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Reedley
High School's Generation Green Program joined John of the Sequoia
Filed Institute and Stephanie of Creative Outdoor Recreation
Edventures for a fantastic eye-opening four-day adventure into
Sequoia National Park’s wilderness. 10 students and 2
chaperones made deep connections with their environment.
"I see the mountains everyday but I could not touch
or breathe its air."
-Elena, Expedition II
They just got in and out before October’s storms hit and
enjoyed cool but clear weather. They spent their first day at
the Beetle Rock Education Center, studying sequoia ecology,
wilderness, and being shown the Air Quality Monitoring Station
by NPS Air Quality Technician Heather Dumais. Standing among
the sequoias of the Giant Forest is always a highlight for the
students and chaperones. A crystal clear evening of star watching
ended the day.
This very strong group covered the 5 miles to Clover Creek with
ease as they learned to understand and identify the diversity
of life around them. This group took to Leave-No-Trace ethics
with enthusiasm. The much appreciated help of a few returning
student chaperones who led by example and helped to translate
for the instructors made for an exceptionally quick learning
group.
On the third day they hiked to Twin Lake (4-miles round trip)
to make water quality and environmental observations. They carried
out a water invertebrate survey and made maps of the area. A
highlight for the instructors was the exceptional quality of
the observations made while drawing and making journal notes
of a struggling lodgepole pine.
This was an excellent group. Through this experience participants
advanced from expressing a great fear and unawareness all the
way up to a love and appreciation of the Park Service, Wilderness,
ecology, hiking/wilderness skills, and safety. What was once
a distant foreign place became a part of their community.
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