TOP 10 REASONS WHY WE LOVE WYP PROGRAMS IN WINTER 10. Our open spaces are the least crowded they are all year 9. Climbing trees that no longer have leaves and remembering what they look like during the rest of the year 8. The creeks start to run wild and we get to play in
From the Field: Let it Go / Desde el campo: Déjalo ir Ver en español Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing nature connection stories from the field! We asked our staff to share the stories that are currently on their minds and hearts. Today we are sharing a beautiful story from one
From the Field: Let it Go / Desde el campo: Déjalo ir Read More »
From the Field: Condor Teens / Desde el campo: Los adolescentes Cóndor Ver en español You cannot trick teens with candy change their feelings or make them eat extra oatmeal. you cannot convince them that this is not hard, grueling, sweaty, painful you cannot make them walk faster be nice brush their teeth
Notes From the Field: Condor Teens / Desde el campo: Los adolescentes Cóndor Read More »
All about how program registration works Two values that inform our registration: All children need nature. And yet many kids lack access to the outdoors. That’s why WYP connects kids from all backgrounds to Santa Barbara’s natural beauty. Our goal is to mirror the demographics* of our service area from Goleta to Carpinteria. WYP believes
Everything you ever wanted to know about how registration works at WYP Read More »
School Year Programs Program Descriptions: WYP School Year The purpose of Wilderness Youth Project (WYP) is to mentor children through the process of developing deep, long-lasting, positive relationships with the natural world. Despite the seeming simplicity of this goal, a tremendous amount of thought and practice stand behind our achievements. The majority of our after-school
Starting with gratitude is a tradition at Wilderness Youth Project. As we begin the summer of 2015, we give thanks for our long term participants. Their stories, in their own words, are the best way to learn about how kids benefit from our programs (turn the page!). Hearing “where they grow from WYP” reminds us
As a college student, my friends and I would occasionally escape to Lizard’s Mouth, away from Isla Vista’s over stimulation or the library’s constant call. We’d drive the distance, walk a bit until we found a nice rock, and then sit. Although the wind and view left us refreshed and humbled, I always left with
Along the Gaviota coast there is a tunnel. Passing under the railroad tracks at a 30 degree angle, it exits along a seawall on a secluded beach. At high tide, waves batter the wall and powerfully reflect, converging with incoming waves to create 15 foot high pillars and sheets of spray. For an adventuresome group
Some kids constantly sweep the ground with their eyes; they are the ones that find all the treasures. Then there are the kids who are constantly stretching the boundaries with their eyes, “Can we go up there?” “Can we just go around the bend?” “Can we follow that trail?” I found myself with the latter
This past March, The Atlantic stirred the parental pot by publishing, “The Overprotected Kid.” The article details trends in parenting over the last thirty years and goes on to document some of the research regarding those trends, particularly around a child’s sense of risk. The ensuing controversy was likely predictable. Links to the article exploded
