October 3, 2021
Greetings!                
I'm looking forward to seeing many friends on Saturday at Picnic on the Pacific Plate! This annual gathering both celebrates and supports a park that offers so many gifts...150 miles of trails to explore, a home for an incredible diversity of flora and fauna, and an inspiring and joyful place to spend time alone or with company. You may recall that last year we telecast our event from Bear Valley while the Woodward Fire was still burning and the funds raised were put to good use to support post-fire scientific studies in the name of regeneration.

Regeneration at the Seashore: Youth In Parks
This year our event focuses on the regeneration of our work with young people and we have a goal to raise $100,000 by the end of the year to expand this work. We hope to raise much of this at Picnic on the Pacific Plate at our Fund A Need booth and we invite everyone to help us reach this important goal.

School closures and limitations on gatherings at different points over the last 18 months challenged us to come up with some new ways of connecting with youth. We were determined to find a way. Research, including our own observations, show the immense positive impacts time outside has on a child's mental, physical, and psychological well being. The pandemic spotlighted both the value of time in nature and the inequities in our education systems and access to the outdoors. 

In April we piloted our Youth in Parks (YIP) program with the support of an incredibly generous $50,000 starter gift from an anonymous member of our community. Our goal was to safely bring 200 youth most impacted by the pandemic to the park for environmental education and self-discovery programs at the beach, on the trails, and at our education retreat center. We exceeded that goal by introducing 280 young people to the park! We could only accomplish this heart-felt work by partnering with nonprofit organizations from around the Bay Area working in the communities who have historically been less welcomed on public land.
Growing Our Partners in Equity
From the first trip with GirlVentures in April I knew the Youth In Parks model would succeed. The smiles on the staff who returned from a day at Limantour Beach or an overnight program at the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center were enough to confirm the direction. As I’ve gotten to know our partner organizations better, I've heard over and over how much our Youth in Parks visits support our shared conservation, education, and community building goals. 
You’ve been reading about our partners in our newsletters and I invite you to get to know them a bit more on our YIP webpage and by viewing this short video of some of the fun and discovery that's taken place over the last few months. By making a generous gift to our Youth in Parks campaign at our Picnic on the Pacific Plate on October 9th or online today, you will welcome at least 400 young people to Point Reyes National Seashore in the coming months. You will also help us add new partner organizations to the program. Thank you so very much for helping us map a park for all.
With appreciation,
Donna Faure
Executive Director
Youth In Parks Summer Memories
We partner with the National Park Service to create opportunities for all people to experience, enhance, and preserve Point Reyes National Seashore for present and future generations.
Point Reyes National Seashore | (415) 663-1200 x 310