Youth in Yosemite Signature Project
For many people Yosemite has been a ‘life-changing’ experience; memories of camping as children or annual hiking trips to the backcountry as adults have had a profound and positive impact on their lives.
Our commitment to funding youth programs in Yosemite recognizes that connecting youth with nature and the park does transform lives. It opens up new educational, career and life choices for many.
This year through our Signature Project ‘Youth in Yosemite’ we are funding programs that span the entire range of youth development. This will include young children completing Junior Ranger activities while on a day visit to the park, to high school students who will take their very first wilderness overnight trip.
Other youth are returning to the park to participate in mentoring programs that build the experience and skills needed for college placement. And then there are college interns who will spend their summers working side-by-side with park staff, many with the goal of eventually working in Yosemite or other natural areas.
These programs engage youth in projects ranging from trail repair and wilderness restoration to museum archiving. By participating in comprehensive educational programs they leave with many new skills like leadership, literacy and community service. And, as one participant wrote, the best part of this program is providing youth with new dreams for their future.
2012 Youth In Yosemite programs:
- Adventure to Leadership: Youth Development Program with ARC
- Junior Ranger Program Expanded
- Parks In Focus: Youth Photography Program
- Restoring Popular Climbing Trails
- Teens Connect to Yosemite through WildLink
- Tuolumne and Merced Watershed Trails Rehabilitation by CCC Crews
- Wilderness Restoration with SCA Crews
- WildLink Alumni Explore Careers in Yosemite
- Yosemite Leadership Program Summer Internship
- Youth Crews (YCC) Restore Campgrounds, Trails and Habitat
Read full length poems from Youth in Yosemite participants in the ARC program, click here
For information about participation in Youth Conservation Corps, click here