Grand Canyon Youth Speaks
Exploring the intersections of science, art, nature, and the psychology of resilience, The NARBHA Institute and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona brought together academic researchers, professional river guides, clinical psychologists, and graduate students in a multiyear study of the effects of Colorado River expeditions through the Grand Canyon on youth participants’ wellness and resiliency. Under the youth-given title of “GCY Speaks,” professors and graduate students from NAU, professional guides, and expedition staff from Grand Canyon Youth (GCY), and The NARBHA Institute are teamed together bringing scientific rigor to better understand the power of the natural world and its potential to increase resiliency for youth through guided experiences of the river and its surroundings. In a fascinating initial finding, artistic methods and expression for the youth, from photography to poetry, appear to concentrate and solidify the power of the experience, as well as extend its positive effects well beyond the river and experience itself.
