March 2024 | eNewsletter

Dear Friends,

Even after 25 years, it never gets old to announce that YES has opened registration for another season of summer camp.

Many aspects of this anniversary year are special, and to see the continued impact of YES’s very first program in our community brings a unique sense of pride and purpose. Read on to learn more about the origins of YES, and particularly our history of providing summer camp scholarships, below. To honor the countless individuals who have defined our community over the years and have helped us to reach 25 years, I’m excited to share more flashbacks to YES’s early days and the evolution of programs throughout the year.

And while our talented YES team has led hundreds of trips now, we’re still novices in many outdoor elements–snow and cold temperatures, to name a couple. Below you can read about and see photos from last month’s Winter Camp. From fresh snow to cozy nights by the fire, the trip was a magical adventure that amounted to a lot of first time experiences for so many.

Our commitment to continued learning and new experiences has opened the door for YES to share our expertise in culturally conscious environmental education with different audiences over the years. Last month, YES’s programs were under the spotlight on the world stage at the 12th World Environmental Education Congress in Abu Dhabi, where Director of Programs and Partnerships Blanca Hernández collaborated with experts from Cornell University and other nonprofit organizations to speak to the importance of inclusivity and diversity in sustainability education. You can watch the case study interview featuring Blanca and YES here.

One of the best ways we know to celebrate special milestones is with all of you, so we’ll be hosting more small events this year to spend even more time in nature with our community. On Sunday March 24th, our development team is hosting a Coastal Cleanup at Point Molate for YES supporters to mingle with one another and the teens from the C3 cohort and learn from their expertise in clean waterways and park stewardship. If you’re interested in joining us, RSVP here–you can bring friends or make some there!

The big party, of course, will happen at Down by the Bay so save the date, June 1, 2024, to celebrate and kick-off the summer with the YES community. Tickets sales are just a few weeks away and you won’t want to miss it.

I’m looking forward to celebrating this year with you by our side.

In community,

Eric Aaholm, Executive Director

As a volunteer in Richmond elementary schools, Berkeley realtor Diane Mintz began hosting weekend outings to share her love of the Bay Area outdoors and the healing powers of nature with young people whom she had connected with in the classroom.

Inspired by the discovery and joy the youth felt on these hikes and camping trips, Diane was motivated to offer longer and more immersive outdoor experiences. In 1999, she provided scholarships for 81 Richmond students to attend residential summer camp at YMCA Camp Loma Mar, marking the official beginning of Youth Enrichment Strategies (YES). 

By 2005, YES had made summer camp possible for 2,000 Richmond youth by removing financial and logistical barriers. 

Now 25 years and thousands more campers later, our summer camp program still serves as the introduction for many youth and families to our community and our year-round family, youth, and adult programming. In this milestone year, we’ve partnered with nine host camps, providing even more variety of outdoor experiences and settings for hundreds more campers to discover their connection to nature. 

A cornerstone of YES’s outdoor programming is trying new things and leaning into unfamiliar experiences–and it’s true for our organization as much as our participants!

Tucked to the northeast of Wildcat Canyon, East Bay Regional Park’s Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve hosts much of what we love about its neighbor, while bringing in unique wildlife and indigenous plants.

Home to the very rare Alameda Manzanita (pictured), Sobrante Ridge boasts other endemic species of pines, alders, and oaks that can be enjoyed throughout the uniquely quiet park and along the scenic ridge line. Soaring above the trees, birders can spot golden eagles and red-winged blackbirds, while coyotes, deer, and other smaller animals navigate through the brush. 

For many years before its protection in 1985, Sobrante Ridge was home to cattle and horses, some of which helped produce modern day tetanus and diphtheria vaccines when the land was owned by Cutter Laboratories. 

The park is the ancestral homeland of the Saclan, a Bay-Miwok speaking tribe, who were forcibly removed from this land during the 19th century; their deep connection to and careful stewardship of the land have preserved its unique and scenic landscape.

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