Armstrong Scholars Resupply Joy!
Editor's note: This message from Kim Laizer, Yosemite Education Manager, originally appeared in an email sent to Armstrong Scholars supporters on July 25, 2023. Visit our Yosemite Armstrong Scholars page to learn more about this annual program, which is inspired by and in memory of former NatureBridge environmental science educator Joie Armstrong.
Last Sunday, eleven fantabulous volunteers (aka Resupply Angels) joined me in hiking fresh fruits and vegetables, bagels and yogurt, chips and cookies, along with next week’s meals to the Armstrong Scholars. This year’s resupply team was one of a kind, in that TEN of us had been Armstrong Scholars or Armstrong Scholars leaders ourselves! Three of us flew across the country to be resupply angels! We represented 2002, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2022 and were all there to support the team and pay forward the goodness we’ve received from this program. It was such a delight to see Joie’s light burning so brightly on Sunday!
This year’s resupply team was one of a kind, in that TEN of us had been Armstrong Scholars or Armstrong Scholars leaders ourselves!KIm Laizer, Yosemite Education Manager
The Scholars were elated to receive the goodness we had to share! The yogurt, watermelon and chips were huge hits. We serenaded them with music as they arrived and shared with one another what drew us there and what we had learned in the last week. The Scholars presented a fun dance routine and rallied our spirits with their "Gulp Life" chant. I wish I could capture a bit of that radiance in a bottle and send it your way so you could feel it too!
In four short days we will see the Armstrong Scholars again when we pick them up at Tenaya Lake and bring them back to our Crane Flat campus to clean gear, shower, feast on freshies and share their stories with all who attend the closing program on Saturday, July 29.
Please join me in wishing them the ability to be fully present and truly Gulp Life their last few days in the wilderness together.
With gratitude, Kim
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."