ICO's "Gateway" to the wilderness

There are too many superb ICO programs in the Bay Area to list all, but here we highlight one that is unfortunately in great danger.

Five years ago, after working for Outward Bound and other experiential outdoor-education programs, Kevin Krasnow was committed to bringing city kids into the wild. He had seen how powerful the wilderness can be for urban youth. But he wasn't sure how he would incorporate this aspect of education into his new job as a public-school science teacher.

Inner City Outings helped him make this dream a reality. Kevin became certified as an ICO backpacking leader and began to build the Gateway Outdoor Leadership and Science (GOLS) program at Gateway High School, a small public charter high school in San Francisco.

GOLS fosters community, responsibility, and action though a focus on environmental education and experiential learning. It seeks to bolster students' self-confidence through experiential outdoor endeavors and supportive peer relationships, and to imbue students with effective leadership skills. A core group of 22 students is trained as outdoor leaders and visits three different California ecosystems (mountain, desert, and coast) on backpacking expeditions. Students learn about the ecology of these regions and are challenged to navigate, cook, travel, and make decisions as a group. Back at school, students tend an organic garden, participate in community service, and are trained in topographic-map and compass navigation, knot tying, wilderness first aid, and communication skills. The culmination is when the students plan and lead spring backpacking trips for their other peers at the school.

Below are excerpts from student reflections after their experiences in the wilderness.

"The life lessons I learned have to do with perspective. We got to see how simple life can really be. When I am at home I have the TV, radio, computer, Nintendo 64, phone, and other stuff to distract me. The only things that I had to worry about while we were in Joshua Tree were staying warm, fed, and rested. Now that I am back home I feel less attracted to the TV and more attracted to actually generating interesting thoughts that I make by myself. I learned the importance of preserving the environment. Joshua Tree is a truly unique place. I would hate to see a city built on top of Joshua Tree. To see asphalt and steel I can go to any one of the thousands of cities in the United States." - C.J. Veatch

"A part of me changed. I felt more confident and comfortable with myself, like a better person. This new feeling I had gained from the trip was so powerful, it filled me with a lot of emotion. It was also surprising how I felt once I saw my family again. I felt like I didn't know them the same way any more, like they had changed somehow. It was really I who changed. This is the type of change I have been searching for, and I achieved a taste of it in one of the best ways. I am afraid I am going to lose that part of me, but I don't think that's possible, because now that I've found it, I should always be able to find it within me." - Andrea Herrera

"Why do I like it out in the wilderness? Because I am happy. I've never been happier than to huddle around a group of you guys in the rain, to play mafia, or to walk through an enchanted forest, sparkling with water sequins, with these same people. These people who are half strangers, half friends. These people I share some of my happiest moments with. Out there in the wilderness with the hungry raccoons and albino deer/elk. Out there where it doesn't matter if your feet hurt or if your pack is too heavy. Out there where nothing matters except where you are on the map." - Bonnie Weaver

The ICO program at Gateway has been Kevin Krasnow's baby for four years. It's been very successful, and Kevin even convinced the administration to offer the program as an elective.

Now Kevin has decided to return to grad school for a doctorate in biogeography. Because of Kevin's departure, the administration has decided not to fund the class next year. This does not mean that outdoor trips and environmental education will end at Gateway, though. "What we need for Gateway," Kevin says, "is support from ICO leaders to work with Gateway teachers and students to make sure that outings continue. There is still major support from our administration and teachers for outdoor experiential education, and there is a large base of students interested in getting out into the wild."

What You Can Do

If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering with Inner City Outings, visit www.sierraclub.org/ico/sfbaychapter and click on "How to Join"; or call Sadie Rabe at (925) 768-2242.

To find out more about GOLS, visit its web site at http://faculty.gwhs.org/~kkrasnow/GOLS

Kevin Krasnow and Patrick Colgan