Wilderness Youth Project

Nature Connection In 2022, Wilderness Youth Project served 1,238 youth through outdoor enrichment programs: 47 weekly school-year and after-school programs, serving children ages three through eighteen. Additionally, WYP offered 672 summer camp spots. Through fundraising, WYP was able to provide scholarships to 65% ofparticipants. See additional information on Schedule O.American children spend over 90% of their time indoors. Research in education, psychology and child development confirms that time spent in nature makes children smarter, healthier, happier and more likely to care for the environment. All children need nature. Not just the ones whose families have privilege and easy access to nature. Not only those of a certain race or economic class or culture or gender or sexual identity or language or set of abilities. Using outreach to existing agencies including the Santa Barbara Unified School District, WYP has increased our capacity to recognize uneven access to nature and create access to nature connection and outdoor enrichment programs for marginalized youth in the community.

The Sea League (TSL) - TSL is a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organization dedicated to providing year-round, equitable opportunities for youth to engage in ocean sports such as surfing, stand up paddling, kayaking, free diving, and paddle boarding. TSL immerses youth who often lack access to the coast in fun and culturally representative experiences, knowing that all kids can be transformed by diversity and consistent time spent outdoors. Our mission is to create a more diverse ocean centered culture for kids. TSL seeks to disrupt the systemic racial disparities in sea faring ocean recreation. This program functions as a separate entity program, with Wilderness Youth Project acting as the fiscal sponsor.

REACH (Resilience, Education, Adventure, Community and Health) is a two and a half year experiential education program for motivated high school students from Santa Barbara County. The program prepares first-generation, low-income students for lives of purposeful action, continuous learning, and the courageous pursuit of opportunity by providing resources for college attainment and retention and equitable access to the outdoors. REACH annually recruits an average of 40 high school juniors, working with up to three cohorts at a time, and supports them through the summer after their first year in college. Post program graduation, students continue to receive mentorship as needed and resources to achieve their college success and outdoor access. See additional information on Schedule O.This program functions as a separate entity program, with Wilderness Youth Project acting as the fiscal sponsor. In 2022 the REACH program is fully funded by a single donor.