Crenshaw HS Eco-Club Venture Crew Out Early and Often

Crenshaw's Eco-Club, consisting of approximately 50 high school students, took to the hot sands last September for the 23rd Annual California Coastal Cleanup at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles. Five WildLink ambassadors also participated, including two alumni who are currently attending college. WL Ambassadors Muthoni Gaciku, Camille Morris, Darlene Robateau, Dante Buford and Renee Kelly joined WildLink and Crenshaw HS Leader Bill Vanderberg, who coordinated the 4-hour event as part of the student body community service prospectus requirement.

Earlier in the summer, the Eco-Club Venture Crew also participated in a day hike up an 8-mile trail in the Santa Monica Mountains. The scenic views of Solstice Canyon were on display to 17 Eco-Clubbers, including WildLink Ambassadors Channing Martinez, Renee Kelly, Camille Morris, Robert Jackson and Dante Buford. Four of the WL Ambassadors are attending college. Crenshaw's Bill Vanderberg and three other teachers coordinated the event.

Wilderness Ambassador Plans Move Forward with New WildLink Community Coordinator

This year, the WildLink program got a facelift. David Kuhn replaces Melanie Medeiros as the new Community Coordinator, based out of the Clovis Sierra National Forest Service office. Melanie’s work in grounding the Wilderness Ambassador Program in the eyes and minds of the WildLink community schools, students and alumni has provided a solid launching point for the Ambassador Program. Already this month, David has been working and planning with several new greater central valley-based stewardship, education and volunteer organizations, as well as acquainting himself with established WildLink partners. The position is funded by a combination of federal and foundation grants.

One of David’s goals for the year is to establish WildLink as a sound program presence within its partner high schools and community collaborators. There is a broad range of disciplines represented within the WildLink community, and David plans to make Winter and Spring 2008 full of environmental education and conservation-based stewardship activities. Another goal is to establish a resource manual for high school students who want to start an Eco-Club at their school. This project will be the culmination of a diverse educator sponsorship around the U.S., input from established Eco-Clubs in and out of the WildLink family, and a demonstration project with a Stockton high school group starting an Eco Club in 2008. Finally, the Ambassador Program would like to be more involved with post-high school employment opportunities and internships for aspiring park stewards, natural resource managers, educators, and other related fields. Currently, there are plans for a student partnership with local Fire Safe Councils to fireproof rural or rustic properties before fire season.

WildLink Becomes Food for Thought at Teacher Development Dinner

WildLink community leader and Merced High School science teacher Laurie McLaughlin hosted six teachers at her Snelling ranch on October 19 for a Barbeque and brainstorm session. The rustic setting was perfect for the annual event, which also hosted Pedro Sarmiento - a WildLink alumni and liaison at the Harbor City Boys and Girls Club - who made the long drive from L.A. that afternoon. The session's focus was primarily on the WildLink Ambassador Program, a brainstorm session on how teachers' WL programs could be supported or supplemented, and various administrative logistics. The evening was augmented by the presence of Dennis Serpa of Sierra Backcountry Wilderness Riders, a group dedicated to teaching stock owners and users about the values of the Leave No Trace conservation campaign. WildLink is exploring a potential partnership with the Backcountry Wilderness Riders, adding to its diverse array of stewardship endeavors.

There will be similar workshops in both the Bay area and Los Angeles for our other WildLink teachers in the spring.

Madera High School Recycling Program Funds Field Trips

Credit Madera High School students for their school-wide recycling program - literally!

Two recycling programs on the campus have made the campus cleaner, safer and greener for the greater student body benefit. For their labor, each student in the program receives "credits" they can use towards field trips, t-shirts and other club needs.

Kathy Sierra, biology teacher at Madera HS and long time WildLink Program participant, estimates the lunchtime program recycles roughly 35 lbs/day, while the after-school program contributes a whopping 50 lbs/day. In both cases, students often collect, sort and separate recyclable materials from the rubbish before it hits the trash compactor.

Sierra says the Science Club, which is 70 persons strong, has carried the program for five years at Madera HS. As a result, recycling bins have been installed in 35 classrooms across campus. As a result, the club has two upcoming field trips where they can trade their "credits" for entrance or activity fees. On Nov. 17, roughly 25 students visited the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. On Dec. 21, approximately 20 students will kayak MontereyBay. Bring your waterproof skirts!

WildLink Opportunities Help Alumnus Build "Bridge" to Career Ambition

"There was something spiritual there in Yosemite, something I had to learn about myself," recalls WildLink alumnus Crisol Chavez about the personal connection she made with nature during her expedition with the Harbor City Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles. Chavez, who attended Harbor City B&GC as a student and as a volunteer, now works as an administrative assistant at the club. "We all get exposed to nature, plants and animals on TV and in our front yards. But in Yosemite we get a better understanding of how everything works all together. Wild life! Life that's truly wild!"

The WildLink expedition, coupled with her experience in the NPS/WildLink Bridge Program last summer, became a process of exploration about the wilderness and job opportunities in the parks system. The disciplines that most impacted her concerned nature-based education, interpretation and natural resource management, says Chavez.

"I've always known I wanted to work with kids and Mother Nature," says Chavez. "The Bridge Program really opened my eyes to the complexity of jobs and the world of nature and education, which is so different from my life in the city. We just don't get exposed to it as much [in Los Angeles]."

Chavez has been working for the Harbor City B&GC for three months, writing monthly reports for association funding. She invests a lot of time with the various leadership and activity clubs within the B&GC, such as the Keystone Club, Adventure Club and Career Launch. Because of her leadership role at the B&GC, Chavez enjoys a unique opportunity to recruit students for what she calls a "life-changing opportunity" with both the WildLink expedition and the Bridge Program. In 2008, the NPS-WildLink Bridge Program is slated to begin June 16.

When asked what she says to young kids to persuade them to join the WildLink expedition, she says "I didn't know I had the strength to take the load! We had to set goals physically and mentally, and I was so happy that we got to the top of that hill. The backpack was so heavy!"

Chavez says she would like to work in child education some day, and believes Yosemite helped solidify that career goal for her.

Kingsburg HS Students to Take GLOBE Skills to South Africa Seminar

Last month, five Kingsburg High School students, led by science teacher Peggy Foletta, set out to test ozone levels in the air around their campus were affecting asthma and overall respiratory levels of the school's students and athletes.

Next summer, the group will present their project to a GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Learning Expedition in Cape Town, South Africa. Foletta, a longtime WildLink teacher, said the 5 students actually received the idea based on a project from a former Kingsburg HS group's findings. According to judges, one factor determining the project's success was the linkage the experiment made from global warming to local air quality.