MARTINEZ, Calif. \u2013 In a few days, 20 teenagers from John Muir\u2019s birthplace, Dunbar, Scotland, will be arriving for a short trip to Martinez, where they\u2019ll see the home in which the noted environmentalist wrote and lived when he wasn\u2019t wandering the countryside.<\/p>\n

Dunbar is a sister city to Martinez, and since 2004, students from Dunbar accompanied by some of their teachers have been visiting Martinez, said Sue Hammond, the organizer.<\/p>\n

She has continued the tradition that was started by Pam Vaughn, an Alhambra High School teacher who worked with teachers of Dunbar Grammar School to organize the first exchange.<\/p>\n

Vaughn found families willing to take students into their homes and showed them the John Muir National Historic Site, where the house still stands.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterwards, she retired, and Hammond, also a retired teacher, decided to become the biennial trip\u2019s sole organizer. \u201cI found the benefit of the exchange too valuable to let it die, and decided to organize the next visit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The visits are not arranged through a formal organization. It\u2019s not sponsored by schools. Even the city of Martinez is not a formal participant, although some city officials have been hosts, and the City Council sent books to Dunbar when Hammond and her husband went to Scotland in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel strongly that this type of individual interaction between people of two countries is a wonderful way to develop an understanding of each other\u2019s cultures and people,\u201d she said. \u201cIn our current political climate, I feel that this kind of interaction is even more important!\u201d<\/p>\n

Students were chosen in Dunbar for the trip. They attend Dunbar Grammar School, which is similar in level to an American high school. Most of the students are 17 and 18, although a few are 16. \u201cMost of them would be like our seniors,\u201d Hammond said.<\/p>\n

While the students were being selected, Hammond sought out host homes for the guests, starting with past participants. \u201cWe have four repeat hosts of students and two repeat hosts of teacher,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Another family has welcomed students in the past, but this year will provide a home for two teachers. Hammond often tries to place students in homes with teenagers, and through the years, host homes change as the teens get older and leave home.<\/p>\n

She used social media and a Martinez Unified School District parent newsletter to seek out hosts, too. In addition, other residents volunteered their homes, providing recommendations from the community. \u201cBecause I have taught in Martinez for so many years, I frequently know the person that they use as a recommendation,\u201d Hammond said.<\/p>\n

She organized a meeting of host families, and asked them to sign a form agreeing that their homes may be visited if necessary. During the meeting, \u201cwe can all meet and get to know each other,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

All of that has been done in time for this year\u2019s visit, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students arrive Thursday afternoon,\u201d she said. They first will get to know their host families.<\/p>\n

Their first excursion is to John Muir House, where they\u2019ll be greeted by Mayor Rob Schroder, she said.<\/p>\n

Friday afternoon and the weekend will be free for the students, teachers and host families to experience activities the area, whether going to nearby theme parks, such as Six Flags, Great America or Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, or going shopping, visiting area cities or relaxing.<\/p>\n

The families and their guests will meet for a farewell barbecue the final evening of the visit, and by June 25, they will leave Martinez for Yosemite National Park.<\/p>\n

Muir is closely associated with Yosemite National Park. He drew its boundaries in 1889, His magazine articles led to the park\u2019s creation in 1890, and then Muir co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892 to protect the park.<\/p>\n

A few yards from Yosemite Falls Trail, Muir built a little log cabin as his first shelter. And his presence in the Yosemite Visitor Center is prominent, through a life-sized bronze statue.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince Dunbar is the birthplace of John Muir and Martinez was his adulthood home, it seems fitting that the Scottish kids will be following in John Muir\u2019s footsteps,\u201d Hammond said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur shared memories create a strong bond, and many families stay in touch or even visit each other after the students return home from Scotland,\u201d she said. \u201cWe create many special memories and friendships!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MARTINEZ, Calif. \u2013 In a few days, 20 teenagers from John Muir\u2019s birthplace, Dunbar, Scotland, will be arriving for a short trip to Martinez, where … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2],"tags":[473,313,474],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Ntvs-Fp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2567"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2568,"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2567\/revisions\/2568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinezgazette.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}