Immersed in the Wild
provides single and multi-day outdoor programs that engage youth of diverse ages, backgrounds, and communitities throughout Californa in land stewardship. Expert youth facilitators and activists guide our youth in safe and effective education sessions including:

• Watershed recovery
• Direct restoration and monitoring of habitats
• Cross-cultural education
• Leadership and critical thinking
• Wilderness adventure
• Career development

Why?
Experiential education programs are inadequate in California’s education system. California and especially the southern Sierra Nevada region contain many economically disadvantaged communities. More and more youth feel disconnected from their communities and the natural habitats surrounding them, something that has become know among educators as “nature deficient disorder”. Youth are confined to classroom settings where learning how to take tests outweighs opportunities to observe, compare and comprehend the beauty and mystery of our physical habitat. Our Immersed in the Wild programs are designed to provide those experiential opportunities for local, regional and state-wide youth.

Multi-day events are held in the southern Sierra National Forests at sites such as traditional village sites of the Tubatulabal people on North Form Kern (Kennedy Meadows) and Giant Sequoia groves (Trail of 100 Giants). Partner youth organizations and WildPlaces recruit at risk youth from diverse cultural, economic and social groups. Educators and land use professionals guide youth in activities and education sessions about observing, monitoring and restoring watersheds, plant medicine, plant science, wildlife, archeological sight stewardship, art, team-building, oral traditions, tracking and maps to name a few. Here is a sample day in a multi-day Immersed in the Wild program:

Immersed in the Wild’s Outdoor Science Classroom Program provides locations, equipment and logistical support so teachers and their students can use outdoor classrooms. Lessons compliant with CA State Board of Education Content Standards are conducted in an experiential atmosphere intended to be frequently and affordably utilized throughout the school semester rather then just as a yearly field trip. Granite Hills High School’s Earth Science class participates in our pilot Outdoor Science Classroom each semester as part of their classroom curriculum. Hands-on activities take place at River Ridge Ranch in Springville and at Yaudanchi Ecological Reserve in Porterville.

Mountain Leader Training prepare local and regional community members, educators, activists, land owners, scientists, and others to be Mountain Leader/Educators for WildPlaces’ outdoor education programs. New Mountain Leaders emerge from the training more connected as a team, more prepared for the field condition, and inspired by nature to work strongly together on upcoming youth events.

Partnerships are the cornerstone of WildPlaces, and we continue to build relations with youth organizations such as the Native American youth group Daughters of Tradition, The Dolores Huerta Foundation, the Owens Valley Career Development Center, Walt Whitman Continuation High School in Los Angeles, Homies Organizing Youth to Empower the Mission in San Francisco, Granite Hills HS in Porterville, La Sierra HS in Porterville, and others.

Get Involved! WildPlaces coordinates and trains volunteers who have an interest in outdoor youth education. Volunteers with experience in the sciences, camping logistics, cooking and various other field activities are needed.

Please sign-up below and we will get to you a packet containing the facts, the fun and other important material and forms. We look forward to continuing the registration process with you.