• Ambassador: Oct 17-18, 2015
  • Bowtie Urban Campout
  • Los Angeles River: "The Bowtie"

WildLink alumni from Generation Green Southern California Consortium regathered after six months apart to organize and facilitate a campout and stewardship project for their peers. They collaborated with the California State Parks and Clockshop's Bowtie Project to create fantastic memories along the Los Angeles River!

In their own words...

This cohort of Wildlink participants’ wilderness ambassador project consisted of outreaching to fellow Generation Green members and students from Benjamin Franklin High School in Los Angeles, John Muir High School in Pasadena and Anahuacalmecac (Semillas del Pueblo) High School in East Los Angeles to present the Leave No Trace principles they learned on their Wildlink Expedition in the Spring of 2015. The premise behind their project was to bring awareness to people in their community that there are accessible natural areas in and around the city as well as teaching the seven principles of LNT to their peers. When urban youth think about visiting ‘nature’ they tend to think that they must travel long distances in order to access beautiful natural areas when in fact, they could find nature in their backyard; in this case, the LA River.

Discussion Point

The point is...

First Aid Kit

Principle #1 of LNT: Plan ahead and prepare! (Bring a first-aid kit!)

In preparation for the actual campout, the Wildlink Participants used the first principle of LNT to prepare for the campout. They outreached to their peers and planned all of the logistics as to what they would need in order to spend a night out in an urban-natural setting. Once they arrived at the campsite area, the Wildlink Participants gathered their peers and presented the seven principles of LNT to them while explaining why these principles would be important, not only while in nature, but also in their communities. They were able to connect the principles they learned and used during their Wildlink Expedition to their everyday lives in the city. Their peers whom they outreached to were very interested in learning more about these principles and actually participating on a Wildlink Expedition of their own one day. On a good note, they were originally planning to present to their peers, but once other visitors saw what they were doing, they also decided to listen in and learn about the principles as well!

See their presentation!

Fishing LA River

Learning to fish on the LA River.

Fishy Face

Mmmmm.

LA Riverbank

Hanging out on the riverbank.

Tents and View

Home, sweet home, courtesy of the CA State Parks' FamCamp.

Campfire Hanging Out

Generation Green and some members from the public hang out around the campfire ring.

Gather Around Campfire

I'd like s'more, please!

WildLink is a proud partner of the National Park Service, National Forest Service, and Nature Bridge.