By Carol Carlson, Special to the Independent
What did Orange County look like before the arrival of the plow, the cow and the bulldozer? Most residents of Orange County can only imagine, while others point to photographs catalogued in some archive.
Yet most Friday mornings since 2007, Norris Tomlinson rediscovers a rural slice of county life that few people get to experience, which he shares with youth of the Community Service Programs (CSP) Laguna Beach Youth Shelter, who hike with him through the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park for a taste of nature and some mental and physical relief. Since 1996, the Shelter has offered this hiking and wellness program to its residents, which includes at-risk, runaway and homeless Orange County youth ages 13-17 that are provided safe, short-term crisis intervention services through nonprofit CSP. The majority of these teens have never taken a hike outside the city, let alone a five-mile adventure. After seven years, Norris estimates he has served as a naturalist docent to more than 1,000 youth of the Shelter.
This Mission Viejo resident recognizes that the simple act of exploring nature together takes youth to a new place; physically, mentally and socially.
“The initial reaction to the hike runs the full gamut of reactions you would expect from a group of teenagers,” Tomlinson says. “Some are enthusiastic about hiking through a wilderness area, while others are ambivalent. The ones that are ‘too cool for school’ let it be known by their stance and expression that the whole experience is bound to be some kind of nerdish, strange and unusual punishment.”
And then nature works its magic, with a little help from dedicated naturalist, Tomlinson, who has served in many capacities at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and has dedicated more than 900 hours to his array of volunteer endeavors.
Without exception, the shelter youth change their attitudes and embrace the break from their normal activities. Not a surprise, the “cool” kids are the ones who are the most enthusiastic about their wilderness adventure.
“They leave the park hot, happy and hungry,” Tomlinson says. “They have been introduced to new habitats, plants and, if we’re lucky, some animals. Many of the kids say they want to bring their families to the parks to share what they have seen and learned.”
A great example of this transformation occurred a few years ago, when two boys who completed a hike first begged Tomlinson to let them share what they learned to another group of Shelter residents.
“In essence, the boys led the hike and did a masterful job,” Tomlinson said. “It was gratifying to me that what we were seeing had been of interest to the lads, that they had retained it and that they wished to share it with others.”
Tomlinson, as well as other volunteer docents, not only open residents’ eyes to a new world hidden behind the hills, they push them to physical limits, too: “To some of the kids, the hike is a mild physical challenge. At the end of the hike, their pride in meeting the challenge is palpable.”
A social and team building exercise as well, Tomlinson sees that stronger hikers tend to motivate and encourage the weaker counterparts and he witnesses a sense of community and trust being built between youth, which boasts social skills building and promotes positive and engaging teamwork.
Of all of the volunteering activities he participates in, Tomlinson notes the CSP hiking and wellness program is the most gratifying and among the most important. This program gives him an opportunity to offer a measure of support and wellness to groups of four to eight CSP Laguna Beach Youth Shelter residents on rotating weeks, who are working to overcome obstacles in their lives, and who otherwise would not have this type of wilderness exposure for relief.
Carol Carlson is the community service programs director of Youth Shelter Programs.
