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"  Against a backdrop of barbed wire, concrete and bitter gang violence, Bill Vanderberg, the 57-year-old dean of students at Crenshaw High School in South Central L.A., launched an Eco Club to lead kids on trips into the nearby mountains. For these mostly poor students, performing tasks like basic trail maintenance, erosion control and building stone steps across streams has opened minds and changed fates.  Last year, Vanderberg organized a trip to Yosemite and invited students from rival Dorsey High. Crenshaw High is Crips territory; Dorsey is solidly Bloods. But at a snowed-in cabin during a spring blizzard, the kids bonded and renamed the club the Dorshaw Eco Club. The Sierra Club estimates Vanderberg has introduced over 1000 students to nature. &amp;quot;This project got students outdoors, but it also connected them with each other,&amp;quot; Vanderberg says. &amp;quot;Along the way, we created a whole new group of conservationists.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a5992/los-angeles-outdoor-leader-hometown-heroes/>