There are moments in this work that stay with you.

Not always the big summit photos or the epic overnight trips, but the quieter moments that catch you off guard and remind you exactly why this matters.

Last week, we had one of those moments.

We brought students from Showalter Middle School to Seahurst Park for a day of tidepooling. It was one of those rare spring days in the Pacific Northwest where everything lined up. The sun was out, the water was calm, and students were spread out across the beach turning over rocks and getting excited about every little crab and sea star.

Then, in the middle of the day, a familiar face walked up.

Guled, a junior at Foster High School, had spotted Wes’s bright blue Y.E.T.I. jacket from across the beach and came over to say hi.

He told us he figured we’d be out there on such a beautiful day and had been looking for us.

That moment stopped me for a second.

Guled’s very first Y.E.T.I. trip was to this same park when he was a freshman in spring 2024.

I still remember bringing him here for the first time.

Yesterday, he wasn’t there because of school.

He wasn’t there because of a scheduled Y.E.T.I. trip.

He was there because this had become a place he knew. A place he chose.

He came with a friend to spend the day at the park on his own.

And honestly, that’s the moment you know it’s working.

Sometimes the impact of this work can be hard to measure in real time. We see the smiles, the muddy shoes, the nervous first attempts, the moments of joy and challenge on trips.

But every once in a while, you get to witness what happens after.

A young person returns to a place on their own.

They bring someone else with them.

They move through that space with confidence and familiarity.

That’s more than a successful field trip.

That’s belonging.

That’s a relationship with the outdoors that lasts beyond the school day or Y.E.T.I. trip.

That’s a young person seeing public lands as their space too.

Moments like this are such a powerful reminder that we are not just taking students on adventures.

We are helping build confidence, connection, and a lasting sense of place.

Sometimes the clearest sign of impact is when we are no longer needed in the moment.

A student comes back anyway.

That was last week.

Best day ever.

– Sam, Program Coordinator