Y Ranger Program Highlights and Accomplishments by

Daniel's Additions to Campfire

2024-08-20 22:24:57 UTC

Loved Daniel's (Y counselor) contributions to the campfire. It made it feel like some of the summer camps that I attended as youth. Would love to see how more Y staff can be involved with skits/songs/games during campfire.

NIT

2024-08-20 22:26:16 UTC

Had a teen camper that has never gone to the Golden Gate and got to experience crossing it within our program.

Michael Co-Hosting 5 Campfires!

2024-08-20 22:26:41 UTC

Michael (NPS intern) co-hosted 3 planned campfires and was able to host 2 additional last-minute requests to host.

I appreciated how involved the Presidio 1-2 Y Staff were in supporting camper management and reminding campers of safety tips!

cristina_martinez18 — 2024-08-20 22:26:45 UTC

Win: Everything worked from camper perspective

2024-08-20 22:27:18 UTC

There were some last-minute switches, a lot of crazy days, but the campers were entirely shielded from this and got tons of valuable, wonderful experiences.

The power of Familiarity

2024-08-20 22:27:32 UTC

The amount of times that Y-Rangers recognized and warmly greeted an Adventure Guide when they would later visit the TunnelTops was pretty amazing to see. Power of a meaningful and recognizable connection was dope.

Improved Group Management

2024-08-20 22:27:34 UTC

YMCA Counselors got better and better with group management as summer progressed.

NIT Programs

2024-08-20 22:27:37 UTC

Participants are looking forward to next summer.

Learning!

2024-08-20 22:27:53 UTC

I walked away from this summer having seen the impact of so many campers better understanding the areas in which they live and the outdoors in general. Through campfire and visiting places like the batteries and forts, I heard so many questions about Indigenous land.

The Diversity of the Campfires

2024-08-20 22:28:00 UTC

I had the pleasure of participating in many different iterations of the campfire program. I and every ranger each brought their own stories, songs, games and perspective to each. It provided a meaningful experience for me and the campers as well.

So much curiosity and kindness!

2024-08-20 22:28:09 UTC

It was wonderful to experience the curiosity that campers of all ages brought to programs here at San Francisco Maritime. Especially appreciated the kindness and care that the older campers showed to younger ones in the K-5 groups.

Volunteer Coord. Wins

2024-08-20 22:29:05 UTC

growth of service learning programs
most kids signing forms - great progress made
Conservancy CSE team leading service adjacent programs
Volunteer team leading a program with kids at Fort Baker with maintenance teams support
People’s ability to pivot!

Coordination

2024-08-20 22:29:14 UTC

So many programs, kids, events, etc. It takes a lot to herd some many cats!

Marin Headlands

2024-08-20 22:29:24 UTC

My team (MAHE Interpretation) enjoyed being able to grow their skill set and have fun while doing so. Many of them up until now have become accustomed to providing programming primarily to adults at the Point Bonita Lighthouse ie: Sunset Tours, Light Chats, etc - and they generally aspire to tell lesser-known stories that are oftentimes heavy and hard hitting... we challenged them to still weave in some of these stories and lessons, but in a way that was more digestible and appropriate for our Y-Rangers

Grants

2024-08-20 22:29:28 UTC

Many youth were able to access the outdoors.

2024-08-20 22:29:29 UTC

Congrats Aracely and Ronni! I know how much work it is to coordinate this program overall—you two did a great job! Thank you to all the loyal staff who support this program year after year, and to all the new staff and interns who got to support for the first time!!! Viva Y Rangers!!

Crabbing!

2024-08-20 22:29:38 UTC

This was the first year of crabbing at Torpedo Wharf for our team (Fatima, Cristina, Sherry) since we received a grant. So glad we had the opportunity to work with the Y rangers to pilot this program. Great opportunity for Ed and Outreach to work in partnership and others. Special thank you to Aracely, Zen, Xiao Lin, Michael, Becca, Vero, Jesse, ReElle and Oliver for all the support :) ( hope I didn't miss anyone!)

Highlight: Walking among redwoods

2024-08-20 22:32:08 UTC

Y-Rangers learned to recognize redwood cones and collected them throughout the trail, searching for seeds. They also learned how to distinguish California Bay Laurel and enjoyed the smell of its leaves. The Y-Rangers were very enthusiastic about learning more about the forest.