The CatRock Youth Leadership Academy is the program at the heart of CatRock Ventures. The program is a multi-year and certification program that supports the growth and development of students through experiential learning in multiple contexts: outdoor adventure, leadership, and environmental education.
Outdoor adventure is a powerful hook that energizes and engages youth. Adventure-based challenges encourage students to get outside of their comfort zone and develop a sense of their own potential through the mastery of difficult outdoor experiences. Expeditions may include but are not limited to hiking, camping, backpacking, rock climbing, rafting, and snowboarding.
Leadership development is at the heart of everything CatRock sets out to do. CatRock’s programming builds upon best practices in promoting social and emotional and incorporates activities that enable students to acquire knowledge and develop skills to prepare them for youth leadership roles.
Environmental education is an essential part of the program, focused on empowering youth to address community and environmental issues within their local communities. Social entrepreneurship and service-learning projects are examples of ways students actively engage in problem-solving.