"I used to ice climb quite a bit and often without a rope. In 1998, I took a 100 foot fall...and I was in a wheelchair for months. I also shattered my femur and broke my shoulder a year ago in a really bad paragliding accident in Mexico. So...yeah, I’ve banged up a few things.”
Listening to these injuries listed off one after another, it’s easy to believe you’re hearing from an X-Games athlete or a professional adrenaline junkie; a thrill-seeker and risk-taker of the highest order. Who you’re actually hearing from is Jeff Crow, NatureBridge’s Director of Risk Management.
Bob Hansen joined Yosemite Institute in the very early years as assistant program manager. He soon became campus director and spent six years with YI, which would serve as the foundation for a career in nature organizations and park philanthropy. For Bob, the cornerstone of his time with YI was the lifelong friendships and relationships with Yosemite residents, especially the ones built during the season he became the Yosemite Campus Director and was tasked with hiring 12 new educators.
With the rise of anxiety and depression about young people today, social emotional learning (SEL) is also on the rise. SEL a holistic educational framework that focuses on building mental, emotional and interpersonal skills that lead to positive outcomes for students and the community as a whole. We spoke with National Director of Education Meg Jakubowski to learn more about NatureBridge’s unique role in furthering SEL.
Family and employee-owned, Klean Kanteen has grown from sponsoring our Armstrong Scholars program to becoming an even greater partner in environmental stewardship through interorganizational involvement - including generous sponsorship of our 50th anniversary. Their beloved nonprofit outreach manager Caroleigh Pierce tells the story of the “scrappy” company, why she has “the best job in the world” and what special NatureBridge event brought tears to her eyes.
Andrew West attended Yosemite Institute in 1997 as a high school junior with a group of students from the Redding Area. That trip was transformative for Andrew. It was the foundation of his life's work, as he returned to Yosemite National Park upon college graduation where he worked for over a decade.
NatureBridge began in Yosemite National Park with one person and an idea. That person was high school math teacher Donald Rees. His idea? A week-long trip to Yosemite National Park for his students at Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara. The year was 1971, the cost was $80 per student and the promise was a rewarding and educational experience in Yosemite Valley. That trip inspired the founding of Yosemite Institute—now NatureBridge—and 50 years of overnight environmental education in our national parks.
When Yosemite Regional Board Member Jan Sweeney was just a ninth-grader, she joined her brother and a group of two other friends to rescue marine wildlife during a catastrophic oil spill on the Chesapeake Bay. Today, she brings her passion for exploring the outdoors through running, hiking, snorkeling and canoeing to NatureBridge.