Teacher Spotlight: Stephen Sugay
Sixth grade teacher Stephen Sugay knows student success requires going beyond typical coursework to include personal development and interpersonal connections. “We try to foster community building and couple that with actual learning in other subject areas,” he says. “NatureBridge helps us achieve those things.”
“Mr. S.”, as his students call him, has been bringing students from St. Raymond’s School in Dublin, CA to NatureBridge Golden Gate for the past five years. It’s the community building and character development he encounters among his students during and after their trips to NatureBridge that keep him coming back.
[Experiences like NatureBridge] challenge kids to learn to work well with their peers, develop their confidence, and help kids understand that what they learn in the classroom really does have a meaningful connection with the world around them.Stephen Sugay, sixth grade teacher
For students in middle school, Stephen notes, these are “critical formative years.” Interpersonal dynamics evolve extensively for students during sixth grade, and experiences like NatureBridge “help them navigate.” Through the “vehicle of investigative learning,” Stephen says that NatureBridge programs foster team-building, relationships, and character development while meeting the specific learning needs of the students.
I know outdoor education is a good experience for middle school kids. It makes the classroom learning more valuable.Stephen Sugay, sixth grade teacher
It’s this investigative learning that sets NatureBridge programs apart from the classroom experience. His sixth graders are already learning about earth and life sciences in school, Stephen explains. But at NatureBridge, they engage in “actual, immersive learning.” It’s like “you’re living the experiment,” he adds.
“It seems like almost anything the kids are learning we can make a connection to with NatureBridge,” Stephen declares. And every year, his students respond enthusiastically to the experience. “They take joy in learning new things,” Stephen reports. Their visit to NatureBridge “is a positive memory that they have”—so much so that whenever the topic of NatureBridge comes up at the school, the seventh and eighth graders reminisce about their experiences among each other and with the sixth graders who will be attending the upcoming trip that year.
It’s an experience that’s worth making happen for students, concludes Stephen, adding that other middle school teachers should bring their classes to NatureBridge to see for themselves. “An experience like NatureBridge is the kind of experience that can speak to the needs that are unique to middle school age kids.”
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.