Wildcat Canyon Ranch Youth Program

Programs: Established in 1990, Wildcat Canyon Ranch Youth Program (WCRYP) is the only urban school-linked program in California (and perhaps the United States) that exposes inner-city youth to horses, ranch life and environmental issues.

Located in the Oakland Hills, just minutes from East Oakland (with easy public transportation access), WCRYP is situated on seven acres of land owned by the City of Oakland. The ranch adjoins hundreds of miles of trails part of the magnificent East Bay Regional Park District. Here, young people from the inner-city get a chance to take part in a recreational/educational program that challenges youth, builds self-esteem and develops motivation and responsibility. It is a unique and valuable experience worlds apart from Oakland street life.

Over the past ten years, WCRYP has served thousands of youth from Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, with the majority participants coming from Oakland. Harvey Smith, an experienced teacher and public health administrator and Sonny Wesley, an African American horseman, originally established the program to work with urban youth who were having a difficult time in school, and who were at-risk of getting into serious trouble.

Their success in reaching at-risk youth and changing their views of the world encouraged Sonny and Harvey to reach out to other students and broaden the program. They accomplished this by developing a formalized educational curriculum in collaboration with the Oakland Unified School District. This education program gives young people the opportunity to discover a love of animals, to experience real hands-on learning and to increase their self-confidence. Students receive academic credit for participating in this program.

In recent years, our programs have expanded even further to include youth employment and job training opportunities, weekend and after school classes, and an extensive summer program.

We counted over 3,000 youth visits in 1999, and we project a slight increase in this number for 2000. WCRYP serves a diverse group of children of all ages and backgrounds, with a focus on underserved students and/or at-risk youth with exceptionally high needs. Approximately 59% of our participants are African American, 25% Hispanic/Latino, 10% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 5% Caucasian and 1% Native American. We serve approximately an equal number of boys and girls. Most of our students are low-income, with many from single-parent families.