2022 Community Report

We kicked off 2022 with some in-depth, roll-up-your-sleeves work by creating our 3-year strategic plan. The plan was informed by a series of listening sessions with team and community members. This testimony from critical internal and external stakeholders helped guide the development of an ambitious plan that will build Sierra Nevada Journeys’ mission impacts in our communities. We also created a new Vision Statement – to transform lives by building curiosity, confidence, and connections to nature, especially for students who are traditionally underserved – which supports the forward-thinking direction of the new strategic plan.

Sierra Nevada Journeys hosted Sacramento area students for the premier of Hack the Woods Camp in October 2022. With our partners Black Youth Leadership Project and Square Root Academy, we created a unique STEM and social justice camp thanks to a grant from the City of Sacramento Office of Youth Development.

Google donated to Sierra Nevada Journeys in January 2022, helping our team expand STEM enrichment to serve four Nevada counties — Storey, Lyon, Washoe and Carson. We were thrilled that the local Google team chose Sierra Nevada Journeys to develop STEM scholarships for students in Title 1 schools who have historically been denied access to high-quality STEM programs and outdoor experiences.

Additionally, we received the Technology Nonprofit of the Year Award from NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, in March 2022. We were recognized for the tremendous work of figuring out how to convert experiential, hands-on science lessons to digital and accommodate distance learning during the pandemic.

In the summer of 2022, we launched a new afterschool program, STEM Explorers, thanks to a successful proposal for funding to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through Washoe County. In Northern Nevada, the initial partnership launched with the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. We were able to start the STEM Explorers with three schools — Dilworth MS, Sparks MS and Traner MS. The funding then allowed us to quickly expand to Vaughn MS, Desert Skies MS, and Sparks HS. STEM Explorers will help fill an educational equity gap at schools in underserved areas and provide continuity of programming as students transition from middle school to high school.

We look forward to many more years guiding Sierra Nevada Journeys through growth, innovation and inspiring youth to find their love for science and the outdoors.

Sincerely,