2016 Governor's Points of Light Awards

Sierra Nevada Journeys’ volunteer, Marlys Pryor, was one of the prestigious finalists honored at the 2016 Governor’s Points of Light Award Ceremony in September at Bally’s Las Vegas.

Marlys was one of only three finalists in the Northern Nevada Individual Volunteer category. Sierra Nevada Journeys nominated Marlys because of her passion for sharing science with children as a volunteer field educator. As a retired aerospace engineer, Marlys knows first-hand the importance and fulfillment of science, technology, engineering and math and the exciting work that comes along with those fields.

In her video recorded for the ceremony presentation, Marlys said, “I start with the kids. What are you interested in?” If a child is interested in music, for example, she explains you have to be good at math to be a good musician. She is committed to getting as many children as possible interested in science-related fields.

2016 Golden Pinecone Awards

On Nov. 1, 2016, Sierra Nevada Journeys was awarded nonprofit organization of the year during the Golden Pinecone Awards hosted by GREENevada. Dave Stockman, one of our long-time trustees and financial partners, welcomed Eaton Dunkelberger, our CEO, to the stage. It was an exciting moment for the organization as we are about to celebrate our 10-year anniversary in 2017. We are also expected to serve our 100,000th student next year.

Below was our nomination:

Sierra Nevada Journeys (SNJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization that uses the unique outdoor classrooms of the region to deliver robust outdoor science and collaborative problem solving education to promote long-term student achievement. They accomplish this through the Whole School Model, an outdoor education program that ensures the teachable moments inherent in outdoor education are extended both across the school year and through a student's elementary grade progression. SNJ's Whole School Model uses outdoor science education supported by in-school lessons and teacher professional development to maximize student inspiration and achievement across science, technology, engineering, math, reading, and collaborative problem solving.

Since their start in 2006, they have served over 75,000 students and 4,500 educators with residential outdoor science programs, field and school based programs and teacher professional development. SNJ has more than doubled the students they have served over the past 3 years; SNJ now serves 2/3rds of elementary school in Northern NV with outdoor science programs; and SNJ will serve over 50 schools with Family Science Nights in the coming school year.

Thank you to our staff, trustees, volunteers and financial partners. Thank you to our community of teachers, parents and students. We couldn't have done this without you.

Congratulations to all the other Golden Pinecone winners! We are honored to be surrounded by such dedicated and talented individuals and organizations.

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History of the Golden Pinecone

The Golden Pinecone Ball was started by Tod Bedrosian, Bob Fulkerson, Glenn Miller and Bob Loux in 1988 to bring the environmental community together as friends and initially to get the community excited about stopping the dump of nuclear waste. It was nicknamed the "conservation casual drab event" and the pinecone awards were handmade out of plywood, an ironic twist on formal award ceremonies to honor the environmental accomplishments of the past year.

The Golden Pinecone Awards and Ball is a legacy event run for more than 25 years by Environmental Leadership, Nevada EcoNET and more recently greenUP! In 2016, GREENevada took ownership for the vent as part of its environmental leadership mission. GREENevada has a strong reach throughout the environmental community and wanted to continue this important tradition of recognizing outstanding individuals and organizations for their achievements toward improving and sustaining the environment.

QARE Award Recipients

Last Friday, the Sierra Nevada Journeys team celebrated a successful year of serving youth from Northern Nevada and Northern California through outdoor science programming. We played a few rounds of bowling with our family and friends at the Grand Sierra Resort. We can't say we're as good at bowling as we are science, but we sure tried!

When we celebrate our successes, we remind ourselves each year about our core values which we call "QARE."

1. We are committed to outstanding quality (Q)

   1. We strive to improve through rigorous evaluations of our actions

   2. We flexibly embrace change that makes our programs and operations better

   3. We celebrate actions that demonstrate our commitment to excellence

2. We are accountable (A)

   1. We do what we say we’ll do for each other and for our stakeholders

   2. At all levels of our team, we set, commit to, and reach specific goals

3. We respect each other and ourselves (R)

   1. We foster a respectful work environment by using supportive actions and words to positively impact our teammates and ensuring our co-workers do the same

   2. We work to understand the goals and challenges of our team, participants and donors, and integrate these considerations into our actions

   3. We believe that a diverse set of backgrounds and skills adds value to our organization

4. We provide unforgettable experiences (E)

   1. We keep participants’ safety, education and experience at the forefront of our actions

   2. We recognize the uniqueness of our experience for our participants, and show up each day ready to deliver

We are happy to announce the four individuals who we thought best represented each value in 2016.

Q - Debbie Fairbanks, our Housekeeping Manager, represents the core value of Quality. She is always working to make our campus as clean and pleasant as possible, she accepts change with a smile on her face and she is a positive role model for all staff and clients.
(not pictured)

Olive Poulsen receives the 2016 Accountability Award.

A - Olive Poulsen, Residential Outdoor Science Instructor, represents the core value of Accountability. We can always rely on Olive to meet our mission as well as the needs of her students. She will be coming back next season to lead our newest camp session "Counselor-in-Training" (CIT) as the CIT Director.

Greggor Manning receives the 2016 Respect Award.

R - Greggor Manning, Sous Chef, represents the core value of Respect. He respects his co-workers, and listens to their questions and concerns and provides solutions when able. He understands that teamwork is essential. His family life and past experience in the food industry is invaluable.

Lourdes Calzada receives the 2016 Unique Experiences Award.

E - Lourdes Calzada, Part-Time Educator, represents the core value of Unique Experiences. Lourdes has a positive attitude and a smile that brightens up the room. She provides unforgettable experiences to not only her students, but to our SNJ staff through the newly adopted culture committee.

Thank you to our entire team for a wonderful year! We couldn't achieve our mission without your hard work and dedication.

Sierra Nevada Journeys Sends 46 Low-Income Youth to Summer Camp

Sierra Nevada Journeys is pleased to announce that they were able to send 46 low-income youth to SNJ Summer Camp at Grizzly Creek Ranch in Portola, CA.

Youth from local organizations Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada and Reno Housing
Authority were given full scholarships to attend camp. Additionally, youth who qualify for Free
and Reduced Lunch were given partial scholarships to cover half the costs of camp.

Sierra Nevada Journeys received funding for this effort from the Helen Close Foundation,
individual donors during Nevada’s Big Give and throughout the year, as well as from a matching grant from Sierra Nevada Journeys’ Board of Trustees.

“This year was a mixture of new and returning youth to camp at Grizzly Creek Ranch,” said Oscar Aguilar, the youth coordinator at Reno Housing Authority. “The van ride back to Reno is always the best, because this is the moment when you find out how much fun they had. They enjoyed the camp fire skits they came up with and positive energy and motivation they received from the staff at camp.”

“We are so grateful to the generous donors who made it possible for these children to
experience the camaraderie and outdoor fun of camp, which for many of the youth is a life-changing experience,” said Karen Senger, development director at Sierra Nevada Journeys.

Summer camp is one of the many programs that Sierra Nevada Journeys offers local youth. They also have hands-on, science-based programs that occur within elementary schools in Northern Nevada and Northern California. Programs include Classrooms Unleashed, Overnight Outdoor Learning and Family Science Nights.

When individuals donate to Sierra Nevada Journeys, they will be providing programming
scholarships for our community’s low-income youth. 

Retired Aerospace Engineer Volunteers for SNJ

“Science and math are critical to the future of this country and the planet.”

— Marlys Pryor

When volunteering for Sierra Nevada Journeys, you become an integral part of our mission:

Deliver innovative outdoor, science-based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship.

Our volunteers are looking for a way to make a difference in the world, share their love of science and the great outdoors. This is what brought Marlys Pryor to Sierra Nevada Journeys after relocating to Reno, NV in 2015.

Marlys is a retired aerospace engineer from Indianapolis, IN who worked for Rolls-Royce Aircraft Engines, Douglas Aircraft Company and General Electric Aircraft Engine Business Group, to name a few. She has her Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from New York University and her Master of Science in Business Management from the University of LaVerne.

She met Eaton Dunkelberger, CEO of Sierra Nevada Journeys, at a Soroptimist meeting soon after moving to Reno. They got to talking. All who have had the pleasure of talking to Eaton about Sierra Nevada Journeys and our mission become involved in some manner. As Marlys puts it, “I met Eaton and the rest (volunteering) is history.” She attends and lends her knowledge during our Family Science Nights at local elementary schools.

Volunteering takes time, dedication and a strong passion for an organization’s mission. When asked why Marlys volunteers for Sierra Nevada Journeys, she said “I am a staunch advocate of exposing young people to the sciences, whether it be relating to the outdoors or outer space. Science and math are critical to the future of this country and the planet.” We couldn’t agree more.

Marlys “definitely” recommends volunteering with Sierra Nevada Journeys to others because, “Children are the future. We need to impress upon them that if the planet is to continue supporting life in a sustainable manner, everyone has to care and exercise stewardship of our natural resources.”

Many thanks to Marlys and the countless hours she has put into the organization and the education of our youth.

Marlys Pryor (left) and Jennifer Robinson (right) at a Family Science Night at Caughlin Ranch Elementary School.

We are always looking for passionate volunteers for our Outdoor Field Studies and Family Science Nights. If interested, please contact Jennifer Robinson at jennifer@sierranevadajourneys.org.

If you're unable to volunteer your time, please consider making a donation to support SNJ programs.

Sharing Her Roots: One Big’s Experience in Fostering a Little’s Love of Nature

Kristin and Lacee at SNJ's Open House at Grizzly Creek Ranch in the summer of 2013.

Lacee and I have been matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada (BBBSNN) for five years. We just celebrated our anniversary—or matchiversary, as we like to call it—on Feb. 8, 2016. We get together every couple of weeks and over the years have done a wide range of activities. Some of our favorites are game night at the library, crafty-type activities, window shopping at the mall, archery and going out for sushi. 

We learned about SNJ’s camp program during an open house at the Grizzly Creek Ranch Campus in the summer of 2013. Lacee and I had a great day at the open house. When we first arrived, we toured the camp and after the tour, we were allowed to wander and participate in camp activities. We climbed the Alpine Tower, did archery, worked a little in the garden, did science experiments, kayaked, and had lunch in the cafeteria. At the end of the day, Lacee was excited at the possibility of going to summer camp there. 

Attending the open house brought back many great memories for me of going to “Outdoor Ed” and summer camp when I was Lacee’s age. Based on Lacee’s enthusiasm, I wanted her to have similar experiences, make life-long memories, and learn about science, nature, and protecting the environment. I have loved nature and the outdoors since I was a little girl, and I hope to instill a little of that into her as her Big Sister and mentor. 

SNJ has been so very generous to Lacee and her family, providing partial scholarships for her in 2014 and 2015. She had a ball at camp in 2014 (her first year) and said she wanted to go back every year that she could. She went back in 2015, and is looking forward to 2016 as well.

Please consider donating to SNJ during Nevada's Big Give this year to help send other youth from BBBSNN to summer camp. It has been a life-changing experience for Lacee.

- Kristin Szabo, Big Sister and Mentor

Jake's Story

“I showed up late and don’t have any friends yet.”

What a worrisome phrase for any camp staff member to hear but in this case it gives insight into why we all should value outdoor experiential learning.

At Sierra Nevada Journeys’ campus at Grizzly Creek Ranch located in the Sierra Nevada just outside of Portola, CA, we host youth groups, the majority of which are among the underserved.

The staff at Grizzly Creek Ranch had the privilege of spending time with children sponsored by the Reno Housing Authority for a week-long overnight outdoor learning program that started on Monday. During lunch the next day, I met Jake (not his real name). My custom is to wander among the children while dining and ask how they are enjoying the program, the food, whether they’re making friends and, in general, if there is anything we can do to improve their stay. That’s when Jake spoke up and said that he had only just arrived and hadn’t made any friends yet.

“Well, Jake…where have you been that you’re only here this afternoon?” I asked.

“I was in court,” said the 8-year-old, blonde-hair, blue-eyed boy.

I gulped but plowed ahead, “Jake, why were you in court?”

“It was adoption court and I now have parents, a brother, uncles and aunts and an entire family. It’s great!””

Everyone at his table was suddenly transfixed.

Blown away and with a huge lump in my throat I said, “How absolutely wonderful, Jake. I am so happy for you! What a terrific and huge morning for you but I have to ask, why are you here rather than spending time with your new family?”

“I had a chance to come to camp and just couldn’t miss it,” responded Jake.

Overwhelmed and with tears, all I could muster was a smile and some mumbled words.

Jake and children like him are why Sierra Nevada Journeys serves to bring outdoor, experiential science-based learning to the next generation of Americans. We give experiences that build critical thinking skills and awareness required for future environmental stewards. The Sierra Nevada Journey mission is important to Jake’s success as well as the future prosperity and strength of this nation.

Join us. Contribute to the Sierra Nevada Journeys’ mission and goals. You can make a profound difference in children such as Jake who is but one of 80,000 (and counting) whose lives are influenced by experiencing the outdoors and being exposed to nature’s inherent science principles.

- Mark Owen, Campus Executive Director

Gift Guide: Top 10 Toys for your Kid Scientist!

Support Sierra Nevada Journeys by shopping for these science gifts on AmazonSmile. The AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to your charitable organization of choice.

1.     Little Bits

Age: 8+

Price: $150+

A range of modular components that kids and designers can use to build fun projects with lights, motors, sounds, and other fun affects.

2.     Groovy Lab in a Box

Age: 8+

Price: $30

These subscription boxes arrive at your doorstep every month and are full of hands-on activities that help kids investigate, brainstorm, plan, build, test, and redesign their own creations.

3.     Zombie Plant Growing Kit

Age: All

Price: $20

This unique nature growing kit pairs that botany-lover kid of yours with the excitement of zombies. These plants are known as “don’t-touch-me” plants and will actually play dead, become wilted, when they are touched.

4.     Roominate Dollhouse Kits

Age: 6-12 Years

Price: $40+   

Roominate lets girls play architect to build their own dream house. They design it, build it, and then electrify it to make it come alive. The idea comes from two female engineers from Stanford that are on a mission to inspire the next wave of female technology innovators.

5.     Magna-Tiles

Age: 3-5 Years

Price: $199

With rave reviews, these tiles will keep the kids interested for hours by learning basic math and science skills through fun, creative play. The tiles snap together in endless ways for lots of hours creating fun inventions and designs.

6.     Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay up Late

Age: 3-10 Years

Price: $8

Built on the idea that bedtime math can replace bedtime storytelling for kids, this book (also available on Kindle) makes it easy to get in some math practice daily.

7.     Snap Circuits Jr. Electronics Discovery Kit

Age: 8+ Years

Price: $20

With its easy-to-follow instructions, Snap Circuits offers 101 do-it-yourself projects that will give your child an entertaining, concrete education on how electronics work.

8.     Scientific Explorer Tasty Science Kit

Age: 8+

Price: $60

Perfect for your little scientist who loves the magic of cooking. Now they can discover answers to their common cooking questions and put their taste buds to the test!

9.     GoldieBox and the Spinning Machine

Age: 4+

Price: $30      

Designed for younger ages, this interactive book and construction guide gets girls building. The toy encourages spatial skill learning, basic engineering principles, and confidence in problem solving.

10. Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions Craft Kit

Age: 8+

Price: $15

Design and build 10 moving machines, comes with pieces and 80 page instructional book. Provides hours of independent fun and learning.