Students from Merced High School in Merced, California, came together for a beautiful WildLink week, which included some great snow time in a wintry Yosemite Valley as well as a spring-like exploration of a warm and sunny Hite Cove in the Sierra National Forest. This is a particularly special expedition because it is carried out in honor of Richard Iglehart, whose loved ones have established the Iglehart Wilderness Foundation in his memory. As has become a tradition with the Richard Iglehart Memorial Expeditions, the spirit in which this expedition is supported lent it a special intensity and energy. WildLink would like to thank the Iglehart Wilderness Foundation for increasing their support of the program this year to two expeditions.

Click here to learn more about Richard Iglehart.

Click here to learn more about the Richard Iglehart Foundation.

Some of the highlights included a beautiful hike up to the Hite Cove Ridge; finding bear tracks in the mud; helping with the Hite Cove Photomonitoring Project; donning waders and optivisors for a snowy and icy aquatic biomonitoring session on Illilouette Creek (which is part of a Yosemite Institute collaborative research project with UC Merced); and learning some great new songs from WildLink instructor Catherine. It was a week of firsts for many of us: first time to climb a mountain, touch snow, go camping, and to be in Wilderness.

Thank you to all of you for a wonderful week; may this be the first of many adventures you enjoy in the Wilderness in the years to come!

First Annual WildLink Youth Leadership Summit

WildLink is pleased to officially announce the details of our first annual Youth Leadership Summit. We have spent the better part of two years working with teachers and other professionals to plan this event, which we hope will open more doors of opportunity to growth and learning to our WildLink alumni and their peers.

Ghandi once said,"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

At WildLink, we know that today's leaders come in all shapes and sizes. With so much going on in the world leaders emerge as opportunity demands. Learning how to lead and how to work with communities for positive change can be powerful and important skills to know.

The Youth Leadership Summit is aimed at developing leadership skills and inspiring youth to step out as leaders in their local communities. This day-long workshop will be a fun, social environment in which to play and learn the skills involved with community change.

The morning will be spent with a fast-paced decision making game of community change. Youth leaders will have to identify key stakeholders in their fictitious communities and develop strategies to move the stakeholders towards supporting their change efforts. Communication and cooperation among leadership team members is key to success in this game.

Once the youth have been introduced to and practiced community change strategy, they will be given a relevant, current issue from their real-life community. The teams will research the issues and come up with an action plan to move their community towards equitable resolution of the issue.

Games, picnics, new friendships and social opportunities will round out the leadership summit. The youth will go home with new skills and knowledge as well as new friends and inspiration that they hold the power to take an active leadership role in their community.

Where: Fresno's Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies
When: Saturday, April 22, 2006
Who: teachers, and interested students (including but not limited to WildLink alumni)
How much: free, including lunch!

We are currently at full capacity for this event, but if you would like to be put on a wait list in case of cancellations, e-mail me at mandy_vance@partner.nps.gov, or call me directly at (209) 372-0607. We are also looking for teachers and volunteers to help facilitate the event. Contact me if you are interested.

We hope to see you there!

WildLink Expansion Plan 2006/2007 School Year

We realize that things might have seemed a little quiet at Wildlink this winter. However, the truth is that we are in a state very much like the plants and animals hidden right now by the mountains’ wintry blanket. Though we haven’t made a lot of noise in the last few months, we have been very busy developing the structure and funding foundations necessary to begin moving forward with an expansion plan that will allow us to double the number of individuals we reach in the 2006/2007 school year. So get ready to see WildLink burst into the warmth of a new season with a brightness and energy you’ve never seen! Here are a few of the developments we have planned:

1)Our first annual Youth Leadership Summit, to be held in Fresno on April 22, 2006. This day-long workshop will be a fun, social environment in which WildLink alumni can play and learn the skills involved with community change. We plan to reach between 40 and 60 WildLink alumni with this program and will build on its success in subsequent years to reach more and more of our youth.

2)A full-time school year Community Organizer, who will be based out of Forest Service offices in Clovis, CA. Their primary responsibilities will include acting as a local support for teachers and students before the expedition as they plan and prepare for their trip, and guiding them through the process of selecting, carrying out, and documenting their Wilderness Ambassador projects. They will also be available for Wilderness Assemblies at schools, as well as publicizing events like our WildLink Family Weekend, Teacher Development Weekend and our new annual Youth Leadership Summit to WildLink alumni in their home communities and schools.

3)A half-time WildLink Assistant, who will be a senior instructor from the Yosemite Institute Field staff. This person will take over the field instruction part of the program by leading our WildLink expeditions. They will also take part in school pre-trip visits, special events and management of the WildLink website.

4)Six new expeditions of twelve students each, if our development efforts are successful. This increase from six to twelve expeditions per year will double the number of students we serve.

And of course, we will continue to offer our annual Teacher Development Workshop and WildLink Family Weekend.

All of these additions to the program are designed to help us reach more students and teachers with WildLink, and to better support our teachers and alumni. We would like to recognize the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, Yosemite Institute and our many funders; for without their support, none of this would be possible. Thank you.