A Record-Breaking Evening on the Lake!
On October 6 at the Amazon Meeting Center in Seattle, over 200 guests and supporters gathered for our annual Pacific Northwest event, Evening on the Lake, benefiting our beautiful Olympic campus.
The festivities began with a bustling cocktail and activity hour that included a screening of "Wild Hope: The Beautiful Undammed," a new PBS documentary about the largest dam removal in history on the Elwha River. Following the screening, guests had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with film subjects Allyce Miller, Vanessa Castle and NatureBridge Olympic board member Kim Sager-Fradkin.
Editor’s note: You can watch “Wild Hope: The Beautiful Undammed” here. For even more information on the Elwha River and the return of the salmon following dam removal, check out this Seattle Times article written by NatureBridge supporter Lynda Mapes.
Kim Sager-Fradkin, Allyce Miller and Vanessa Castle on stage during the Q&A in the breakout room.
Guests then gathered for dinner and the evening’s main program, which included activities and messages from emcee DawnMarie Kotsonis, Olympic Campus Director Jen Kidder, NatureBridge President and CEO Phil Kilbridge, Olympic educators Cheyenne Palmo and Megan Jackson, licensed psychologist Dr. Jordan Thayer and Olympic educator Maddie McLean. Each speaker in turn illustrated how NatureBridge programs have played a role in the development of thousands of young people, unlocking students’ love for nature and facilitating meaningful connections to the people and world around them.
During the paddle raise, over 170 guests pledged their public support of NatureBridge programs, staff and students. Long-time NatureBridge champion Sharon Coleman announced that she would be matching all $1,000 gifts up to $50,000 in honor of her dear friend and NatureBridge Olympic board member Diane Undi-Haga. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and guests, this year’s Evening on the Lake raised a record-breaking $345,000!
We’d like to express our gratitude to everyone who made this evening such a success: our Olympic board members, our event planning committee, our staff and environmental educators, our student alumni and their families, our sponsors and our guests. Thank you, and we hope to see you again next year at Evening on the Lake!
Stories
In Memory of Ty Cobb: A Visionary Leader of Resilience and Impact
Ty Cobb, former CEO of Yosemite National Institutes (now NatureBridge), passed away on Saturday, December 7, 2024 in Reno at the age of 84. Known for his visionary leadership, resilience, and ability to inspire collaboration, Ty guided YNI through some of its most difficult moments while building a foundation for its future growth and success.
WildLink November 2024: Woodlake High School
This November, Woodlake High School students and chaperones arrived in Yosemite for their first year as a WildLink school, and we are so excited to have them on the team! That means that the brave students who signed up for this expedition had virtually no idea what to expect before signing up for the trip, because none of their peers had experienced it before them! The week, although quite frigid, was full of lovely views, learning about Wilderness, spending lots of time by the river, and enjoying the beauty of Yosemite Valley and Wilderness. Their educators Sarah and Amelia were excited to help this group feel a sense of belonging in this place. They were also lucky enough to be joined by Ranger Lissie on their first day in the Wilderness!
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.