2018 Shenandoah Alcoa Scholars: By the Numbers

Coastal Camp has officially wrapped for another season—and what a wonderful summer it has been! We welcomed over 1,600 participants this summer over our nine weeks of camp. Our campers explored every trail of the Marin Headlands, from the hills to the sea, down by Rodeo Beach! With a focus on coastal and ocean ecology, stewardship, and, of course, FUN, our campers made new friends and memories that we hope will last a lifetime.

NatureBridge is proud to partner with Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK) in championing the Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) program, which ensures more young people can access nature via our public lands. Through EKO, every fourth grader in the U.S. can receive a free annual pass to public lands and waters—not just for themselves, but for their entire family. NatureBridge is committed to continuing our awareness campaign for all the fourth graders who come through our programs in the upcoming year. We want to get the pass into the hands of as many fourth graders and families as possible because we know how important outdoor learning is for young people.

Somehow, we are back into our day-to-day lives, with traffic and lengthy to-do lists and microwaves. This summer's Armstrong Scholars program, in retrospect, was so short, yet the impact of those twelve days in the backcountry with twelve amazing young women will forever shape our lives. We may have left the magic of the backcountry, but with the simple act of closing our eyes, we are taken to awe-inspiring wilderness, dirt-caked and deeply content.