WILDERNESS ADVENTURES CLUB (WAC)
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For in the end, we conserve only what we love; we love only what we understand; and we understand only what we have been taught. Baba Dioum, Senegalese environmentalist, 1968 The soul of our club... Mr. Dioum's wise observation really sums up how I feel about the Wilderness Adventures Club. Mr. Bui and Mr. Fujiyama believe that the more we take you into the wilderness, the more confident you'll feel in your outdoor skills, and the more connected you'll feel to the natural world. You'll develop a richer understanding of the importance of precious resources like fertile soil, clean water and undeveloped spaces. That means it's more likely that you--as a highly educated Bolsa graduate and well-informed, empowered citizen--will cast your vote for politicians who will fight for environmental justice and the well-being of our only blue planet! Your love for the natural world and respect for our community are the threads that create the fabric of the Wilderness Adventures Club. We care about the environment, and we demonstrate our commitment through hard work. We're committed to community service... Giving back to our community is central to our mission. We perform 4-5 stewardship projects each year. We've earned the friendship and trust of many park rangers and community leaders over the years! Members help nurture our WAC Garden that used to be the Horticulture yard. It's been a challenge to control the weeds, but the mulch that has been generously donated by our school district and the city of Garden Grove has given us an edge on the encroaching weeds. Right now we're learning how to propagate California natives that attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds. We've got a lot growing: blue-eyed grass; California poppies; coyote bush; matilija poppy; California sunflower; bladderpod; mulefat; and spiny rush. Most of our plants were donated by the Newport Back Bay Science Center. Later on, we'll start some vegetables like tomato and carrots. Some of the edibles we'll dehydrate for our backpacking trips; some we'll donate to local families who have been hard-hit by the current economic recession. We're environmental activists... We get it... ... and we're willing to get dirty to do something about it... Many of our day-trips are organized around stewardship projects. In San Juan Capistrano, we cleaned graffiti off boulders in the San Juan Creek streambed. At Crystal Cove State Park, we cleaned flotsam and jetsam (floating debris washed up on the beach). At Upper Newport Back Bay, we helped plant over 400 California natives in a habitat restoration project, and in Joshua Tree National Park, we helped restore an archeological site by dismantling visitors' playful but inappropriate "rock art". The wilderness is our playground... Our day-hikes (day-outings) often include a hike--anywhere between 3 - 6 miles is typical for us. Once a year we enjoy kayaking on the Upper Newport Bay, and occasionally we plan a mountain biking outing. We've even gone trout fishing in the high country Big Pine Creek in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Most of our multi-day/overnight trips are centered around backpacking, which means hiking away from cars and roads to make a comfortable wilderness camp, and sleep with only the sound of owls and the mountain wind--in the case of Mr. Bui's snoring, that would mean a HOWLING mountain wind! :) Who is the Sierra Club? "The Club is America's oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. Inspired by nature, we are 1.3 million of your friends and neighbors, working together to protect our communities and the planet." The Sierra Club's Inner City Outings Program pays for our outings! We continue the tradition of stewardship... You should know that John Muir, an immigrant from Scotland, founded the Sierra Club as a way of introducing more people to the wonders of our natural world. Muir fell in love with the woods, and convinced then-President "Teddy" Roosevelt to create Yosemite National Park. Many of our outings include a stewardship activity to preserve our wildlands for future generations. John Muir is truly one of our most beloved heros, and we follow in his bootprints whenever we take to the woods. How do we pay for all this? We've had a lot of help in funding these trips from a variety of folks... Recreational Equipment, Inc (REI) generously granted the Sierra Club Orange County Inner City Outings program (OC ICO) $5,000 in 2008 to help fund outings for our youth. Please visit their website here. If you've been on any of our WAC backpack trips, you already know that we recommend REI for your required personal equipment; that REI carries high-quality outdoor gear; and that when your birthday rolls around each year, this is THE PLACE to drag your parents to (with their credit cards!) when they're in a generous mood! There's an REI in Huntington Beach, on the corner of Beach Blvd. and Edinger, next to Kohl's (this is the REI where Merilyn works; Mer was our founding WAC President in 2005-2006), and an REI in Santa Ana (this store is where Mr. Bui works part-time--go visit him and give him a hard time!) Transportation expenses for our WAC outings are generously provided by the Sierra Club's Orange County Inner City Outings (OC ICO) program. These costs represent upwards of 90% of the expenses for providing these trips. In fall 2009, our WAC members ratified a motion that our club raise funds through recycling to use to cover our food expenses on our overnight trips. I'm proud that our club is willing to help offset Sierra Club's expenses! Donations can be sent directly to: The Sierra Club Foundation/Orange County ICO in MEMORIAL of Bruce Boydston TSCF, 85 Second St., Suite #750, San Francisco, CA 95105 All donations to TSCF are tax-deductible. Who is Bruce Boydson? In 2005, Bruce was the first OC ICO leader to volunteer to organize and lead backcountry trips for WAC (this was in the days before Mr. Bui and Mr. Fujiyama were Certified OC ICO leaders). Bruce taught us how set up trips, purchase gear and lead with confidence. We now follow in his footsteps. Mr. Bui and I mentor our strongest youth leaders through the Sierra Club Leadership Training Program, and four of our BGHS alumni have taken the challenge. We hope we've made Bruce proud. He is, and always will be, our friend, mentor and champion. Honor Roll BGHS Alumni who have taken the leadership challenge:
Sierra Club leaders who have earned O/1 leadership may lead uncomplicated on-trail hikes that do not involve an overnight camp in the wilderness; an *O/2 leader is qualified to conduct on-trail overnight wilderness backpack trips. Ms. Merilyn Ho Class of 2006 ICO Provisional O/2 Outing in Malibu Creek State Park, May 2006 Ms. Amy Nguyen Class of 2006 Ms. Joey Nguyen Class of 2007 Ms. Gabby Saloky Class of 2007 ICO O/1 Provisional Leader Caspers Wilderness Park, April 2007 Gabby was notorious for being able to fall asleep anywhere, anytime! Ms. Nancy Chung Class of 2006 Ms. Ashley Carbajal Class of 2008 Founding WAC Historian, 2005-2006 WAC Secretary 2006-2007 WAC Treasurer 2007-2008 A few of our Founding Officers at a Farewell Party for ICO Leader Ms. Lisa Hellman, who made it possible for WAC to become sponsored by ICO Ms. Xuan Mai (left) Class of 2007 relaxing with Ms. Ashley Carbajal O/2 Provisional backpack trip Rancheria Fall, Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite NP June 2008. Ms. Xuan Mai O/2 ICO Leader Fall Canyon in Death Valley National Park December 2007 Ms. Sophia Huynh Class of 2008 ICO Leader O/2 Provisional backpack trip Topanga State Park December 2007 So who's in the leadership pipeline now? Ms. Ha Tran completed the Sierra Club's Beginning Navigation Clinic in October 2009; in the same month she completed the Sierra Club Leadership Training Program. Her successful completion as the formal leader of the January 2010 San Juan Creek stewardship / Sitton Peak hike earned Ha her O/1 Sierra Club leadership status. Thank you, Ha, for bringing honor to WAC as our newest ICO leader! Giao (President 2009-2010) and Lucy (President 2010-2011) are committed to earning their Sierra Club leadership! Both young women earned a scholarship to attend a 4-day training camp on Bainbridge Island, Washington (state) in July 2010. Expect both Lucy and Giao to lead provisional hikes sometime next year--this type of hike is the 'final exam' to earn certified Sierra Club leadership status! We're proud of you two! Girls gone wild! Giao ICO O/2 Provisional Leader Proposed O/2 outing to Channel Islands NP, summer 2011 Lucy WAC President 2010-2011 ICO O/2 Provisional Leader Proposed O/2 Outing to Sitton Peak, July 2011 BGHS Alumni who have earned donations for OC ICO:
Ms. Ashely Carbajal (center) and Ms. Sophia Huynh (right) Wrote a winning grant for 14 down sleeping bags Thank you, Ashley and Sophia! Ms. Jenny Nguyen Class of 2008 Donated $500 from her Ronald McDonald Scholarship to OC ICO Thank you for your support, Jenny! Mr. Andrew Huynh Class of 2009 Wrote a letter of solicitation for donation of garden sprayers for WAC Thank you, Andrew! Frequently Asked Questions What kind of 'stuff' will we do in WAC? Campus clean-up: Every Friday, immediately following the period 6 dismissal bell, our members pick up recyclables all over campus, and return these to P-6 where Officers weigh each member's contribution. Stewardship: We clean up beaches, remove invasive (non-native) weeds and replace them with native species, clean up graffiti from boulders near roadside areas adjacent to wilderness boundaries. We're a work-our-butts-off-for-the-planet kind of club! Community Service: We grow vegetables for donation to needy families. Wilderness Adventure: Our club is a day-hike, backpack, kayak, camp, mountain bike, fish-for-trout, sit-around-the-campfire-and-toast-s'mores kind of club. Environmental Activism: We collect and recycle bottles and cans that otherwise would end up in landfills, and we use the money to help fund our trips, and buy equipment, like sleeping bags, that you can borrow when we go on trips.Can I still join WAC? You bet! We don't close our membership, so just come to our Friday meetings in P-6 at 2:45 pm, introduce yourself, and we'll get you on our membership roster. Make sure you bring a plastic bag full of recyclables to weigh! Here's the 'to-do':
That's it! Once you pick up your first collection of recyclables, you'll be an official WAC member! Welcome to the WAC family! Does it cost anything to be a member? In the fall, members purchase a WAC T-shirt. No other fees are required for 2010-2011. Once I'm a member, how do I sign up for trips? Some trips will have more criteria; others less. Here's an example of the criteria:
Your WAC service (recycling; gardening; fundraising events participation; campus clean-up) is recorded on index cards; we call these your 'service cards'. Don't lose this; the Officers and Advisors DO NOT keep a record, so if you lose your card, your service record is likewise lost. If there are more students who want to go on a trip than the number of available seats, priority is always given to students with more service credits (the more active you've been in WAC, the more credits you've earned). If two students have the same service record, then priority will be given to the student who has turned in his/her permission slip first. What kind of clothing and equipment do I need? If you don't already own most of what you'll need, WAC has a lot of gear to loan you (specialized hiking socks, and hiking boots; sleeping bags, tents, etc). You need non-cotton clothing; those nylon track pants you use as sports warm-ups will work just fine. Your book bag will work fine for day-trips, as long as it has two shoulder straps. If you don't already own sunglasses that block UVA and UVB, you'll want to shop for these. I will give you very detailed instructions about what kinds of equipment you'll need for each trip. Here's a summary of what you'd need: personal equipment and clothing We love Caspers... and we work hard to protect it! We backpacked for a week in the backcountry. Cool, clean mountain streams And we love the desert, too! It's amazing how much wilderness we can enjoy so close to Los Angeles! Ocean views from a local park Sometimes our bedroom has no roof! No, this isn't really 'backpacking'... One week in the backcountry, and we really needed the bath! Tough hike up a desert peak... the payoff is the glorious sunrise Training hike...getting ready for a week in the Sierra Nevada with your home on your back! Our very first WAC backpack trip! Spray paint is really hard to remove! We helped showcase the Sierra Club ICO program. Creeks are fun to cross! Here's how we get our recyclables to the recycling center. This activity attracts a lot of attention! A week in the backcountry Some time to splash around! Cleaning up the kayaks after a fun day on the water Hiking the slot canyons of Death Valley So who's in charge? Here are your Officers for 2010-2011
Here are your BGHS faculty advisors:
Here are your Sierra Club OC ICO Certified Leaders:
Here are your Sierra Club OC ICO Certified Volunteers:
Regarding safety: A Note to Parents and Guardians I consider my #1 job to keep your child safe, and I understand that you may have reservations about letting your child participate on some of our trips. I respect your concerns. These outings represent unique learning opportunities, so please study my background information. Understand that I have a lot of advanced wilderness training and experience, including wilderness first aid, navigation (map and compass), and rock climbing safety certifications. Mr. Bui and I are highly qualified Sierra Club leaders. You are welcome to email me dfujiyama@cox.net , visit me in my classroom P-6, or call me on my cell (949) 212-1337, and I'll be happy to speak to you one-on-one about how my leadership team does a great job at keeping our kids safe! |
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