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Helping kids and teens experience Yosemite’s wonders and create lasting connections with nature.

Yosemite’s future depends on its future champions. Your support can fund programs that inspire the next generation of park-lovers and public lands leaders by helping kids, teens and young adults get outside, explore and learn about the natural world, and participate in stewardship projects.

Current Projects

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Parks in Focus
Partner with youth-serving organizations to help Bay Area middle school students connect with nature and public lands through digital photography, hikes, and camping trips.
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Tribal Internships in Resource Careers
Recruit and train a Tribal intern to help document, restore, and protect sensitive cultural and natural resources, as well as support the Tribal liaison.
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WildLink
Encourage diverse California high schoolers to learn about and champion the environment via online lessons, community-based projects, and park-focused career exploration.
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Adventure Risk Challenge
Help teens from underserved California communities connect with nature and build academic skills through the two-year ARC Community Leadership Program, which includes a summer course in Yosemite.
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Junior Rangers
Inspire future stewards through year-round Junior Ranger programming, print workbooks to distribute for free in park, and introduce new adaptive activities and materials to better serve kids with a range of learning needs.
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Yosemite Leadership Program and Wilderness Education Center
Educate and inspire new environmental leaders through UC Merced–affiliated programs: an on-campus Wilderness Education Center, a two-year academic program, and summer internships.
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Through donor-supported youth programs, tens of thousands of children have earned their Junior Ranger badges, middle- and high-school students have immersed in the Yosemite Wilderness on camping and backpacking trips, undergraduates have learned about environmental leadership and completed prestigious internships with park professionals, and young adults have honed trail restoration skills in the ultimate outdoor classroom.

The impact of those programs doesn’t end when a hike, summer course or semester wraps up — many youth-program alumni have gone on to careers in public lands, including in Yosemite.

Areas of Focus

Thanks to supporters, we’ve provided over $152 million to Yosemite for more than 800 completed projects. Donor gifts help improve trails, restore habitat, protect wildlife, inspire the next generation of nature-lovers and more. Explore our funding areas to see current and past projects.