youth Archives - Sempervirens Fund

Back to (Nature) School

September 6, 2022

Whether it’s camping, hiking, going to the beach, or attending camp, connecting with nature doesn’t have to end with summer. In fact, it’s incredibly helpful to our physical, mental, and social health to maintain our connection to nature and experience it often. We spoke with outdoor educators at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History about resources to help us feed our curiosity and connection with nature.

Counselor leads youth hiking to the Valley of the Giants at Camp Jones Gulch. Boys look up toward gisant redwoods with awe and smiles on their faces.

Camp Jones Gulch: Childhood Connections Create Conservationists

August 14, 2022

Camp Jones Gulch has sparked a passion for the outdoors for thousands of young people. We talked with campers and the Y of San Francisco’s outdoor education leaders about how protecting Camp Jones Gulch protects critical, diverse habitats, and outdoor education and opportunities with exponential impact for the environmental movement.

The End of Rain

July 13, 2022

As temperatures soar, droughts become more frequent, and fire seasons lengthen, does it change how we see the land? Scott Ordway, an award-winning composer and multimedia artist, explored those questions and shared his reflections through words, sounds, and images with the hope that art experiences like these can help strengthen connections with nature–the basis for action.

The setting sun shines rays opf golden light through a blanket of lavender fog below three redwood trees overlooking the forest below, by Canopy Dynamics

Protecting Camp Jones Gulch

June 23, 2022

Nearly a million young people have attended Camp Jones Gulch to connect with nature and themselves, since it opened its doors in the 1930’s. But time and money were running out to allow more youth the opportunity to marvel at its landscape. Read on to learn what makes Camp Jones Gulch so special and how a conservation easement will protect it forever and keep it resilient for generations to come.

Camp Jones Gulch Sign By YMCA San Francisco

Camp Jones Gulch: A Partnership for Youth and Nature

May 18, 2022

Some of the oldest redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains thrive at a YMCA camp with the oldest history of inclusion—Camp Jones Gulch. We sat down with Jamie Bruning-Miles, President and CEO for The Y of San Francisco, to talk about how, together, we are expanding youth access to nature.