Stories from the Field

On a warm afternoon in June, a group of students and chaperones from Monache High School arrived at Yosemite National Park for their first ever WildLink expedition. As they drove through the Wawona Tunnel and saw the historic Tunnel View, students remarked on the vastness of nature, as none of them had ever seen Yosemite Valley before. The group drove into the valley to meet one of their NatureBridge leaders and went for a short walk to Lower Yosemite Falls. As they enjoyed the cooling spray of the rushing falls, excitement built for their time in Yosemite.

The day after a spring thunderstorm, New Village Girls Academy students and chaperones arrived to a beautifully saturated Yosemite Valley. Their trip from Los Angeles on highways and winding mountain roads left them tired, excited, and a little nervous for the week to come. Students were greeted by NatureBridge staff upon arrival and moved into their cabins, where they enjoyed their first night in the park—complete with burgers and a meadow sunset. The group also spent some time that first night chatting about their hopes, intentions, and fears for the week ahead.

NatureBridge’s Partnerships and Wilderness Programs Manager, Andrés Escalante, was recently featured in the Yosemite Conservancy’s newsletter where he was able to share the inspiring stories from WildLink, a collaboration between the Yosemite Conservancy and NatureBridge that focuses on bring local students into the Yosemite wilderness.

On May 16, we hosted our annual fundraising event, An Evening Outside with NatureBridge, at our Golden Gate campus. In classic Bay Area fashion, the fog and mist arrived as unexpected guests, but the weather did not deter us from celebrating a momentous occasion for NatureBridge: for the first time at this event, we raised over $1.1 million, which will go to directly supporting our students, our campuses, and our staff. We were awe-inspired by our Student of the Year, Kai Diaz, who shared how they felt as though they could touch the stars during their trip to NatureBridge in Yosemite, and our featured speaker Dr. Britt Wray shared incredible insights on how young people can influence the hearts and minds of their families when they bring the lessons of NatureBridge home. We want to thank everyone who was able to join and support us at Golden Gate, and we hope to see you at our next event!

On May 4, board members, supporters, and community members joined NatureBridge environmental science educators at our Olympic campus for Elwha Exploration Day. This annual outreach day offers participants the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of NatureBridge students discovering the Elwha River’s history and engaging in hands-on science activities exploring the river’s ongoing restoration.

On a clear Sunday morning in April in Porterville, CA, Mrs. Hardin and Mr. Price, the teachers accompanying this spring’s WildLink group on their trip to Yosemite National Park, arrived at Porterville High School to find eleven students packed and ready for a week-long adventure. Hardin and Price were surprised, since never had an entire group of students arrived before them. The group eagerly loaded up the vans and they were on their way.

“I don’t know if I’d have such a keen interest in what I do now” without experiencing NatureBridge programs as a middle schooler, says current NatureBridge staff member Dylan Meek. As a seventh grader, Dylan and her classmates from Southern California attended an environmental science program at Yosemite Institute (known today as NatureBridge Yosemite). That trip represented Dylan’s first visit to a national park and her first exposure to the field of outdoor education. Now on staff as the Lab Steward at NatureBridge Golden Gate, Dylan ensures that the environmental science educators have everything they need “to get the most out of the lab spaces” on campus.

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.

The minute we found out about the work of Dr. Britt Wray, we knew we wanted to learn more about her. A well-respected author and scientist, Dr. Wray possesses expertise in an area of research we talk about a lot at NatureBridge—specifically how we can be resilient, hopeful, and actionable amid a changing world, including the climate crisis. We’re thrilled that Dr. Wray will be joining us on May 16 for An Evening Outside with NatureBridge as our Featured Speaker. Ahead of the event, we had the chance to ask her a few questions relating to her work and her connection to the mission of NatureBridge.