Despite the government shutdown, ARC had a successful and adventure-filled October Retreat the weekend of October 11th. Instead of staying in Yosemite, students camped in the Nelder Grove of Sequoias below giant majestic trees. Many students overcame their fears while rockclimbing and learned to trust themselves and others. There were a lot of smiles […]
ARC Loves its Interns
Prior to starting college, Jessica Rivas had no idea backpacking even existed. Then she discovered the Yosemite Leadership Program (YLP) at UC Merced, and began the journey that led her to call the wilderness her second home. Jessica was raised in a Spanish-speaking home in North Hollywood where, she says, “the buildings shine brighter than […]
Sleeping Bag Hop was a Great Success at the Dos Palos BBQ!
Twenty-six Dos Palos HS students and their family members attended the ARC BBQ on September 28th. Students participated in youth-designed outdoor games and were awarded prizes from local businesses. The activities included a sleeping bag race, water-bottle-pyramid throw, and a tent-construction competition. Every participant received a prize courtesy of Subway, Pizza Factory, and America Taqueria […]
ARC Leadership Moves Forward
ARC congratulates Sarah Cupery Ottley, who is enthusiastically moving from the role of Program Director into the Executive Director position. Sarah has been with ARC since 2009, when she joined the organization to open a new program site in Yosemite. Because of her rootedness in the Yosemite community, years of experience as an interpretive ranger […]
ARC Students Help Pick Up Over 700 Pounds of Trash along the Merced River!
The Merced River is cleaner, thanks to the efforts of over twenty dedicated youth and college students last Saturday. More than seven hundred pounds of trash were collected in the Merced River Recreation Area, just outside of Yosemite. In addition to the standard tools of trash pick-up (bags, gloves, etc.), students used an inflatable raft to collect […]
Charting Successful Courses
At both our program sites, Yosemite and Truckee, ARC hosted very diverse groups in our summer immersion courses this year—from urban and rural California, from 12 towns, seven cultural heritages, and six languages spoken among the participants. Our teams were filled with many different personalities as well: the vocal leaders, the organizers, the jokesters, and […]