It was the highlight of their six-week after-school wilderness program: a trip to the crown jewel of national parks, Yosemite.
Jackson Caudle, student at Washington Intermediate School: "The waterfalls and the mountains, they're really cool. Yeah, it's really big."
This group of students is in the Wilderness Club at Washington Intermediate School in Dinuba, a program founded and taught by Fresno Pacific University.
Raymond Winter, Ph.D., assistant professor at Fresno Pacific University: "It was to inspire our young people, the kids around us, to see the world in a new way. To see themselves in a bigger world and kind of expand their imaginations a little bit."
The university offers a minor in Wilderness Studies and has provided its own students with outdoor and backpacking opportunities for years. Now it is reaching out to the community, extending this experience to middle school students.
Alisson Varges, student at Washington Intermediate School: "I usually don't go out or explore, so I wanted to be part of the club. That way I could see nature and animals that I usually don't see where I live."
The students spent six weeks learning about the environment, outdoor skills such as building a fire, and the history of Yosemite. Now they are seeing it up close.
Raymond Winter, Ph.D.: "I think this is when it hits. This is when they stand in a place like this. All those lessons that we do, maybe out in the field on their campus or in the classroom, really, really click."
They toured the Wawona Historic Village before driving into Yosemite Valley. There was much to see and learn. Students used their study guides and instant cameras to document what they saw.
Jackson Caudle: "The animals were really fun to explore too, and we got to see multiple birds and everything, and squirrels everywhere."
With their homemade walking sticks in hand, the students set out on their hike to Lower Yosemite Falls. For those who had never visited the park, the waterfall was a sight to behold. They sat, looked and listened.
Winter says Fresno Pacific wants to expand its after-school wilderness program so more young people can have this same experience.
"If we can fully exercise our abilities, we can influence thousands of students and bring them into these beautiful spaces that are, in fact, ours—ours to steward and ours to care for."
Originally posted on May 25, 2026, on the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools website: fcoe.org/education-matters
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