Back to School

WildLink teachers, students, and alumni:

Happy New (School) Year...Welcome back! Here in the Sierra, crisp mornings and chilly nights whisper the tale of a quickly approaching fall. In just over a month we’ll kick off the WildLink expedition season with Expedition I, October 13-18. Students from Jill Kinmont Boothe, Turlock, and Kingsburg High Schools will join us for the first of what I hope to be an amazing new year from WildLink!

Last week I joined the student body at Jill Kinmont Boothe High School in Bishop for the first of our Wilderness Education Assemblies (coming soon to a high school near you!). This new program will make wilderness education available to all students from WildLink schools, not just the students selected for the expedition program.

Speaking of Jill Kinmont Boothe High School…a big cheer for their WILDERNESS WEEK, which they’re holding the third week in September. Here at WildLink we appreciate all the work the teachers and students there are putting into understanding wilderness.

Girl Scout WIDER OP comes to Yosemite

Girl Scouts of Tierra del Oro 15-day Wider Opportunity experience, called “Valleys, Vistas, and Visions: Discover Yosemite” gave 30 girls from all around the country the chance to experience the pristine natural beauty of
Yosemite and explore behind the scenes of a national park to gain valuable environmental education along with their Leave No Trace Trainer Certification. These 30 girls facilitated a service project/education event for 100 Girl Scouts, grades K-6, and succeeded in obtaining the goal of this Wider Opportunity--a progressive outdoor learning experience and service project focusing on natural resource management, environmental impact issues, and outdoor career opportunities.

Click here to read a more detailed description of the Wider Opportunity program.

Click here to see pictures and journal excerpts from the expedition.

Expressing Wilderness:
Teacher Expedition

Coming up in October….our “Expressing Wilderness: WildLink Teacher Expedition 2003 is October 24-26! If you are one of our WildLink teachers who has not RSVPed yet, please do so ASAP!

E-mail me at mandy_vance@partner.nps.gov.

We hope to see you all there, where we’ll be unveiling our new scientific field journaling curriculum. We’ll introduce you to this amazing classroom tool with the help of Jack Laws, field guide author and long-time Sierra naturalist. To view the weekend expedition schedule, click here.

Want to be a WildLink Intern
or do you know someone who does?

We’re starting the search for next semester’s new and improved WildLink Intern program! This will provide you the opportunity to experience a wide variety of the jobs available in the National Park Service, training in the field science education program at the Yosemite Institute, and a prominent leadership role here at WildLink. You also receive a monthly stipend and a free home right here in Yosemite Valley…. So any of you WildLink alumni out there, age 18 or older, who are interested in this awesome opportunity, apply today! Click here to see intern journals to view the experiences of past interns). Remember, we can help you arrange to receive college credit for your time in Yosemite!

If you’re interested in these positions (we’ll be hiring two interns in January), e-mail me at mandy_vance@partner.nps.gov.

So we’ve got lots to look forward to this year. I’ll be seeing all of you at your schools soon….have a great September!

Mandy