Yosemite

At NatureBridge, we celebrate the stewards of today and foster the development of the stewards of tomorrow, working to inspire environmental stewardship in all our participants. Our goal is to motivate our students to make waves and be changemakers in their communities and for our planet.

Each year, NatureBridge honors a student who has demonstrated leadership, growth and a commitment to protecting our natural world as a result of their participation in a NatureBridge program. This year’s honoree will be recognized and will speak at An Evening Outside with NatureBridge on Thursday, May 16 at our Golden Gate campus.

We are thrilled to announce our 2024 Student of the Year: Kai Diaz.

Miho Aida (she/they) has held multiple roles at NatureBridge over the past twenty-four years, including Environmental Science Educator, Community Connection Coordinator, Field Staff Scientist, Marine Project Coordinator, Pacific Rim Environmental Education Specialist, Armstrong Scholars Educator, Diversity Coordinator, Equity and Inclusion Manager, and Director of Equity and Inclusion. Now, on the eve of Miho's departure, we asked them to reflect on their time at NatureBridge and share a bit about their upcoming adventures.

For former NatureBridge (previously Yosemite Institute) educator Shirley Spencer, her career journey began with a powerful sense of place and a deep love for Yosemite National Park. Beginning with her work at Camp Wawona in the early 1980s and extending to her long tenure as a Yosemite Institute (YI) instructor and her later service as an interpretive ranger for the National Park Service (NPS), Shirley has poured her passion into introducing others to the wonders of the Sierra Nevada for over four decades. “I always felt like I wasn’t ‘the thing,’” Shirley reflects, “but I stood there and opened the window for my students” to make amazing discoveries.