Adventure Awaits at Yellowstone!
Climate Leadership Retreat: July 28 – August 3, 2027
Hosted at BBar Ranch
Applications now open!
Imagine a world where you are the driving force behind climate change solutions. At Bluedot Institute, we are on a mission to turn this vision into reality.
Application deadlines:
- Applications close: February 7 (or if the program is full)
- Applications are reviewed monthly, and acceptance letters are sent out on the fourth Thursday of each month starting in October 2026
There are two steps in the application process:
- Fill out the online application
- Virtual interview with Bluedot Staff
Are you a high schooler who lives for the outdoors?
If you’re passionate about environmental science, conservation, or using your voice through art and journalism to protect our planet, then this is the community you’ve been looking for!
Join a group of hopeful, like-minded young citizens for an unforgettable week where we turn climate concern into climate action.
The Ultimate Outdoor Classroom
Imagine waking up on the stunning BBar Ranch in Montana, where the mountains meet the sky and you’re just a stone’s throw from Yellowstone National Park. This isn’t your typical summer camp; it’s an intensive, fun-filled week designed to sharpen your leadership skills. You’ll dive into expert-led workshops on communication and storytelling, all while exploring a fully operational ranch that shares six miles of boundary with Yellowstone National Park.
At the Bluedot Institute, we believe leadership isn’t learned in a lecture hall—it’s forged under an open sky. We place the natural world at the heart of our curriculum, challenging you to practice the art of negotiation and dialogue while surrounded by the very ecosystems we strive to protect. Here, you won’t just study environmental change; you’ll immerse yourself in the land, water, and sky, building lasting bonds with mentors and fellow change-makers in a landscape that inspires courage and clarity.
Yellowstone Retreat Program Details
Program Dates
July 28 – August 3, 2027
Tuition
$2,950.
- Tuition is all-inclusive except for travel to and from Bozeman, MT on July 28, 2027 and August 3, 2027
- The deposit to hold your spot once accepted is $1450
- The tuition remainder ($1500) is due by May 28, 2027
- Payment plans are available
- Fundraising links and support are available
Scholarships
Bluedot offers limited need-based financial aid to support equity-deserving students and families. Requests for financial assistance are evaluated individually. Because awards are distributed on a rolling basis, early retreat applicants receive priority consideration.
To inquire about a needs-based scholarship, email Leigh Anne Neal
Questions
Questions? Contact Leigh Anne Neal via email or call 404.420.0999.
Daily Retreat Schedule Highlights
(subject to minor changes)
Wednesday, July 28:
Our Landscapes: A Place to Begin
- Touch down in Bozeman, the official gateway to your Yellowstone adventure!
- Check into the Field and Stream Hotel and start making friends with your fellow retreat explorers.
Feast on local Montana flavors while soaking in those legendary mountain sunsets.
Thursday, July 29:
Leadership and the Land
- Journey into the heart of Yellowstone as we make tracks for the beautiful BBar Ranch.
- Claim your basecamp, settle into your rooms, and get a feel for the land that will be our home away from home.
- Dive into our curriculum with high-energy games and exercises designed to decode what it really takes to be a climate leader.
- Cap off the day with an environmental tour of the ranch, gathering wisdom from expert authors and scientists on the art of earth-keeping.
Friday, July 30:
Leadership and Narrative
- Explore the connection between leadership and storytelling. Weave your personal passions, community interests, and the urgency of climate issues into compelling narratives.
- Connect with the land. Meet and learn from local ranchers and cowboys who make their living on the land.
- Evening relaxation. Wind down with a campfire and stargazing under the night sky.
Saturday, June 31:
Leadership, Conversation, & Negotiation
- Practice the art of finding common ground through improv and fun role-play games.
- Learn from the pros about when to bargain and when to stand your ground.
- Get hands-on with nature as we head out to the ranch to help construct a beaver dam.
- Unwind after a big day with a movie night and guided stargazing under the vast Montana sky.
Sunday, August 1:
Yellowstone Park Day Trip
- Rise and shine! We'll depart the BBar Ranch early to soak up every moment of our full-day adventure.
- Dive into the wonders of Yellowstone National Park—bring along all the leadership lessons you've gathered and let nature be your classroom.
- Unplug and recharge while immersing yourself in the Great Outdoors!
Monday, August 2:
Leadership and Communication
- Light up the stage! Hone your public-speaking craft and learn to navigate every type of speech with confidence and flair.
- Become a verbal chameleon—whether you're riffing off-the-cuff, leaning on notes, or delivering a scripted masterpiece.
- Discover the secret sauce of communication: knowing exactly when to persuade hearts and when to inform minds.
- Step into the spotlight! Pick a topic you love, workshop it with a buddy, and share your powerful story with the group.
- Go out with a bang at our Grand Farewell Dinner, celebrating Montana's natural bounty with live tunes and a final campfire glow.
Tuesday, August 3:
Closing and Departure
- Rise and shine for one last delicious breakfast together at the ranch, soaking in those final mountain views.
- Trade contact info, share final hugs, and soak up the last of the Big Sky magic before we pack up.
- Head back to Bozeman with heavy hearts but full spirits, ready to catch our flights home and take everything we've learned out into the world.
Tuesday, August 3:
Closing and Depature
- Rise and shine for one last delicious breakfast together at the ranch, soaking in those final mountain views.
- Trade contact info, share final hugs, and soak up the last of the Big Sky magic before we pack up.
- Head back to Bozeman with heavy hearts but full spirits, ready to catch our flights home and take everything we've learned out into the world.
Leadership Retreat
Curriculum
Introduction
Our retreat curriculum focuses on these five strands of communication, allowing time for instruction and practice in small groups. Sarah Ream, an alumni and master teacher from Phillips Exeter Academy, is the program’s lead teacher and curriculum designer. With Sarah, the students focus on leadership, narrative, conversation, communication, and negotiation through games, improv, role-play, and interactive exercises.
Leadership
Workshops throughout the day allow students to discover the connection between self-awareness and effective leadership. Games and exercises provide opportunities for introspection, radical listening, and empathy; participants work with the idea that one cannot feel empathy for others without access to one’s own inner emotional life. As Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, puts it, “Leadership is not domination, but the art of persuading people to work toward a common goal.”
Narrative
Workshops today build on self-awareness tools. As students focus on the art and craft of storytelling, they work to create a story of “self”, a story of “us”, and a story of “now”. Each perspective combines to build a cohesive story around a chosen climate issue: Why does it matter to me and to us? Why must we address it now? Each student identifies a particular climate issue or topic of personal importance to explore in the days ahead. Opportunities for sharing and self-reflection conclude the day’s activity.
Conversation
Day three invites students to lean into difficult and inevitable conversations about climate issues in our world today. Bringing the work of day two into the classroom, we focus on how one listens with an open heart and mind to the ideas of others, how one reflects those ideas back to the speaker, and how one moves through conflict with finesse, rather than aggression to move the conversation forward. Students role-play conversations challenging their proposals and reflect together on the experience.
Negotiation
Today’s work drills down in depth on the previous day’s conversations, cracking open the elements of conflict to create space for negotiation and recognition of common ground. We look at specific tools to help bolster each student’s chosen cause, recognizing that sometimes the best tool is listening carefully to the opposition. Students learn about value creation, value claiming, building power, overcoming barriers, and the seven elements of negotiation.
Communication
On the final day, students explore the planning, design, and delivery of their specific climate issues. They try out tools of effective public speaking, addressing common fears and foibles that can limit the effectiveness of one’s delivery. Each student delivers a speech on their topic to persuade us all as to its urgency in the world today. Peers will practice offering effective feedback to each other. An opportunity for personal and group reflection marks the culmination of the week.
How To Join Us
We can’t wait to meet you! Applying is a breeze:
- Submit Your Application: Fill out our online application form by February 7, 2027. (Note: Applications close early if we hit capacity, so don’t wait!)
- Chat With Us: Once we’ve reviewed your application, we’ll schedule a virtual interview so we can get to know you better.
- Get Ready: Keep an eye on your inbox for acceptance updates starting in October.
Need a hand? If you run into any trouble with the form or need accommodations, please reach out to Leigh Anne Neal.
Program Leadership
Sarah Ream
Vice President, Bluedot Institute
Sarah Ream has had the climate and activism on her mind since circulating a petition to save the baby seals in grade school. Since then, she has worked as a theater director and teacher in the United States and England and taught English and Theatre for many years at Phillips Exeter Academy. Throughout it all, she has maintained a commitment to environmental issues in a variety of ways – none more exciting than her work with Bluedot.
Victoria Riskin
Bluedot Living Founder
Victoria Riskin is the founder and publisher of Bluedot Living, a media company with a network of newsletters that tell the stories of change-makers addressing climate change and helping readers live more sustainably. With a background in psychology, creative writing, and human rights, she creates engaging and actionable content that connects with people at the local and national level, and sparks individual and collective action.
Leigh Anne Neal
Director of Student Development and Engagement, Bluedot Institute
Leigh Anne acts as a link between Bluedot and the high schools involved in our work and manages new student recruitment for our programs. She is an artist, a teacher, and a weaver of stories and communities. Leigh Anne believes that creativity and joy play vital roles in our ability to stay present, create community action around climate hope, and enjoy a thriving life.
Annabelle Brothers
Board Member
Annabelle Brothers graduated from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 2023, Valedictorian of her class. Annabelle served as the president of her high school’s environmental group, the Protect Your Environment Club. She worked closely with the Bluedot Institute conducting interviews, writing essays, and was on-camera as a journalist for the Bluedot Institute filmed interviews. Annabelle is now a Sophomore at Yale University and is pursuing a major in Ethics, Politics, and Economics with a Concentration in Climate Science and Solutions. She is passionate about fighting climate change and has a particular interest in the intersectionality of climate work and the ways social and institutional problems exacerbate the challenges that communities face.
Get in Touch
For any questions about the program or how to apply, please contact us using this form. You can also call, text, or email Leigh Anne Neal: 404-420-0999/ leighanne@bluedotinstitute.org