WLT is a 5-day immersive backpacking course and comprehensive outdoor leadership experience that gives teachers and youth workers the confidence and skills needed to take their groups on multi-day backpacking adventures. Upon course completion, you gain access to free outdoor gear loans at our Oakland gear library for your group.
More than 80% of the youth attending the school or served by the organization identify as youth of color More than 40% of the youth attending the school or served by the organization qualify for free or reduced lunch programs
Less than 80% of the youth attending the school or served by the organization identify as youth of color Less than 40% of the youth attending the school or served by the organization qualify for free or reduced lunch programs
Please check with your school administrator or nonprofit director to determine if your school or organization meet at least one of the criteria.If you don’t know if your school meets these criteria you can run a report on the California Department of Education site here.If you have questions about which registration type you qualify for please email info@bawt.org or call 510-452-2298 extension 301Limited resources? Find out more about our Summit Scholarship.
Develop your personal outdoor leadership skills andlearn how to make outdoor experiences an integral part of your work.
The Wilderness Leadership Training (WLT) is a five day intensive entry-level backpacking course. It is designed to give you the tools you need to lead youth on multi-day backpacking adventures.
Please note, MANDATORY Pre-Trip Meeting: Saturday July 15th, 2023 9am-4pm @ Oakland BAWT Gear Library (1100 57th Ave., Oakland, CA 94621)
Yes, we will give you the skills you need to take your youth out camping. From using our equipment to tips on how to manage youth while camping, we have you covered!
A wide array of folks take this course. Whether you are sedentary, active, or very active, we will accomodate to the needs of the group.
We will send you a packing list and what you don’t have, we can likely provide because that’s what we do!
We offer a two tiered pricing for all of our courses and if that is still out of budget, we have a few scholarships for each course. Go ahead and apply!
Another affordable option is taking our Frontcountry Leadership Training . This is a great way to get started and learn all the basic skills you will need to successfully take youth on car-camping based overnight trips, sparking their interest in the outdoors!
Get your Wilderness First Aid training . Before you can lead backpacking trips you will also need to complete and keep current your Wilderness First Aid certification. You can take the course with us or with many other companies. Foster Calm, Ready SF, NOLS, Wilderness Medical Associates, and many more.
If you want to borrow snowshoes, and to learn about snow safety, please sign up for our annual Snowshoe course Snowshoe course .
Our courses are designed and reserved for youth workers. If you work with a group of youth at any capacity, feel free to register for our courses! If you would like to get involved in another way, check out our volunteer Gear Corps which happens every second Wednesday of the month!
1-day course for novice and experienced hikers provides leadership and facilitation skills for planning, organizing and leading fun and safe hikes with youth.
WFA is a highly experiential 2-day class for everyone who wants to learn how to handle medical situations in the backcountry. You’ll gain the confidence and the skills to handle a first aid emergency.
Our FLT is an entry-level “car camping” course that covers all the basic skills and resources needed to take youth safely and successfully on overnight trips.
