Yosemite Institute is holding a two-week adventure and learning program for 15- to 18-year-old students in Yosemite National Park. The two-week-long inquiry-based Field Research Course lets students earn college credit while learning how to create their own ecological research projects, learn wilderness survival skills, and more.

Technology will afford prospective guests of Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps the opportunity to apply for the annual lodging lottery on the Internet for the upcoming 2010 season. Beginning September 1, applications are now available online for submission and will be accepted through November 1, 2009.

“We are here to stay,” public relations manger Kenny Karst said. “We never thought about closing.”

Badger, which closes for the season March 29, was the center in recent years of media and customer speculation about its future. When turnout slumped several years ago, rumors circulated about Badger’s permanent closure.