After months pitching Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) trips to classrooms of stoic students, sending countless emails and texts,and watching our enrollment numbers tick up, students rolled into …
Read More of A window into Youth Leadership Adventures experience
When I hugged my mom goodbye and stepped onto the Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) van for the first time this July, leaving my phone behind, I had …
Read More of “My Summer with YLA” — Student Reflection
What a summer it’s been, jam-packed and overflowing with fun as Institute programs got folks outside exploring and learning in our wild backyard! A sampling of the …
Read More of Summer 2024 Photo Round-up!
Guest post by Kaylin Lilly, 2024 YLA Instructor After having an extremely impactful season last year, I was eager to come back to Youth Leadership Adventures as …
Read More of Creating Community Beyond Language
Listen to students reflect on their YLA experiences on the last day of their trips in the summer of 2024!
By Alan Alatorre-Barajas, Institute student alumni and Vamos Outdoors Project board and leadership team member Recently, I was having a conversation with a supporter of the Vamos …
Read More of Alan Alatorre-Barajas’ Environmental Education Journey
My name is Amy Brown and I’m honored to share a little about my environmental education journey at North Cascades Institute. This Fall, I was invited to …
Read More of Amy Brown’s Environmental Education Journey
I had one huge question: is this what they actually need? Is this experience something that will be helpful for these students? Is this 9-day canoe experience …
Read More of The Power of Patience: Building Community in Youth Leadership Adventures
I sat on a sunbaked rock after a long canoe day and watched our students ecstatically jump into the icy cold waters. Two students, Lili and Maya, …
Read More of Languages: Barriers or Bridges in Youth Leadership Adventures?
My name is Alma. I am a daughter. I’m a friend. I am a cancer survivor. I’m a hiker. I am a consultant. I’m a kayaker. And …
Read More of Alma Busby-Williams: Why I Support Outdoor Education as a Mother