Storyteller Nature Play Day WYP + Storyteller Wilderness Youth Project and Storyteller Children’s Center have partnered for many years. Storyteller is a Santa Barbara based therapeutic preschool providing high-quality early childhood education for children facing adverse challenges in Santa Barbara County and comprehensive support services for their families. Through WYP’s Bridge to Nature program, WYP …
The Heart of WYP: A Community Zine Read Zine Now Dear WYP Community, At Wilderness Youth Project, we encourage gratitude in every facet of our work, whether it’s in a circle of kids on program or in our staff meetings. Giving thanks has become as natural to us as the rocky sandstone of the Santa …
Building a Bridge to Nature A Hesitant Participant His first time coming to program, Mateo* stood stiffly and quietly beneath the blossom tree in front of the El Centro community center, a partner in WYP’s Bridge to Nature program. Sky blue eyes turned down to the leaf-covered grass, he looked like he wanted to be …
Explore the Coast The Coastal Conservancy funds Bridge to Nature “California’s ocean, coast, and beaches are spaces of joy, relaxation, and healing. The ability to experience the coast without fear of financial cost, physical barriers or feelings of not belonging, is crucial to how people cultivate their own lifelong connections with the coast.” -The State …
Time spent in nature is a vital tonic for our health and well-being, and is the perfect place to explore and discover who we are. It’s important that nature connection is a essential part of our lives and we have a responsibility to create opportunities for more kids of all ages to get outside and connect with nature.
When I was a child, nature was available. We had the freedom to roam.Wilderness Youth has been the contemporary substitute for that roaming freedom! Adventure without walls and interactions with wood, water, dirt, and rocks, and weather. To know that we are part of a larger chorus of evolutionary affiliates and that some connection to most of what we experience in nature is and has been part of our legacy on the earth.
My wish would be that each parent impart a sense of wonder to their young children, whether they live in urban or rural settings. Children also benefit from nature connection with others – thank you Wilderness Youth Project – for providing this kind of mentoring and nature connection for so many children in Santa Barbara.
I’ll never forget overhearing a WYP mom say, ‘All I want for my daughter is to be able to sit quietly beside a tree and enjoy life.’ In this funny way, that’s all I want for my life and the world as I grow older. WYP does that better than any program I’ve ever experienced.
Spending time in nature is a precious gift for children! During my own childhood, the ocean and the woods soothed my heart when it was aching, made me stronger, and kept me out of trouble. Still does….
WYP is a like a breath of fresh air, and we are so lucky to have such a great organization in our very community that teaches care and respect for the world around us. We so appreciated each and every staff member taking the time to get to know our son, and to use that knowing to guide him in his WYP adventures.
