Meet David Kuhn,
New Community Coordinator

Tanante! (‘no evil to you’ – a Mandinke greeting) My name is David Kuhn, or Dave or Bouba (my Senegalese name). I have recently joined the team at Yosemite-WildLink as the Community Coordinator.

I currently work out of Clovis, but am often driving up to Yosemite or around California meeting with schools, community partners and educators. I am honored to work with such a dynamic organization which connects students to the wilderness in their backyards. WildLink is a unique matchmaker for students to the wild; we hope to turn youth into active stewards of our wild land, create awareness to the environmental and social issues surrounding our daily lives. We’re building bridges aren’t we? – from this activism into an activity or an internship or career-based opportunity for anyone who finds a connection to protecting this land or educating others about these dynamic landscapes.

I’m originally from Visalia CA, and so I’ve tapped into my valley roots once again after working in a variety of jobs around the world and U.S. I most recently acquired a Master of Sustainable Development from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia and worked conjunctively with Toolijooa (an Aboriginal word for ‘emu’) in native plant restoration.

From 2002-2005, I worked in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer where I got blissfully dirty and sweaty working as an Agriculture Extension Agent in a small village of about 250 people. Aside from improved-variety field crop extension, I also managed to facilitate a participatory community workshop in the village that produced a five-year Action Plan for development activities. As a result, we were able to collaborate on a gravity-feed drip irrigation gardening program, a birthing table for the local health hut and various other health and ag-forestry projects. I also extended Kool-Aid and soap-on-a-rope with varying success. I stayed a third year as the Agriculture Program Assistant, where I helped to launch the Urban Agriculture sector of Peace Corps/Senegal, provided support and training to volunteers in the field, and wrote reports and articles about agriculture issues and programs.

I found a deep love in Senegal, not only for the people, but for my life with them and their land, despite the hardships and inconveniences they faced. Every single emotion is first-hand and every bit of warmth is larger than life. I primarily spoke Mandinke or Jaaxanke and French during my time there.

My life in development began in 2000 when I visited Niger for seven weeks, and then worked as a volunteer in Ghana for another seven weeks. In August 2000, I joined the Lower Nehalem Watershed Council on the northern Oregon coast in conjunction with Americorps and the Resource Assistance for Rural Environment (RARE) program out of the University of Oregon. This was a phenomenal experience in watershed outreach and stewardship issues. This opportunity turned me on to salmon habitat restoration, lands and natural resource management, estuarine research and grant-funded conservation and stewardship projects. This position led me to two seasonal jobs with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife in Coho and Chinook salmon mark and recapture projects and stream mapping. I was consequently wet for six straight months, again, blissfully.

Prior to this, I worked for almost three years with two newspapers (Hood River News, Hood River, OR and as a freelance writer with the Fresno Bee out of Visalia, CA). I’ve also worked as a fish processor out of rural Alaska, a Park Recreation manager in Indiana, a futon delivery driver in Sydney, various landscaping and construction jobs, and a pizza delivery driver as a consultant in crust improvement.

WildLink/NPS Bridge Project Enjoys Summer of Success

Wildlink/Yosemite Bridge 2007 gave six WildLink alumni a two-week, hands-on, learning experience in Yosemite National Park. Through the efforts of the National Park Service personnel and WildLink staff, the Bridge program began to span the divide that exists between diversity oriented education programs and NPS careers. It gave participants the confidence they need to commit to internships and paid positions with the National Park Service in the future. Participants included WildLink alumni Crisol, Juan, Natalie, Juan, Renee and Ana. It was an inspiring, educational, adventurous and exhausting two weeks, and we can't wait to do it again next year! Former WildLink Community Coordinator Melanie Medeiros, NPS Yosemite Leadership Program Manager Jesse Chakrin, and WildLink Program Coordinator Cynthia Ramaciotti took the lead on this very exciting program.

Participants had a wide range of experiences, including:

1. Exposure to 25 presenters representing 7 different organizations operating in Yosemite National Park. Within the Park Service, they heard from 6 different divisions and 12 different branches of Park operations.
2. Assisting with a restoration project in the East Valley.
3. Completing a Wilderness Patrol in Tuolumne Meadows. This included the reduction or removal of 7 fire-rings and the removal of 4 pounds of trash from Lyell Canyon.
4. Completing a tour of Hetch Hetchy, and a boat tour of the reservoir.
5. Assisting with the monitoring of the Peregrine Falcon population at the Rostrum.
6. Assisting Interpretive staff with 3 bear-roves.
7. Job-shadowing Yosemite Institute instructors during a day of field-based, educational programming.
8. Receiving a take-home library of Yosemite literature to participants through a partnership with the Yosemite Association.
9. Spending time getting acquainted with the Yosemite community through events and activities such as Sal’s Tacos, rock-climbing, and live music and dancing with the Adam Burns Band.

We would like to thank the Yosemite Fund, Yosemite Valley School, Yosemite Institute, Delaware North Company, and Yosemite National Park for their generosity, which made this program possible.

We anticipate offering this program next year to another six WildLink alumni, so keep your eyes open for our call for applications, which should be posted in the next few months. We want to see YOU here next summer!

WildLink Expedition I Summits Clouds' Rest

Our first expedition of the 2007-2008 year got off to a traditionally fantastic start with eleven students from nearby Turlock High School. They looked over the cliff edge at Taft Point on Sunday, shared stories with Park Rangers Tori Seher and Jose Lopez on Monday, and prepped all their necessary equipment before we headed for Yosemite’s high country Tuesday morning. The expedition included a challenging climb to the summit of Yosemite's Clouds' Rest.

Click here to view journal entries and images from this expedition.