Reflections

The long days of summer gave way to a new school year and a continuation of our relationships in the public education system with our youth-focused, nature-centered outings. Our school programs work on wholistic health - providing the opportunity for mental, physical, and spiritual experiences through time spent exploring and learning outside - in nature.

- We learned again that the illusion of human separation from nature has caused us a lot of trouble in the world.

-We learned that the opportunity to explore in nature is a way to true freedom to discover your authentic self.

-We learned that providing experiences where youth can trust and test their physical abilities is important.

-We learned that time to look at a star filled night sky can open our minds to imagine anything is possible.

Our ability as human beings to use our imagination is one of our most powerful gifts, given as a birthright you might say. It’s a truly natural wonder to wonder what’s possible; to use our imagination with an open mind and recognize the phenomenal story we are a part of.

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Fall Trip Highlights

Merced My City Mentoring – we wrapped up a 3 year Prop 64 grant partnership with 6 different cohorts through Merced Parks and Rec.

Palisade Glacier High School - 18 classes of Farm to School programming with horticulture, soil science, culinary and nutrition that culminated in a harvest lunch of food grown and prepared by the youth.

Keith Bright High, Juvenile Hall - monthly outings for physical and mental wellness exploring and gardening

Big Pine 6th Grade Class – monthly outings through the school year within the Eastern Sierra with Yosemite camping trips that promote courage, adventure and support positive character development

Jill Kinmont Boothe School - bi-monthly cultural arts, nature, climbing, and hiking outings

Atwater High School - monthly Nature Class outings for mental, physical and spiritual health

Bishop Union High School Outdoor Club - quarterly outings for physical and mental wellness through developing climbing and other outdoor abilities 

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The long shadows of the fall season promote a time for reflection and appreciation for all the experiences of the last year. These experiences give us knowledge to continue to follow the wisdom of nature.

Education Nature’s Way is based on this sense of wonder and consideration that can harmonize us with the natural world. Our collective future will depend on remembering what it means to be human in relation to all life, according to the natural laws that truly govern all life on earth.

Sacred Rok is committed to the  intelligence of nature.

Ron Kauk, ED & Katie Lambert, COO

To continue to support our youth, please consider donating to our Giving Tuesday Campaign

Please Consider Donating this Giving Tuesday - Dec 3, 2024

help Keep Our Youth on the path to education natures way

Like thousands of nonprofits, we use #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, as our biggest fundraiser - a counterbalance to the intense focus on consumerism seen in Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Our #GivingTuesday goal is to support our expanding Farm to School programming within Inyo County and to further our programs with Juvenile Halls in three counties, and the multiple youth-serving agencies and school groups we work with.

We continue to build nature connections with our youth through our various activities like hiking, climbing, camping, back packing, stewardship work with the Yosemite Park Service, and the Bishop Paiute tribe.

Now through a Farm to School program where youth are gardening in school plots and volunteering at a local farm, as well as using produce grown and harvested in a culinary and nutrition curriculum we are building on our goals of resilience, stewardship, and connection to land.

Additionally, through art and culturally relevant activities with C5 Studio in Bishop we are bringing our youth together through conversations, journaling, reflections and storytelling about how to connect to the natural world around us and explore its depths.

The Sacred Rok model is all about building relationships. We are looking to continue developing our programs to reach a broader range and to further solidify our current contracts and connections. Our programs are free to the youth participants and the funding we seek would go directly to cover costs of running trips: insurance, transportation, food, park fees, gear and equipment.

We work with young people and youth-serving agencies throughout central and northern California - but we are unique because of our close and longterm work with incarcerated youth. We have partnered with Juvenile Hall in Merced County for over a decade, and with Juvenile Hall in San Benito County for 9 years and have been with Inyo County Juvenile Probation for 3 years now. Imagine helping these young people to feel safe and find their voice, knowing that they are loved and trusted.

The outdoor experiences we facilitate have such a longstanding and deep impact on the youth. "Whenever I spend time with Sacred Rok, I feel as if I don't have anything to worry about. I always experience something new and this time I saw two shooting stars for the first time, I love every moment I spend there." Sacred Rok Youth

It costs more than $90,000 a year to keep a youth locked up.

Here is what one Juvenile Hall youth says about Sacred Rok. “I have never been on a hike before that was my first time experiencing this type of journey. I thought it was pretty cool. I felt free! I was able to see a lot of different things out there. We saw a baby fox wondering around the park, a pair of squirrels asking for food. Everything was so green and we were surrounded by giant rocks and we even saw a beautiful waterfall. We went through caves and explored all over the park. We basically hiked all day and just kept going forward, it was a wonderful day. “ - Probation Youth

With your help, together we can further our commitment to supporting these youth in finding their own unique voices. Please consider donating this holiday season.

With Respect,

Katie Lambert, COO & Ron Kauk, ED

Keeping It Sacred

We are honored to share with you all our latest Annual Report:

Even though we’re in our 16th year of promoting Sacred Rok Education Nature’s Way, it’s more of a way of life that started for us in our youth. It began as a kind of adventure of discovery through rock climbing that has pointed us to a way of understanding the deeper meaning of a sense of place, sense of connection, sense of belonging. These are the elements that bring us into balance inside ourselves and outside ourselves.

 Sacred Rok has been involved in Native circles over the years, listening to the elders share things that we have taken to heart. We feel the responsibility to share these messages about the importance of human connection with the Mother Earth. We’ve been told recently that as human beings we have a great responsibility to take care of the Mother Earth at this time due to all the abuses to her. One of the messages was that we need to get our energy or frequency in harmony with the Mother Earth to create the balance that is needed.

 What these elders are saying makes sense to cultivate our future together as human beings - especially by helping our youth make this kind of connection. One that develops a foundation to be mentally, physically, and spiritually in line with the healing that is needed at this time to have any future for all life on earth.

 This may sound serious, and that’s because it is. This is part of our dedication with the work we do at Sacred Rok -is to take this life serious. At the same time, we are having nothing but fun together swimming in the lakes and hiking the trails. We think that’s what brings the beauty of this organization together.

 It is with your support that not only comes from monetary donations, but from a like-minded understanding that our youth deserve and have the opportunity to develop their natural intelligence by having time in nature. This is the intelligence that will help us understand the natural laws that truly govern our world.

 Again, we thank you with the deepest respect for life,

 Ron Kauk - Executive Director

Katie Lambert - Chief Operating Officer

Autumn 2023

Autumn in Yosemite is always a time to reflect. Literally and figuratively speaking. Our lives have been shaped by living in such beauty and the profound lessons regarding nature and the cycles of life.

 Based on that reality, education natures’ way has been our guide. Our vision from the start has been to contribute something positive to our society and represent how sacred the natural world is and that we are nature – there is no separation.

This gives us the opportunity to connect with the mother earth. What we understand is when we were and are babies we need our mother for nurturing, love and connection. This is the start to building a foundation for life.

Sacred Rok facilitates this kind of connection when we simply enjoy being in nature which can promote a nurturing, love, and connection for us to understand that everything we have comes from the mother earth.

 Sacred Rok is committed to helping our youth and ourselves promote mental, physical and spiritual health that can continue to inspire the growth of our creative and authentic selves, building a solid foundation.

 Even though we are in our 15th year the motivation we feel while being out in nature with our youth continues to grow.  This shows how important it is for us to have a solid foundation with the mother earth - to help raise our awareness to being humble human beings and the responsibility to respect all life.

 We sincerely thank you for all your support as we move together into this next year with an even clearer vision of how important it is to bring back the balance with ourselves and the mother earth.

 It’s truly an honor to be a part of something that seems so absolutely important for our future generations.  

With Respect,

Ron Kauk, Executive Director

& Katie Lambert, Chief Operating Officer