Project overview: Expand access and opportunity on public lands for local, gateway community high school students through wilderness expeditions, stewardship projects, leadership trainings, family weekends, and park-focused career exploration.

How your support helps: WildLink is dedicated to helping teenagers from California — primarily students from communities of color and low-income communities — access, experience, and build lasting relationships with the natural world.   

The WildLink expedition and in-park stewardship projects have long served as the central initiating feature of the program, which was followed by local stewardship projects, Yosemite Family Weekends, and mentorship and career opportunities. These programs build students’ relationships with the natural world, create a sense of belonging in wilderness, and forge community. The WildLink experience begins with a six-day immersive program in Yosemite National Park, including a four-day backpacking trip into the park’s wilderness. Participants organize stewardship projects with their peers and communities to help spread care for the enduring resource of wilderness.  

Yosemite Conservancy donors have supported WildLink almost every year since the program launched in 1999. Over the past two decades, WildLink has served more than 1,500 students through 100+ outdoor expeditions and 75+ stewardship projects. 

This year: In 2026, funds will support the continuation of WildLink’s core programming, which has brought connection and stewardship to thousands of students over more than two decades. This will include a multitude of touchstone experiences for nine schools and up to 90 students. With your support, the WildLink team also hopes to support nine community projects that share park and wilderness connections.

Learn more about WildLink on the NatureBridge website. 

Project partners: Yosemite National Park; NatureBridge