Wild Awake

What Wild Awake does

Wild Awake is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit outdoor education organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, founded in 2021 by co-founders Shasha Du (Creative Director) and Sophie Haruna Klimcak (Program Director), both M.Ed. graduates of Harvard Graduate School of Education. The organization operates as a fiscal sponsorship project of Possibility Labs. Its core offering is a portfolio of multisensory, in-person outdoor learning experiences delivered at public parks and natural sites across the San Francisco Bay Area, including Golden Gate Park, Glen Canyon Park, Baker Beach, Fort Point National Historic Site, Tilden Regional Park, and Lincoln Square Park. Program formats include forest bathing (shin-rin yoku), intuitive painting workshops (Being Green, Being Blue), ethical seaweed foraging, ocean soundbaths, singing circles, stargazing, seasonal cultural events (Mid-Autumn Festival), and a 10-week after-school Outdoor Adventure Club delivered in partnership with middle schools and community organizations. The organization also curates companion Spotify playlists (Tree Beings, The Sea, The Coast) to extend engagement beyond in-person events.

Wild Awake does not develop or rely on proprietary technology; its offerings are experiential and pedagogical rather than technology-based, with no app, no API, and no digital products. It serves a hybrid customer base: a primary persona of low-income youth of color with historically limited access to outdoor learning, secondary business relationships with schools and youth organizations (e.g., Aptos Middle School via Community Youth Center), and a tertiary persona of general public adults participating in open-enrollment experiences. Distribution is exclusively direct and in-person at park locations, with acquisition driven by organic social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok), email newsletters, and community partnerships.

The revenue model is donation-based rather than fee-based. The organization raises funds through charitable contributions and fundraising campaigns (hosted via Raisely) and does not publicly disclose program fees or pricing tiers; participation is offered at low or no cost, particularly for underserved youth. Strategic positioning centers on culturally responsive, intersectional outdoor education that integrates Indigenous wisdom, environmental awareness, and social justice, differentiating from traditional outdoor education providers on equity and accessibility rather than on technology or scale.

Name

Wild Awake

Legal name

Wild Awake

Website

https://wildawake.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wild Awake is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit outdoor education organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that curates immersive, multisensory nature experiences, including forest bathing, painting, foraging, and sound baths, primarily serving low-income youth of color through school and community partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Education

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Interpretation & Ranger-Led Education Programs (Visitor Education) (THAAAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Programs (Trips, Climbing, Rentals) (EDALAIAG), Academic Enrichment Camps (General Studies) (EDAMALAB)

Keywords

• Outdoor education
• Nature-based learning
• Youth programs
• Environmental education
• Community wellness experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Wild Awake operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Possibility Labs. The organization raises funds through donation campaigns, particularly targeting expansion of programs to youth of color. The primary revenue stream is charitable donations from individuals and foundations rather than program fees.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Wild Awake curates and delivers immersive, multisensory outdoor learning experiences for individuals and small groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, including forest bathing, intuitive painting with chlorophyll and indigo ink, ethical seaweed foraging, coastal soundbaths, singing workshops, stargazing/astronomy events, and after-school outdoor adventure clubs. Programs are offered at low or no cost, particularly to youth of color from low-income communities, and are funded primarily through charitable donations rather than program fees.

Product overview

Wild Awake is a 501(c)(3) non-profit outdoor education organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that curates immersive, multisensory experiences in nature. The organization operates as a unified offering centered around outdoor learning experiences, with programs spanning forest bathing (Breathe in a Forest), intuitive painting workshops (Being Green, Being Blue), coastal experiences (Ocean Soundbath, Underwater Forests, Good Vibrations), youth programming (Expansive Skies Activist Minds, Outdoor Adventure Club), seasonal celebrations (Mid-Autumn Festival), and companion Spotify playlists (Sounds of the Earth). All programs are designed to deepen awareness of human interdependence with the natural world through activities including meditation, journaling, hiking, foraging, singing, and artistic expression.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Breathe in a Forest / A Forest Breathes You (Forest Bathing) Forest bathing experience based on the Japanese practice of shin-rin yoku, featuring multisensory meditation, journaling, and hiking to explore relationship and reciprocity with trees. Designed for adults and open-enrollment participants seeking mindful connection to natural environments.
• Being Green (Painting with Chlorophyll) Intuitive painting workshop at Glen Canyon Park using chlorophyll pigment extracted from plants, exploring multisensory perceptions and expressions of the color green through art-making.
• Being Blue (Painting with Indigo Ink) Seaside watercolors workshop at Baker Beach using indigo ink as a medium, exploring relationships to the color blue through storytelling, meditation, and painting.
• Underwater Forests (Ethical Seaweed Foraging) Ethical seaweed foraging experience at Fort Point National Historic Site led by naturalist Tanya Stiller, teaching participants to identify, harvest, and protect diverse seaweeds.
• Ocean Soundbath Coastal sunset meditation experience at Baker Beach involving ocean bathing practices, journaling, walking, and multisensory meditation exploring relationship with ocean tides.
• Good Vibrations / Singing with the Sea Introductory singing workshop led by vocal coach Jessica Sirena, exploring the voice in tune with seascape rhythms through mindful embodiment and vocal exploration exercises.
• Expansive Skies, Activist Minds Wild Awake's inaugural youth program held at Tilden Regional Park featuring stargazing, astronomy education with Dr. Sarah Ballard, and poetry workshops with Lilian Caylee Wang. Targeted at middle and high school youth.
• Mid-Autumn Festival / Moon Painting & Viewing Mid-Autumn Festival celebration held at Lincoln Square Park featuring moon painting and moon viewing, in partnership with Friends of Lincoln Square Park and Cut Fruit Collective, serving Oakland's Chinatown community.
• Outdoor Adventure Club / Trees as Teachers 10-week after-school program for Aptos Middle School youth delivered in partnership with Community Youth Center, featuring field trips to local urban forests, painting with chlorophyll, plant print-making, and acorn pancake-making.
• Sounds of the Earth (Curated Spotify Playlists) Curated Spotify playlists including 'Tree Beings,' 'The Sea,' and 'The Coast' designed to accompany outdoor experiences and evoke connection with nature; serves as a free digital extension of Wild Awake's programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants report renewed appreciation and connection to natural environments, with practices to stay attuned to local ecosystems.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• Friends of Lincoln Square ParksecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2022Wild Awake partnered with Friends of Lincoln Square Park to deliver the Mid-Autumn Festival moon painting and viewing event in Oakland's Chinatown, combining cultural celebration with outdoor education.
• Cut Fruit CollectivesecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2022Wild Awake partnered with Cut Fruit Collective for the Mid-Autumn Festival programming, supporting cultural programming and community engagement in partnership with Friends of Lincoln Square Park.
• Community Youth CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWild Awake partnered with Community Youth Center to deliver a 10-week after-school Outdoor Adventure Club program for Aptos Middle School students from November 2022 to January 2023. The partnership enabled programming for middle school youth focusing on nature connection and environmental education.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy: The Parks Conservancy is a nonprofit that operates educational programming, volunteer programs, and youth engagement initiatives inside the Golden Gate National Parks - the same park system where Wild Awake runs Baker Beach and Fort Point programs. It is the most direct geographic competitor for park-based educational experiences and donor dollars.
• NatureBridge: NatureBridge is a nonprofit environmental education organization that runs residential and day outdoor science programs in national parks, most prominently in the Bay Area (Marin Headlands). It directly competes with Wild Awake for the same school-district outdoor education contracts and youth outdoor learning market in the SF Bay Area.

Broad incumbents

• Outward Bound USA: Outward Bound is a national nonprofit outdoor education provider offering experiential wilderness programs for youth and adults. It overlaps with Wild Awake on multisensory outdoor learning, though typically with longer expedition-style formats and broader geographic reach.
• REI Co-op Experiences: REI's Experiences division offers outdoor classes, guided adventures, and educational events across the U.S. While commercial rather than nonprofit, it overlaps with Wild Awake on multisensory outdoor programming (forest bathing adjacent classes, foraging, navigation) for adults and families.
• Sierra Club Foundation: The Sierra Club is a national environmental nonprofit with active Bay Area chapters that run outdoor outings, environmental education, and youth programs. It competes for the same equity-and-environment donor base as Wild Awake but at much larger scale and brand recognition.
• Student Conservation Association (SCA): SCA is a national nonprofit offering conservation internships, outdoor service programs, and youth environmental education. It overlaps with Wild Awake on the youth outdoor/environmental education segment but operates nationally with a more conservation-and-career-pipeline orientation.
• YMCA of San Francisco Bay Area: The SF YMCA operates youth outdoor education, summer camps, and after-school programs across the Bay Area. It serves overlapping youth and family segments as Wild Awake, and is a broader incumbent with deeper institutional reach into schools and community centers.

Emerging players

• GirlVentures: GirlVentures is a Bay Area nonprofit that empowers girls through outdoor adventure and environmental education. It directly mirrors Wild Awake's youth-focused outdoor education model in the same geography, with similar reliance on donations and foundation funding.
• Avid4 Adventure: Avid4 Adventure runs outdoor adventure summer camps and youth programs focused on active outdoor skills (climbing, paddling, mountain biking). It serves a similar youth outdoor education segment as Wild Awake, though with a sport-skills rather than art/mindfulness orientation.
• Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT): BAWT is a Bay Area nonprofit that trains educators and youth workers to lead wilderness trips for urban youth of color. It is highly comparable to Wild Awake because it addresses the same equity-in-outdoor-education gap, though its model focuses on adult training rather than direct program delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wildawake.us
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wildawake
• Instagraminstagram.com/wildawake.us
• TikToktiktok.com/@wildawake.us

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wild Awake