Expanding Horizons, Positive Youth Development, and SEL: The Power of Nature, Part 2

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Offering young people the chance to experience nature, particularly wilderness settings, provides powerful opportunities to promote social-emotional learning, build character skills, and build relationships and a sense of belonging. (See Part 1 of this blog post here.)

Below we continue our interview with youth program leaders who can speak directly to the power of outdoor and wilderness experiences for youth, especially inner-city youth.


Q: Exposing youth to the outdoors can be an expensive and complex task. For programs that do not have access to transportation or camping equipment, what is your recommendation for how they can expose their youth to the outdoors?

Bob Cabeza,
Youth Institute

Bob Cabeza, Youth Institute: I would strongly recommend partnering with agencies who have lots of experience in outdoor education as well as experience in Youth Development. Make sure that they have diverse staff as role models and leaders for the youth. Otherwise, its usually white enfranchised staff from wealthier socio-economic backgrounds and environments who are totally into the wilderness and environment due to life long access but know very little nor can empathize with inner city minority youth. 

A day trip does not give any type of long term impact that a multi-day camping wilderness experience does. They are not the same thing. Also, minority low-income youth need to gain access to beautiful nature, not just a local park. According to National Park data, over 92% of people who visit the parks are caucasian and older. We need to turn that around quickly or this generation will not have the love of the outdoors and advocate for the environment when they get older. 

We contract with other agencies and YMCA's nationally to take youth into the wilderness. I would advise programs to start small. Start with a few youth and staff and maybe a three day camping experience. That way, the cost is less and the staff gain confidence and experience as they move forward.

Brad Lupien,
arc

Brad Lupien and Staff from arc: Transportation in particular is expensive which poses a challenge for may programs. Adventure Sports and camping can be costly too.  But, parks, beaches, forests are cheap. 

Some ideas:

• There are lots of curriculum books out there for activities that can be done on a campus.  These may be east coast based and out of date but examples include; “Keepers of the Earth” and “And This our Life.”  Activities include leaf identification, nature art, gardening etc.  Essentially, you can bring nature to the schools. At the same time, getting OUT in nature is preferred.

• There are cheaper ways to get kids into nature. Los Angeles added bus routes that have stops at State Parks.  “Surf Bus” offers surf instruction and the bus for free.  Online pages offer geocaching in local parks. The DOCENTS at city, state and national parks will do group specific walks/talks for free.

• Finally, we, at arc, use the adventure outings as part of the leadership curriculum.  On campus classes and workshops on communication, problem solving, critical thinking, group dynamics are paired with culminating adventure/nature trips. This allows more expensive programs to be paired with less expensive programs which gets the overall budget to align.

Ashanti Branch, Ever Forward Club: I love the outdoor element, but it

requires an enormous amount of time and planning. To make this happen, we

Ashanti Branch,
Ever Forward Club

take advantage of the offerings of programs that specialize in taking youth on wilderness and camping trips. We partner with Bay Area Wilderness Training, which provides a gear library so that the cost barrier to getting youth outdoors is not a factor. We also partner with Young Men's Ultimate Weekend, a modern day Rites of Passage for young men. We have taken over 60 of our youth to this weekend over the years. This organization creates an outdoor weekend initiation for young men as they are making the journey from young men into mature adulthood. 

Q: What kind of experiences does your program offer youth? 

Bob Cabeza, Youth Institute: We offer a one week wilderness retreat for our Youth as an entry point to the Youth Institute to help them develop socially and emotionally before we delve into the academic and workforce skill building parts of our program. These experiences are not 'cabin camp'. They are outward bound type of experiences where youth sleep on the ground, build their own shelters, cook, clean, do orienteering, hike, climb, swim in lakes and rivers. They are intense group work learning impactful transformational experiences for youth. Our Youth bond as one family through these experiences and in numerous evaluations, this experience is what keeps them actively engaged in all areas of our program for many years. 

Photo Credit: Youth Institute

Brad Lupien and Staff from arc: What arc Adventure doesn’t offer is a cookie-cutter program. Every kid, every teenager, and every adult is unique in every possible way, so our trips are as well. The most important thing an outdoor education experience can be is accessible, so that participants feel welcome in the new environment and are encouraged to come back. We don’t make assumptions about the groups that we work with, making them fit into the “arc” culture and way of running programs. We take the time to learn the school or team culture, the comfort and participation level of the group, and the things the group wants to accomplish in their time with us, so that our program is a natural extension of their learning and a singularly memorable experience that they’ll want to repeat again and again.

Arc programming ranges from single day adventures (rock climbing, snorkeling, kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, surfing, canyoneering) to multi-day camping and backpacking trips.  Staff consist of certified guides to handle the adventures and naturalist/scientist to layer in the hands-on science.  Everyone is trained on youth development, leave-no-trace philosophy and group facilitation.  Whether working with a college, elementary school, church, or after school program we design the program to meet the unique needs of the group while always blending the “sport” with life and social skills lessons.  A day of rock climbing teaches figure 8 knots and ATC use but also how to deal with fear in our lives and how communication is a critical tool in goal setting.

Photo Credit: arc

Dr. Mark Schillinger, DC
YMUW

Dr. Mark Schillinger, Young Men's Ultimate Weekend: The Young Men's Ultimate Weekend is a modern, nonreligious, wilderness rite of passage initiation for young men ages 13 – 20. Young men of all socio - economic backgrounds attend our event in order to freely voice their concerns about becoming a man and acquire the leadership skills necessary for a responsible adulthood. Young men are in an environment where they can voice their concerns about adulthood, learn leadership skills and discover their own, personal values. The YMUW has a one-to-one ratio of mentors to young men, so young men are in a village with well-trained caring adult men who know how to model the right values.


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Bob Cabeza is Vice President of Community Development at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach and Founder of the Youth Institute. The Youth Institute is a year-round program that uses technology as an integral mechanism for promoting positive youth development and developing pathways to post secondary education and career readiness of low-income, culturally diverse urban high school youth. They built their program culture by exposing their youth to wilderness experiences. 

Brad Lupien is President and CEO at arc. arc is an after school and experiential education provider. They bridge the opportunity gap by creating transformational learning opportunities that empower youth to realize their full potential. They rely heavily on engaging youth in outdoor sports and wilderness activities.

Ashanti Branch is Founder and Executive Director at Ever Forward Club. Founded in 2004, the Ever Forward Club mentors young men of color in middle and high school by providing them with safe, brave communities that build character and transform lives.  

Dr. Mark Schillinger, DC, is Co-Founder of Young Men's Ultimate Weekend (YMUW). The purpose of YMUW is to provide young men with a weekend filled with incredible fun and challenges, while building a foundation for a confident and successful adulthood, through learning the importance of teamwork, developing a sense of accomplishment and acquiring leadership skills.

Expanding Horizons, Positive Youth Development, and SEL: The Power of Nature, Part 1

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

When I managed afterschool programs in West Contra Costa County (CA), we found that taking young people into nature and the wilderness were very powerful experiences. These included backpacking, canoe trips, and a week long outdoor experience at the YMCA camp on the eel river. 

Below we offer two videos that capture the importance of taking young people into nature. The first video focuses on older youth who are learning to rock climb. The second video focuses on Oakland children who are visiting nearby Muir Woods. For many, this is the first time that they have been outside of the city.

Youth Development, Entrepreneurship, and Rock Climbing

Nature Now

National parks turn into classrooms to turn a 

new generation into nature lovers

You can view an article from the Greater Good Science Center and another article authored by Bob Cabeza. 

Below we offer an interview with youth program leaders who can speak directly to the power of outdoor and wilderness experiences for youth, especially inner-city youth.

Q: What are benefits to exposing young people to nature and the wilderness - benefits to individuals, the group, even the adult supervisors?

Bob Cabeza,
Youth Institute

Bob Cabeza, Youth Institute: Nature is therapy to the nature deprived. Both young staff and youth create family bonds, learn about themselves and their place in the world and truly developed multiple skills simultaneously. It's layered hyper learning for all of the senses. Nature heals the wounds that society inflicts upon young people. Nature can be used as a rite of passage and as a medium to impact young people's lives in meaningful and productive ways. Such as helping them come to terms with issues in their lives. Helping them understand their potential and place in the world. There are numerous opportunities for metaphorical learning that are directly transferred into real life problem solving, academic and workforce skills. Nature unto itself teaches introspection and develops an appreciation of beauty and peace. It is meditative to the brain, heart and soul. 

Brad Lupien,
arc

Brad Lupien and Staff from arc: A hike, paddle, peddle, climb, or adventure in the back country truly expands horizons.  By stripping away the noises, stresses and chaos of daily life, one’s mind can open up.  There is a reason that across all cultures and religions prolonged time in nature is a rite of passage, a path to a higher being, and method for enlightenment.  More practically, adventure sports, gear and experience has become a pastime of the wealthy.  But, our parks, forests and beaches are free … or very inexpensive.  

Taking kids into nature is a simple and inexpensive way to close an opportunity gap. If we know that learning happens when it is active learning and/or collaborative learning, then outdoor education is a no brainer.  Young people must work together to reach a common goal (the top of a mountain, a distant island, or a the other side of a stream) and passive observation as you ascend, paddle, or traverse is simply not an option.   At arc, we often find that the adults staff joining the group as “chaperones” become “co-players” without prompt or push.  They come as the adult authority and leave as a co-participant.  The experience brings out the inner child and melts the traditional student/teacher, learner/presenter relationships.  Learning becomes collaborative with the adult vs for the adult.

Ashanti Branch,
Ever Forward Club

Ashanti Branch, Ever Forward Club: 
Outdoors are a bonding opportunity for youth. Getting young men out of their regular environment allows for an opening of the mind and a deepening of the heart. Often times within the confines of the concrete jungles with all of the radio waves and search for bars and likes; our young people often miss out on deep conversations and connections that they desperately want and need.  

Dr. Mark Schillinger, DC
YMUW

Dr. Mark Schillinger, Young Men's Ultimate Weekend: As a youth mentor, I have dealt with many young men who are having a hard time in school, struggling to have healthy relationships, and suffering from emotional problems because of their lack of exposure to the healing qualities of nature and to the lessons it offers.

I have seen how getting young men active and involved in group outdoor activities has helped them develop analytical skills. The demands of being outdoors force them to evaluate situations carefully and to hone their masculine wisdom and logic to make good decisions. Being outside, as it turns out, is not only good for their bodies—it’s also good for cognition. Something magical happens when young men are given the freedom to experience nature. Socially, physically, and mentally, they grow. Nature is the best classroom for them to discover who they really are, practice accepting and dealing with real-world situations, and gain trust in other males and their ability to work together to get things done. They develop confidence in their instincts and overcome their fears of the unknown.

Q: This is important for all children and youth. Why is it especially important for low-income and inner-city youth?

Bob Cabeza, Youth Institute: Well run outdoor education programs in nature teach problem solving, social and emotional learning, build intense positive relationships between peers and adults. It also tests ones confidence and develops critical, analytical, abstract and sequential thinking skills. These experiences can be tailored to teach communication skills, diversity and decision-making, and intense long term team building. – Bob Cabeza

Brad Lupien and Staff from arc: The importance of exposing low-income and inner-city youth to the outdoors cannot be overstated. Many students form our urban centers have no exposure to the state parks, forest areas, public beaches, and lakes right in their backyards.  Once they experience nature’s classroom and playground for the first time an awakening can occur within them. 

Half of the kayaking trips we take with low-income Los Angeles youth find that the kids have lived in LA their whole life, but have never seen the ocean. Most of the trips we lead with inner-city youth see the most common questions not being about the bugs or the dirt, but “Is this free?” and “Can I take my family?” After playing in the outdoors and feeling that instant connection to nature, it opens up a whole new world that students want to be part of, and they want to take their families with them. It exposes them to healthy lifestyles, environmental awareness, and a love of wildlife that they might not otherwise have access to. 

Dr. Mark Schillinger, Young Men's Ultimate Weekend: Getting young children out into nature is important for inner-city youth. Inner-city youth tend to be closed-in by buildings, buses and bulldozers. Nature is the perfect playground for them to more fully challenge their brains in a healthy way to develop their learning skills. Because movement and learning go hand-in-hand, nature affords young people the ability to move more freely, without worry of getting hurt or hurting others. Additionally, inner-city youth are under a great deal of stress. Nature is the perfect playground to release their pent-up energy safely and freely. Additionally, by being out in nature – especially at night – children learn to develop the virtue of, "awe". It's important for inner-city youth to begin to contemplate that nature does not only include the earth, but also includes a vast and mysterious universe that needs to be explored.

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Bob Cabeza is Vice President of Community Development at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach and Founder of the Youth Institute. The Youth Institute is a year-round program that uses technology as an integral mechanism for promoting positive youth development and developing pathways to post secondary education and career readiness of low-income, culturally diverse urban high school youth. They built their program culture by exposing their youth to wilderness experiences. 

Brad Lupien is President and CEO at arc. arc is an after school and experiential education provider. They bridge the opportunity gap by creating transformational learning opportunities that empower youth to realize their full potential. They rely heavily on engaging youth in outdoor sports and wilderness activities.

Ashanti Branch is Founder and Executive Director at Ever Forward Club. Founded in 2004, the Ever Forward Club mentors young men of color in middle and high school by providing them with safe, brave communities that build character and transform lives.  

Dr. Mark Schillinger, DC, is Co-Founder of Young Men's Ultimate Weekend (YMUW). The purpose of YMUW is to provide young men with a weekend filled with incredible fun and challenges, while building a foundation for a confident and successful adulthood, through learning the importance of teamwork, developing a sense of accomplishment and acquiring leadership skills.

Youth Stories

Sam Piha

By Sam Piha

It's so simple! Whether in a one-to-one or crowded conference hall, listening to youth and their stories are a source of inspiration. We don't need a research report or framework, we just need to listen. 

The Long Beach Youth Institute has produced a number of videos of youth simply telling their stories. Bob Cabeza, Founder of the Youth Institute and Vice President of Community Development for the YMCA of Greater Long Beach, answered our questions regarding these youth stories. 

Below, we've embedded one of these video stories. You can view the others by clicking on each of their names: 

• Elizabeth Alvarado

• Maria Gandarilla

• Prisma Bracho

• Jon Cabral

• Deshaunte and Don Juan Lewis

Q: Why did you decide to record these stories? 

A: In my years of experience in youth development, I find that young people need their stories told from their own perspective in order to help others understand their struggles, passions, strengths and issues. This is about growing up from an adolescent to a young adult. These are stories about issues of poverty and disengagement as much as strength and overcoming institutional oppression. 

If a young person can tell their story as a way of helping practitioners learn how to positively engage youth and provide supports for them, then these stories have tremendous meaning and value for the field of youth development. These stories help practitioners understand the human side of their work as well as to greater their knowledge of what it takes to help young people succeed over time.

Q: What benefits came to the youth as their stories were validated by this project? 

Bob Cabeza and YI Youth

A: The thing I heard over and over again is that their stories give them power - power to express themselves about their lives, power to make change in their communities, and power to help other youth by telling their life experiences. By telling their own stories, they also gain a better sense of what supports gave them strength during critical and traumatic times in their lives and what they believe should be given to other youth struggling through the same issues. Lastly, their stories help them gain leadership in knowing that they come from the same space as many of our youth and they are proof that one can make it through difficulties.

Q: What benefits do you think come from those who listen to these stories? 
A: Listeners of these stories will gain unique insight into the lives of youth in poverty and youth of color, their humanity, their struggles and their wisdom, and advice. These youth want to help others, especially urban youth. 

Hopefully, practitioners can use these stories as training tools for their staff who work directly with youth. If we are to effectively help youth face the tremendous barriers in their lives that cause trauma and a lack of hope, we must be able to empathize with them. These stories are testaments to their social and emotional learning and resiliency. 

Hiring Young People in Afterschool Programs

By Sam Piha

“Nothing affects after-school program quality more than the workforce.” Michael Funk, Director, After School Division, 

California Department of Education

Sam Piha

One important way of affecting afterschool quality and its attractiveness to young people is to engage older youth and program alumni in the operation of the program. There are multiple benefits - both to the program and the young adults who are engaged as leaders or hired as staff. 

A couple of years ago, we conducted research on high school afterschool programs that engaged youth leaders and hired youth as staff. We published a comprehensive briefing paper that examined ways to compensate the youth, the legal issues involved, program examples, and what youth have to say about their experience. You can review this paper by clicking here. While most afterschool staff are between the ages of 20-29 (63%), few are under the age of 20 (just over 8%).  

Source: Examining the Future of the After-School Workforce (2012) 

www.californiawin.org 

Below we offer the perspective of a program leader who is a leading practitioner and proponent of this idea. In an upcoming blog, we will offer the views of older youth and program alumni who have been impacted by the opportunity to work within afterschool programs. 

Bob Cabeza

"Over my 34 years working in the after school and youth development fields, I have personally witnessed children become confident, young leaders within our youth development programs. 

Then, finish college and become professional staff within our agency. I have seen our low income youth of color go from being disenfranchised to now entering the upper middle class and becoming a professional engineer, doctor, social worker, architect. I presently have 20 Board Members, seven of which are professionals who were once youth in our programs and now are capable adults doing extremely well financially and paying it forward by both volunteering and donating generously to our programs.

The moral to this story is that we need progressive, seamless programming for our young people to have a place to grow up in throughout their childhood and adolescence and into young adulthood. When we can support, nurture, develop skills and mentor our youth and young adults, then we create a new generation of activists and supporters of the cause of youth development. These young adults are the ones that we need to have take over the leadership of our programs and become our volunteer board members and advocates for the next generation of youth. That is the ultimate visionary goal and I have seen it come to life before my eyes over the past 22 years here in Long Beach. In my experience, that is why after school programs are so important for youth. Providing ladders of leadership for youth is the next strategic step in that continuum.

Youth Institute at YMCA of Greater Long Beach

Engaging youth in the operations of programs is important because it provides young adult mentors for our children who come from the same neighborhood, culture, ethnicity and relatable experiences as those children. It provides appropriate role models for children who model high school graduation, college attendance, etc. It provides hope and examples for our children that they can achieve further education. 

Lastly, young people in adolescence and post adolescence are seen by children as popular and cool! This dynamic enriches the lives of the children by providing a big brother/sister dynamic and enriches the lives of the young adult by them as they become mentors and leaders to younger children. It is much more of a personal and intimate relationship than the institutional teacher/student relationship. It creates a 'camp' positive group dynamic at a school site." 

- Bob Cabeza

___________________

Bob Cabeza is Vice President of Community Development at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach & Change Agent Productions. Mr. Cabeza has over thirty years experience in youth development, community development and digital media arts programming, resulting in the ability to build and lead unique programs designed to better the lives of children, youth and families.  Mr. Cabeza has a special focus on youth development and technology equity for underserved communities as it relates to developing both academic and workforce success. 

How Out-of-School Programs Can Effect Academic Outcomes

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

While educators wring their hands about low test scores and educational reformers struggle to show improved academic outcomes, another study has recently been released that shows how out-of-school programs that do not focus on remediation, can lead to improved school outcomes. 

“Effects of an Out-of-School Program on Urban High School Youth’s Grades,” which was just published in the Journal of Community Psychology, examined the effect of the YMCA High School Youth Institute (YI) on grades, test scores and school attendance using a randomly selected matched comparison group. YI youth had significantly higher English-Language and Math test scores and somewhat fewer absences than the comparison group. Active YI participants had significantly higher academic GPAs and math test scores as well as somewhat higher total GPA. The findings suggest that high quality, comprehensive out-of-school programs can positively influence the academic performance of low-income youth. 

Below, we ask Bob Cabeza a number of questions about this study (Bob is the Vice President of Community Development, YMCA of Greater Long Beach and Founder of the Youth Institute).  

Bob Cabeza, How Kids Learn Conference

Q: Can you briefly describe what you think are the most important findings of this study? 

A: The most important findings in the study are the increases in GPA and grades as compared with the control group. Also, the real eye-opener was that the greater duration of the youth's involvement with the program, the more positive their grades and GPA became. Clearly showing that not just academic interventions, but learning engagement coupled with social supports in an out-of-school program makes a difference in a youth's in-school academic outcomes.

Q: What are you most excited about? 

A:  I am most excited about the fact that we knew that we were making a positive difference in young peoples' academic success and future, anecdotally and qualitatively, but now we really have some indisputable, quantifiable evidence to that fact. I am also excited that this article supports greatly what all of us in the high school afterschool field believe and are doing.

Q: You have spent much of your career defending youth development over pure remediation in afterschool as a way to promote school and life success. What in your program design and implementation would you point to that resulted in these findings? 

Photo Credit: Youth Institute, Long Beach

A: When youth are bonded to a pro-social adult who supports them academically and hold high expectations of them, they want to do well intuitively. And when those relationships are strong and long-term, young people feel cared for. They open themselves to academic and social interventions, as well as positive messages that they need. As a result, they try harder and do better academically. I also think that when young people are engaged in learning activities that they see as relevant to their lives and futures, they gain other skills that are transferable in academic environments - things like 21st Century skills. We are talking about abstract thinking, sequential thinking, problem solving, group work, and critical thinking. We see them use their love of learning, which all young people have, and they sometimes challenge the academic environment if it lacks relevance.

Q: The Learning in Afterschool & Summer (LIAS) project has stressed the importance of learning – we believe that learning IS development. How do you view and how do you use the LIAS principles in your program? 

A: Our whole programmatic philosophy is based on the LIAS principles. We design all of our curriculum and teaching approaches to these principles. For instance, we budget unique field trips to cities and national parks and do unique activities and bonding in these spaces to help young people become exposed to different environments. These experiences develop independent living skills, appreciation of their natural world, life sciences, cultural experiences, and different artistic as well as architectural environments. This experience directly relates to learning that expands horizons and connects a real world experience to an abstract exercise in school such as reading about the natural environment or studying about a city or culture. 

Photo Credit: Youth Institute, Long Beach

All of our creative digital arts assignments are project-based and require problem solving, exploration, group work, and an end product and celebration. Moving through a multi-dimensional activity where it's both research-based and active-based supports multiple learning principles. These approaches support learning that is collaborative, active, meaningful, supports mastery, and expand horizons.

Q: How important are the LIAS principles to achieving the kind of findings that your study showed?

A: We need to get young people excited about learning. We need to get them engaged in the learning process and we need to activate their innate developmental curiosity, passion, and intellect. That is what the LIAS principles do when approached correctly. When youth have a positive learning experience, it provides for the development of new skills and a greater sense of agency, which effects their performance in the academic environment.