One of the goals of Y-WE’s nature-based programs is to increase opportunities for young people in Seattle to access outdoor experiences that may not otherwise be available (or encouraged). Our summer campaign supports the sustainability of this work.
Our last video offered a peek into the joy and belonging participants feel in Nature Connections. In this clip from our recent camping trip, Wingale laughs with her friend Angela about her lack of outdoor experience and the assumptions she’d previously held:
Nature Connections creates a safer space for young women and gender expansive teens to learn new skills and build connections with the natural world – particularly youth of color. Because we remove barriers to experiences like hiking, backpacking, and camping, our youth are able to reimagine what’s possible – and also what they’re capable of.
Thanks to the generosity of our community, we have just $25,000 left to raise for our summer campaign. This means that if 500 Y-WE supporters give just $50 this week, we’ll hit our goal. Your donation ensures more Seattle area youth have access to this nourishing program!
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Video Transcript:
“My outdoor experience – none. Like going to the park. I’m a city girl at heart. Never left the city. Born and raised in Seattle. Literally going to the park and like going to the forest behind Shorecrest High School and that’s it. Being outside with Nature Connections has taught me a lot about what I thought my limitations were versus what my limitations actually are. I had no faith in my ability. I was like, oof. I don’t know if I could ever like go hiking. I don’t know if I could ever go camping. I don’t know if I have that stamina in me. Turns out I do. It’s just really deep down there. Like very, very, very deep down there. But it’s down there somewhere and it’s definitely giving me like a different image of what camping is like.”
-Wingale Teferi (she/her), Nature Connections Participant