The Risk of Not Taking Risks!

“There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value.” 

~ Jeanette Winterson

For the past 15 years, we have supported youth in strengthening resilience through skillfully-guided adventures in nature. Scrambling over granite, crossing swollen snowmelt streams, wading knee-deep in wetland muck, snowshoeing through deep snow, braving the nighttime cold for the chance to see stars brighter than one knew was possible—these are the experiences that transform young lives. 

When we began operations at Donner Summit, we knew our enviro-literacy field trips and summer camps involved leading kids across terrain much more rugged than was common for such outings. Sharing real adventures with children involves a sacred trust we take very seriously. As such, we don’t hire camp counselors, we hire mountain guides.

The benefits of risky play, such as the appropriate levels of physical challenge experienced during our nature-based adventures, are well-researched. As embodied confidence increases, youth improve their ability to regulate emotions, recover from setbacks, and face challenges. The decline of unstructured free time playing outdoors and the absence of physical challenges encountered there may in part explain the serious decline in resilience we are seeing in our youth and young adults.

We witness the young people in our school and camp programs becoming more inquisitive, engaged, and resilient after just a few days of moving through rugged terrain. Seeing the benefits they experience is what prompted us to develop our Whole Hearts, Minds & Bodies, now 10 years ago. As our clinically-supervised, one-on-one nature-based treatment program for youth suffering from serious emotional disturbance, Whole Hearts has served over 180 high-need youth over the past 10 years, taking them “out of clinics and into the woods” for activities that include risky play. It is the first MediCal-certified program of its kind and one example of an alternative to clinical mental health treatment in the effort to address the growing global mental health crisis.

While Gateway is lucky to operate in the Sierra, we are also providing day trip experiences that include an appropriate level of physical challenge for under-resourced youth in Bay Area parks. The rich sensory experience of moving our bodies through vegetation and trees, over rough ground, and around (or through) creeks can be accessed almost anywhere if we look carefully.

Exploring, playing, being challenged (and yes, taking risks!) while moving through a beautiful environment transforms us all and helps us thrive no matter our age.