Wilderness Youth Project’s Bridge to Nature Program

The mission of the Wilderness Youth Project (WYP) is to foster confidence, health, and a lifelong love of learning in young people and families through active outdoor experiences and mentoring. 

The fundamental belief of the Wilderness Youth Project is that all children have a birthright to nature. The Bridge to Nature program is intended to identify and overcome societal barriers to this birthright. In the beginning, these efforts were focused on addressing the barriers of cost and transportation—as such, we raised enough money to provide these programs free of cost. We also partnered with the Santa Barbara Unified School District to offer programs during the school day as well as after school so that caregivers did not have to rely on transportation to access our programs. 

As this partnership evolved, so did our understanding of different community needs, particularly the need to cultivate and support the general sense of belonging to places of wild character. To this end, Wilderness Youth Project is committed to being present at community events and effectively addressing language barriers in the communities we serve. Our goal is to provide all necessary resources that support family engagement with our organization. 

Wilderness Youth Project is highly regarded within the Santa Barbara South Coast region. We just completed a 5-year strategic plan, which includes the continuation of our current programs and the search to expand community partnerships. Our mission is to support the community by helping other organizations leverage the benefits of nature connection to grow their own services and programs.

Services Offered
Wilderness Youth Project Bridge to Nature programs serve preschool students through high school teens with mentored nature connection programs. Each program typically serves 10-15 kids with 3-4 staff. We try to maintain a 4:1 ratio of staff to kids and adjust for any special needs. Preschool programs remain at select locations for 5 hours. All other programs travel by van to numerous places of wild character throughout the Santa Barbara South Coast. These programs, generally 3-4 hours long, consist of exploration, games, crafts, and nature connection activities.

Cost to Participate
Bridge to Nature programs are offered free of cost. 

Contact Andrew Lindsey, Director of School Based Programs andrew@wyp.org (805) 698-8686 Website

Populations Served
Bridge to Nature programs meet at community centers, low-income housing facilities, schools, and youth service partner agencies. These programs are also centered around schools and communities in which more than 50% of families qualify for free and reduced meals. Our programs are open to all ages, from preschoolers to teens. 

Staff Composition
Wilderness Youth Project aspires to have its staff, leadership, and board reflect the demographics of the Santa Barbara South Coast. At present, our staff demographics are: 
Latino - 20%
White - 38% 
Asian-American  - 7% 
Black - 2% 
Indigenous - 4% 
Unknown/Decline to state - 29%
Female - 51%
Male - 22%
Non-binary - 2%
Decline to state - 25%
Without disability - 69%
With disability - 7%
Unknown/decline to state - 24%
LGBTQIA+ - 24%  
Heterosexual - 49% 
Unknown/decline to state - 27%