2022 YOUTH LEADERSHIP ADVENTURES NORTH CASCADES INSTITUTE
PROGRAM REPORT
Empowering local youth to envision and build a just and sustainable future
Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) offers local teens the opportunity to participate in 9-day backcountry trips in North Cascades National Park. Through immersion in an alpine environment shaped by glaciers, participants are inspired to envision a hopeful, joyful, and sustainable future for the North Cascades ecosystem and the individuals within it. In addition to outdoor skills, the YLA curriculum focuses on leadership skills, team building, and climate change solutions, giving participants the knowledge and tools they need to become stewards of the natural world and engage in community advocacy.
Program Outcomes
INTERDEPENDENCE Deepened connection with nature and increased awareness of our interdependence with the natural world
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This trip impacted me with more knowledge on climate change because it was not a topic talked about in school. YLA made me more aware of its effects and what we can do to make a change.
IDENTITY & EQUITY Equitable access to outdoor engagement
LEADERSHIP & COMMUNITY ACTION Foster pathways toward community engagement focused on climate solutions, hope and collaborative action
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I learned so much about the basics of camping, but more importantly I learned about the land I live on and why conservation is so important.
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The combination of getting to know young people with similar interests and diverse experiences while learning about environmentalism and the natural beauty in my area is so special.