Partners

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.

For many students, a few days and nights spent at NatureBridge represents their first deep dive into exploring the natural world. They hike among towering trees, collect scientific data within various ecosystems, reflect under starlit skies, and begin to see themselves not just as visitors to nature—but as part of it. A spark has been lit.

Jen Kidder, Campus Director at NatureBridge Olympic and longtime outdoor educator, knows that spark is often just the beginning of a life-long journey. “A NatureBridge experience can light a spark of interest in nature, in science, in spending time with new people,” she says. It can “build confidence that they belong. Later, that can open a door to new interests, career ideas, or maybe just the confidence to try something else new.”

When Dave Yacubian arrived at the windswept Marin Headlands in Northern California as a NatureBridge (formerly The Headlands Institute) Field Science Educator in 2001, he already had a deep connection to wild places. His initial connection—first sparked during a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course in the Rocky Mountains that Dave participated in when he was 20 years old—has shaped a career dedicated to environmental education and the transformative power of the outdoors. Dave’s roots run deep with both NOLS and NatureBridge—and he sees powerful connections between the two organizations.

“It’s always good to have a plan, but things often happen along the way.” This is a sentiment that Cleveland (Cleve) Justis has taken with him from his time with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, to teaching at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, to his own executive search and consulting company Potrero Group. With this ethos, he has inspired and educated organizations and nonprofits at the intersection of business, government and social entrepreneurship around the world, and it all began at NatureBridge!

Referred to as “the last perfect place in California”, the Dangermond Preserve is one of the last remaining stretches of wild coast in California. The sprawling 24,000-acre preserve is located at Point Conception in Santa Barbara, CA and it is a living laboratory that facilitates scientific research and environmental education.

Welcome, Cindy Orlando, Principal Deputy Regional Director of National Park Service Interior Regions 8, 9, 10 and 12 and NatureBridge's National Park Service Liaison!

Hans Cole is Patagonia’s Head of Environmental Activism, Grants, and Campaigns, leading its strategic environmental partnerships and helping to achieve the for-profit corporation’s most important goal: to save our home planet. It was the three years he spent working as an educator with NatureBridge, honing his teaching skills and expanding his horizons, that opened his eyes to the possibility of having a life devoted to working on environmental issues.

NatureBridge is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Five years from now, The United States will be commemorating its 250th. One of the lead people responsible for planning the 250th Anniversary Commemoration is Tom Medema, Acting Associate Director of Interpretation, Education and Volunteers at the National Park Service (NPS), former Chief of Interpretation and Education at Yosemite National Park and a longtime supporter of NatureBridge. We sat down over a video call to discuss how NatureBridge and the United States have made it to these milestone anniversaries, the expansion of historically excluded stories and the resilience required to build the future.

Yosemite National Park’s official philanthropic partner has been responsible for tens of millions of dollars of park improvements and programs over the years. From supporting wildlife management and cultural history to funding more than 60 NPS summer positions, the organization has played an integral role in maintaining and expanding the park’s beauty and mission.