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NatureBridge: Connecting Youth to the Natural World

We are NatureBridge, formerly Yosemite National Institutes.

Our mission is to inspire personal connections to the natural world
and responsible actions to sustain it.

Serving over 40,000 participants annually, NatureBridge is the largest nonprofit residential environmental education partner of the National Park Service. Since 1971 we have introduced almost one million students to national parks through field science education programs for schools and youth leadership programs.

Latest News and Information

NatureBridge announces new Headlands Institute director

Environmental education veteran Aaron Rich to take the helm at NatureBridge’s iconic Bay Area environmental education campus

SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 7, 2010)—NatureBridge, the largest residential environmental education partner of the National Park Service, announced today that Aaron Rich has been appointed director of its Headlands Institute campus, located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, along the shores of Rodeo Beach in Marin County, Calif. NatureBridge’s Headlands Institute provides award-winning field science education to K-12 students from communities throughout the Bay Area and beyond.

Sequim Gazette | Olympic Park Institute hosts returning veterans

This week, NatureBridge’s Olympic Park Institute hosted military families participating in the Operation Purple Healing Adventures program.

The National Military Family Association program serves veterans who were wounded or experienced emotional trauma or illness related to their service in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.

Read the full story on sequimgazette.com »

NatureBridge's Olympic Park Institute Hosts Returning Veterans and their families participating in Operation Purple Healing Adventures Program

Environmental education campus on the shores of Lake Crescent proves to be an ideal spot for National Military Family Association Program

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (Aug. 27, 2010): This week, NatureBridge’s Olympic Park Institute hosted military families participating in the Operation Purple Healing Adventures program. The National Military Family Association program serves veterans who were wounded or experienced emotional trauma or illness related to their service in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). It gives veterans and their families a chance to reconnect as they spend time together relaxing, fishing, boating, and enjoying adventures led by experienced outdoor educators.

Vallejo Times-Herald | American Canyon teen working at summer camp, learning lessons in the great outdoors

On a foggy day in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Coastal Camp counselor Virginia Delgado recently told her campers to keep an eye out for rare gemstones buried in the sand.

"If you find a carnelian stone, make a wish and put it back," the 19-year-old American Canyon resident told the campers.

Read the full story on timesheraldonline.com »