dinner. The two trail groups had unique but equally awesome experiences.
Amanda & Jim's Trail Group #
The trail group led by Amanda and Jim was comprised of Ben and Heidi from Australia, Kaitlin and Andrew from the U.S., Fanni and Rebeka from Hungary, Henrique from Brazil and Jofridur from Iceland.
These students hiked for approximately 40 miles (64.37 km) over seven days. If that isn’t impressive, we don’t know what is!
They started the trail by hiking next to Dark Hollow Falls, spent two nights at the base of White Oak Canyon and woke up at 5 a.m. one morning to reach the summit of Old Rag, Shenandoah’s most popular and difficult loop trail. This trail group saw lots of wildlife, including nine bears, a few cubs, a copperhead snake and many scurrying salamanders!
Christina & Dani's Trail Group #
The second trail group was led by Christina and Dani and included Naomi and Liam from Australia; Nico and Inés from Spain; Tamás from Hungary; Ellie and Ryleigh from the U.S.; and Lára from Iceland.
These Scholars started hiking on the famous Appalachian Trail, a national, 2,180 mile (3,508 km) scenic path before crossing onto the Rose River Loop and then out and back along the Cedar Run Trail. This group had a change of plans and arrived in the campground two days early, having hiked back along the Appalachian Trail.
They made the most of their additional day at the Big Meadows campground by continuing their science research (in the pouring rain, we might add), and by becoming official Shenandoah National Park Junior Rangers! This trail group proudly bears the group name Oasis.
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."