We are Rachel's Network.

SOLD OUT: The Rachel’s Network 2018 Fall Retreat has reached capacity. Click here register for our wait-list.

Our world-class public lands face many challenges, including an $11 billion maintenance backlog, climate change, and encroaching development. When visiting Yosemite National Park in 2016, President Obama also observed that the beauty and benefits of our protected lands are not shared equally: “the national park system belongs to everybody. It is a true expression of our democracy, [yet] we’ve got kids all across this country who’ve never seen a park.”

The focus of our Fall Retreat this year is Yosemite and the Future of Our National Parks. We will hear from park staff, experts, and advocates about what’s in store for our national parks and public lands, the public-private efforts to share Yosemite’s grandeur with a broader audience, and efforts to protect its magnificence with less. In addition, we will have time to enjoy the park, explore Yosemite’s waterfalls and glacier-carved valley, learn its history and see its ancient trees, walk its trails, and experience the sights and sounds of the High Sierra.

We’ll begin our Fall Retreat at 5pm on Tuesday, October 23 in Berkeley, California with a special dinner at Alice Waters’ famed restaurant, Chez Panisse. Our Retreat ends the afternoon of Saturday, October 27, when we travel from Yosemite National Park to arrive in the Bay Area no later than 2pm.

If you have any questions, please email info@rachelsnetwork.org.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Join Rachel’s Network Member Fa Liddell for lunch with James Thornton, founding CEO of ClientEarth, Europe’s first public interest environmental law organization and Author of ClientEarth, a best-selling book that tells the fascinating story of the organization since it was founded. This luncheon at The Princeton Club is open to Rachel’s Network Members, Prospective Members, and Member Guests. All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of ClientEarth.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Lunch and Program: 12:00-1:45 pm, Cargot Brasserie, 98 University Place, Princeton, NJ
Exhibition and Tour: 2:00-3:00 pm, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ
Join Rachel’s Network members Kef Kasdin and Annarie Lyles for a luncheon at Cargot Brasserie and presentation by Kathy Hackett, executive director of the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI). After lunch and a short walk to the Princeton University Art Museum, the group will take a guided tour of the Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment exhibition, led by Associate Director of Education, Caroline Harris.

Registration is open! Click here to register. 
Registration is limited to 20 people and will be available first come, first served for Rachel’s Network members and limited member guests.

Rachel’s Network will host an excursion to Chile from Saturday, March 16 to Sunday, March 24, 2019.

Over the last 25 years, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and her late husband Doug Tompkins have worked through their organization, Tompkins Conservation, to conserve and re-wild over a million acres of critical habitat in the Patagonia region of Chile with the ultimate goal of donating the lands back to the Chilean government as future national parks.

After years of acquiring and protecting these lands, restoring their biodiversity, and preparing for future economies such as eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture, the Tompkins’ two flagship projects — Pumalín Park and Patagonia Park — will be handed over to the Chilean government for management as national parks in April 2019. Before that official hand-off takes place, Rachel’s Network members have been invited on a unique excursion to visit these two new parks.

Join us in Chile in March to explore the stunning beauty and biodiversity of the Patagonia region and learn about the largest public/private philanthropy conservation effort in the world. We’ll begin our journey by meeting at the Puerto Montt airport on Saturday, March 16, and traveling to the city of Puerto Varas for the night. After nine days of travel (flying and driving), hiking, exploring, and learning about this amazing conservation effort first-hand, we will return to Puerto Montt for departure flights the evening of Sunday, March 24.

To see the draft agenda for the excursion (details subject to change), click here.

Registration Types
Member Registration: $5,500
Member Guest Registration: $6,000

Registration Restrictions
*Total registration is LIMITED to 20 people and is first come, first served. Fifteen member registrations will be available.*

** Members’ guests must be registered with a member with whom they will share a queen-size bed. Member guest registration will initially be limited to five guests for the entire trip and will be taken on a first come, first served basis. A member registration may not include more than one guest registration.

Rachel’s Network will keep a waitlist of member and member guest registrations, as we may have cancellations after registrations are received. If we end up with a long wait list, we will work with Tompkins Conservation to assist members on a future trip.

Cancellation and Refund Policy
Registration cancellations received via email by Friday, October 26 at 5 pm EST will be refunded 75% of each ticket cancellation. Registration cancellations received via email by Friday, November 30 at 5 pm EST will be refunded 50% of each ticket cancellation. No refunds will be given for cancellations received after December 1, 2018. If there is a waitlist for this excursion and someone is willing to register for your cancelled spot, we will refund only that portion of your fees for which we can obtain full reimbursement.