A Letter from the WildLink Director

Dear WildLink Partners, Friends and Alumni:

As a writer, I find that words normally come easily to me. However, sitting at this new fork in my path, I find it hard to express all that is in my heart and my mind. After five unforgettable years with the WildLink Program, the time has come for me to move on to the next adventure to which my life has led me.

In December, I will begin work as a Consultant for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. I am excited by their holistic vision for what is possible for the Sierra Nevada, and the spirit of collaboration with which they are pursuing that vision. I am confident that my commitment to diversity and education is one that I will be able to continue in my new role at the Conservancy, and I look forward to bringing my experience to this new endeavor.

However, it has not been easy to make the decision to leave. The mission of this program is critical to the future of our youth as well as our planet. The people I have met during my tenure here, colleagues and students alike, have been equally as critical to my own development. Thank you all for the ways in which you have supported me, and this program, since I became a part of it. It has been an incredible experience to collaborate with such an energetic, selfless, and creative group of people. Thank you for all that you do; and for all that you allow us to do through WildLink with your support.

We will be starting the process of finding my replacement right away; Please rest assured that Yosemite Institute remains committed to the intricate partnerships that make WildLink such a successful program. Our talented staff will continue to support WildLink's students and teachers as they always have, and will continue to play their integral roles in the partnerships which we share with all of you.

If you are interested in applying for the WildLink Director position, please contact Leigh Westerlund, Director of Yosemite Institute, at (209) 379-9511 ext 14, or lwesterlund@yni.org.

I will miss working with all of you, and will look forward to our paths crossing again. Please stay in touch. Until we meet again,

Warm regards,

Mandy Vance

WildLink Expedition III Explores Sequoia National Park

This year 7 students from Pajaro Valley high school came out saunter through the fall beauty in Sequoia's high country. Soon after entering the park the students found that they were "bear prone" and started off their trip with 4 separate bear sighting, the most memorable happening at 2am the night before our expedition into the back country. Jasmine, Yasminn, and Fatima used the skills they learned the day before to help Nicky and Laura scare the bear away from our bear cans while Evelyn amazingly slept through it all! Regardless of the interrupted sleep, students efficiently got tents down and bags packed in time to get a nice and early start on trail.

Our first day on trail we had full packs, 5 miles to go, and 2,500 ft of elevation to gain. Two miles into the hike, the trail splits. The Hump trail is shorter, but the Watchtower trail has spectacular vistas of the Kaweah river valley. Under the leadership of David, our first fearless leader we got to the split with enough time to potentially take the longer but more spectacular Watchtower trail. When students were given the choice, they unanimously chose the longer, but more beautiful trail. Our lunch that day was at the watchtower with amazing views. After taking a quick after lunch siesta, we were back on trail. We got to camp with time to spare, and we were able to take their time setting up our tents and getting settled in. Our new home was by Emerald lake, a gorgeous mountain lake surrounded on three sides by sheer granite wall. After taking a breather, all the students agreed that even though the hike was hard and tiring, getting to Emerald lake made it all worth it.

On day two students were given the choice between a shorter ridge hike, and a longer canyon hike. Not surprisingly, the group chose the more challenging and longer second option. Our goal for the day was to get to Table Meadows by following the Kaweah river. There is no trail going up to these meadows, so Robert, our new fearless leader had to learn how to choose routes. With the help of his group members, he very successfully and safely chose a great adventure for all of us. Remembering Leave No Trace principles, students walked on durable rocky surfaces whenever they could. Our lunch spot for the day was at a little cascade. After lunch some students chose to take glorious naps on the warm rock while others took off their shoes to look for macro invertebrates in the little pond below the cascade. Everyone was in high spirits, and our hike back from the meadow went smoothly. That night we star gazed and learned about constellations from Nicky.

The next day was our reflection day. We took our time in the morning and ate a breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and sausage. Our goal for the day was to get to Pear lake and spend some solo time by the lake. Evelyn guided us to the lake, where Susan led us in a yoga session to get us into a relaxed frame of mind. Our afternoon was spent journaling and sitting by ourselves by the bank of the lake. The writings that came out of that time were pretty incredible. For our final evening meeting, we spent time writing appreciations in each other’s journals, talked about the goals we had met, and discussed how we were going to be ambassadors for the wilderness in our communities. That night everyone decided to sleep out under the stars. After getting snuggled into their sleeping bags, the girls started their own synchronized sleeping bag routines. It was hilarious watching them in their matching teal sleeping bags.

Our last day we woke up at day break and got ready to hike back down. With lighter backpacks, and a mostly downhill trail, we were amazed by how quickly we were able to get back down. Back at the parking lot we took care of our gear, did a cinnamon roll group hug and said our good byes. Keep an eye out for these students as you are hiking in California, as I am sure you will see them on trail!

WildLink Expedition IV Wraps Up the Fall Season in Yosemite

Day 1:
At the night everyone discussed their feelings and how everyone was nervous. Throughout the night no one could sleep, but in the morning we woke to a blanket of the whitest snow. Everyone was excited for the day. There were people who made snowmen for the first time. The morning meal had to be one of the best meals because we know we wouldn’t be eating for a while. The way over to our beginning hike was scary because we were starting our adventure and wouldn’t be coming back out for a while. Wow! The first five minutes of our trip were probably worse than carrying 50 pounds on each leg. It was pretty tiring. On the way I thought, “Why am I doing this? What have I gotten myself into?” But surprisingly I continued on. Lunch time was the best thing ever because we had an awesome meal and an even more awesome view across the huge mountain spaces of Yosemite Valley. It was so amazing until the clouds seemed to fall all around us and we couldn’t see anything. After lunch was more difficult because we knew that we still had a few more hours to go. Those last hours took forever! But finally we found our camping spot and it was such a relief to know we were done for the day. We set up camp and ate and finally crawled into our palace and slept. -Tamara

Day 2:
Today was a fairly difficult hike, for the most part. Well, first I should start off with breakfast, which was good and warm, perfect for the freezing cold morning. We filled our water bottles and left camp without a hitch. David filled most of the bottles in the ice cold water. The beginning of the hike was fairly mild, as it was downhill. However, the uphill climb was rough because it was close to a 1,700 foot uphill climb after the initial downhill. We began to hike consistently in snow just around halfway to our destination. We found a nice snow-free place off trail to eat lunch. Then we continued our grind uphill. The last mile and a half to two miles of the five mile hike to Ribbon Creek was leisurely and downhill. But, once we took on water for the night, the climb uphill to our campsite was hellacious to say the least. We then set up camp. Two nice flat spots for tents were found fairly close together. The site the girls picked was clear of snow, but the three of us guys had to clear our spot. The tents went up a lot quicker than the first day. We then put our gear in its proper places, and Zephyr taught us how to play “Four-shifter gearbox” while Cynthia, Karina, and Tamara cooked dinner. Dinner was rice and bean burritos, which were delicious. We ended our evening with “Leave No Trace” skits, the boot dance, and a few rounds of “four-shifter gearbox.” Then we hit the sack to rest up for the next day’s adventures. -Aaron

Day 3:
Today as I woke up I found that our tents were covered with icy cold snow. For breakfast we ate oatmeal with hot cocoa…yummy. Then we began our six mile hike. Our first stop was at the tallest single rock in the world! Wow, I was amazed at the spectacular view we got to see from the summit of El Capitan. I’ve never seen such an incredible view! After having our picnic lunch, we headed toward our next stop. Eagle Peak was even better! It took us a while to get to the top of Eagle Peak, but all was worth it. We got to see all the little houses and cars down below us in Yosemite Valley. Everything looked so small because we were at 7,779 feet on Eagle Peak. It was a hard day today. We got to have lunch at El Capitan and we went up to the summit of Eagle Peak. Afterwards we set up camp and had dinner. But the best part of our last night camping in the forest was sitting next to the campfire. I have to say that I didn’t enjoy hiking up to get to El Capitan and Eagle Peak, but all was worth it. We got to see the most beautiful views of Yosemite’s high country and Yosemite Valley. I am so happy I got to be part of this journey. I know I’ll miss these spectacular views but everything will always stick in my head forever. Now I am so eager to tell my parents of my whole adventure and show them all my pictures. I’m glad I went on this trip. Thanks a lot Cynthia and Zephyr. I’ll miss you. -Karina

Day 4:
Today we started by waking up really early. It wasn’t that great. Then we had to get out of our tents to go eat breakfast. It was so delicious. We had granola cereal and hot chocolate. So after eating we had to finish packing our gear so we could hit the trail. After everybody was done we “clapped in” to start our new and final day hiking. Then we started our final journey down the Yosemite Falls trail. On our way down we stopped at Yosemite Falls. While we were there we enjoyed the view and we did our last reflection on things we had learned. After, we continued our journey until we reached our destination, Yosemite Valley! We unpacked and turned in all our gear that we had borrowed, ate a quick lunch, said our sad goodbyes and headed home.

–David and Carol

Fresno Regional Foundation Awards $20,000 Grant to WildLink

The Fresno Regional Foundation is awarding more than $350,000 to organizations throughout the Central Valley dedicated to improving the health and well being of our youth. WildLink is delighted to announce that we are one of those organizations, and would like to thank them for their generosity in making the work we do possible.

During the Foundation’s 2008 Youth Grant Cycle, Advisory Committees that reflect the rich diversity of our Valley closely examined a broad range of worthy applications. Committee members personally visited many of the non-profits that applied and made funding recommendations to the Fresno Regional Foundation’s board of directors.

WildLink is just one example of the innovative youth programs receiving funding through the Fresno Regional Foundation.

During the past two years, the Fresno Regional Foundation has experienced substantial asset growth, a tremendous elevation in the number and size of grants made and the establishment of solid relationships with other prominent philanthropic organizations, such as The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

“We’re pleased to support the Fresno Regional Foundation as it embarks on work to address the pivotal social problems of teen pregnancy and degraded air quality,” said Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest. “The Hewlett Foundation shares its commitment to serving disadvantaged communities and improving the environment, and hopes these efforts will receive broad community support.”

Recent grants made by the Fresno Regional Foundation have supported local non-profits working on a range of Central Valley priorities including human services, youth development, literacy, culture and the arts. For more information about The Fresno Regional Foundation and its competitive grant guidelines, application procedures and related information visit www.fresnoregfoundation.org.

Established in 1966, the Fresno Regional Foundation is a nonprofit community foundation whose purpose is to improve the quality of life in the Central Valley through philanthropy. It is the channel through which individuals, families, businesses, private foundations and nonprofit organizations give in order to benefit the Central San Joaquin Valley community. Collectively, the Foundation enriches the artistic, cultural and natural beauty of the region, addresses social issues and helps improve conditions through the continued support of local nonprofits and community-focused organizations.

The Fresno Regional Foundation is an affiliate of the National Council on Foundations and a member of the League of California Community Foundations.