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WildLink Expedition VII

WildLink Expedition VII took place from June 3-8, 2001. We hosted 6 students from Detroit, MI and 5 students from Atwater, CA. The students, accompanied by two chaperones from Detroit, Lena from the Yosemite Institute, and Perrine from the WildLink Program, completed a 4 day and 3 night backpacking trip in Yosemite's high elevation backcountry wilderness. The students travelled from Lembert Dome, off of Tioga Pass Road in Tuolumne Meadows, to Glen Aulin. Please visit the "Teams" section of our website to view their journals!

May 2001 WildLink Evaluation

Thank you to all of the participants in the first WildLink Program Evaluation. It was a wildly successful weekend. Participants consisted of 8 student alumni, 16 WildLink teachers, and some technological specialists and was coordinated by award winning wilderness researcher, Dr. Bill Hedricks, of Cal Poly University. He was assisted by two senior undergraduates, Kim and Jami. They kept a written record of all that transpired throughout the weekend.

Subjects discussed ranged from improving the website, to the expeditions, and the curriculum. Participants were divided into two focus groups which met for many long hours on Saturday and Sunday. We should have the final analysis at the end of the summer.

My Year in Yosemite:
A Fond Farewell

Hello! My name is Perrine Punwani and I have served as the WildLink Program Assistant and Expedition Leader for the 2000-2001 school year. I commenced this 10 month adventure in August 2000 and have now completed my tenure here. So much has happened, yet I feel as if the year passed in the blink of an eye. It was a year of firsts: my first job after college, my first time in Yosemite, my first taste of the west coast, my first time teaching high school students, my first time living in a National Park.... the list goes on and on.

I came here not knowing what to expect. Upon entering the park for the first time, I learned what true beauty was. Though the

August: Sunset at Sentinel Dome

waterfalls had dried up, the mountains were blessed with unspeakable beauty, the lush trees spoke of a secret which was not to be revealed, the river sang of life and love, and I could do no more than sit back and take it all in. I marveled at the thought that this would all be my backyard, my home.

My parents insisted on escorting me to Yosemite, they had to let go of their youngest child and they wanted to make sure that I would be safe. We drove into the park together our mouths gaping wide open for most of the journey. At one point, my mother screamed, "Stop the car! We have to get out!". My father found a safe spot to pull over and then my mother pulled me out of the car. She said, "Look! Look!" as she pointed toward some lovely mountains, "I see the shape of a sleeping elephant! You are in good hands here. This place is blessed."

Lord Ganesha

Let me explain, I am Hindu and my mother is somewhat superstitious. The elephant is revered as God-like because one form of God, Ganesha, is depicted as a man with the head of an elephant. Hindus pray to this form of God for good fortune before beginning any new venture. My mother felt safe knowing that divinity was present here.

My first task as the WildLink Program Assistant was training for the GLOBE program in Fresno. Before I had even officially begun working in Yosemite, I spent a week in Fresno learning about NASA's education initiative. I was the youngest person there, but I belonged there as much as the rest of the teachers. I was treated as their peer for the first time as opposed to a student. It was my first time experiencing life on the other side of the coin, as I had just completed 15 successive years of education, and I liked it.

My cabin in Yosemite Valley

My first few weeks in the park were nothing short of confusing, but I managed. I was given free housing in a cozy cabin in Yosemite Valley, adjacent to Yosemite Village. Life was very lonely at first, especially since I had just moved from Washington, D.C.. It took some time to adjust, but I found that I first had to be comfortable with being alone. Everything and everyone I knew was almost 3,000 miles away and I had to learn that I was alone and on my own for the first time in my life. I learned to love this solitude as I could think about all kinds of interesting things that I had never considered before.

View of Yosemite Falls from my cabin

In September, I got my first taste of the Yosemite Institute and their instructors. These would be the people I would be working with and I needed to understand how they worked and where they were coming from. I went to their training in September and got to be included as part of the group for that short time. On the last day of training, we all rode bikes around Yosemite Valley to get to certain sites. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in almost a decade and I had forgotten how much I loved the thrill of feeling the wind enveloping my body as I pedaled as quickly as my legs would allow.

Yosemite Valley and Half Dome
as seen from Glacier Point.

Two days after training, my first WildLink group arrived, WildLink Expedition II. I felt far from ready, but I had no choice but to proceed. I greeted all of the students from Kingsburg, Tokay, and Merced High Schools and their chaperones. I was very nervous--the students were not talking to each other and I could not force them to! I had dinner with the group, but was not quite sure where I should sit. I finally sat alone, but two of the female students from Tokay made room for me at their table and asked me to sit with them. I was relieved! I sat and chatted with them and then realized that in order to succeed here I had to be myself.

Sentinel Rock as seen from
the 4-mile trail

That first WildLink Expedition was to Chain Lakes way over in the Southeast Corner of Yosemite. It was a big learning experience for me and I can't say that it all went smoothly. I suppose if it had, I would not have learned anything. On that first expedition, I learned more from the students than they learned from me, but that was ok. I was supported by two wonderful Yosemite Institute Instructors, Kim and Nicole. Nicole sort of took over the role of mentor and trainer as she spoke with me every night about how I was managing. She gave me a few important pieces of advice as to how to work with the students. I learned through my own experience and by watching both she and Kim work that we were not only teachers on these trips, we were the students' friends, chaperones, and guardians. They depended on us for so many things and we were lucky enough to have their trust.

Tuolumne Falls

The day that they left for their successive schools, I was an emotional wreck. I went home and slept for hours. I didn't know how I would be able to handle gaining and losing groups throughout the course of the school year. I learned so much about each and every student in those intense few days and did not know how to let go. However, I thought that I owed it to them to work harder for them.

Since then, I have said hello and goodbye to four more groups and have found that it gets easier to say "see you later" each time, though I still find it taxing. I watched their faces glow as they emerged from the wilderness different people. They had confidence in themselves that they had earned through a difficult physical, mental, and psychological challenge. I know that I am only meant to be in these students' lives for a short time, but hope that the experience we provide them with will help them for the rest of their lives.

In February, we had WildLink Family Weekend, where we invited eight WildLink students to come back to Yosemite with three family members. Two students came with their families from the Environmental Science Academy and four students and their families came with Generation Green. It was an amazing weekend and I was so proud of all of the students. They each gave short presentations for the entire group about their programs and their individual accomplishments. I was amazed at the way some of them had changed. The two quietest guys from all of the expeditions gave the best speeches, without even so much as a nervous twitch. I know that I probably had nothing to do with this, but I can always hope.

Though these students will probably forget me as life reveals new obstacles and time takes its course, I know that I will never forget them.

Throughout this year, I have learned to truly see. I have learned the secret that the lush trees spoke of and have told them a few secrets of my own. I have been inspired by love and beauty, but now I must move on to new adventures. I would like to thank all of you for making this year one of the best, if not the best, of my life thus far.

Thank you, Barb, for giving me the opportunity to be here and work with you. It is so rare to find dreamers that make their dreams a reality, however, you are one of the few.

I will never forget the lessons I have learned here, they are etched on my soul.

Always,

Perrine