Environmental Education for All

Nature Campers on a forest walk | Birds Connect Seattle

Children and families have always been a primary pillar of Birds Connect Seattle’s programming. A key element of that programming has been our summer Nature Camp. This coming summer will bring an exciting and transformative expansion of our Nature Camp program designed to reach more families.

In 2024, Birds Connect Seattle Nature Camp will be welcoming kids and families at two new brand-new locations in North Seattle and Burien. We’ll also be returning to two sites we’ve piloted in the past in West Seattle and Shoreline. While this means that we’ll be saying a fond farewell to Magnuson Park, these new sites will allow us to reach more kids and families who have been historically excluded from our programming than ever before.

Background

Birds Connect Seattle started Nature Camp in 1982, and for more than 40 years we’ve built a reputation for quality environmental learning, emphasizing experiential outdoor activities that instill an appreciation for nature. Small group instruction with experienced naturalists inspires children to become explorers and stewards of nature.

We offer sessions for kids entering kindergarten, 1-3rd grades, 4-6th grades, and 7-9th grades. Older high school students also have the opportunity to participate as “Junior Naturalists” assisting the camp staff. The theme of camp rotates weekly on topics like birds, bugs, oceans, and more.

Birds Connect Seattle’s Education Manager, Hanae Bettencourt, had this to say about our campers, “Nature Campers are special. They usually come to camp with a baseline of basic knowledge and curiosity about the natural world. They love animals. They love being outside. They love exploring. They attend Camp eager to learn and explore more. There are the “bug kids” that come to insect week, ready to equip themselves with a bug net and catch anything they can. There are the beach-lovers who aspire to being marine biologists and could spend an entire day tide-pooling at the beach. There are the natural artists, who want nothing more than to take the things they see outside as inspiration for their next art project. And, of course, we get plenty of “bird nerds.”

Rationale for Expansion

Every child deserves access to this kind of high-quality environmental education. Yet, according to a 2018 American Camp Association report, summer camp participants are overwhelmingly white, and from middle- to upper-class families.

Birds Connect Seattle’s mission, vision, and values commit us to addressing this gap and providing equal access to our programming. For years, Birds Connect Seattle has attempted to address these disparities through increasing financial support for and outreach to low-income families and other community groups led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. While we will continue to be committed to these strategies, a persistent barrier to breaking this trend has been the physical location of our programs. We were simply too far away from the communities in greatest need.

In addition to accessibility, summer camp programs need to feel relevant and speak to a child’s own lived experience. Field trip programs that bus children far from home to see “nature” are missing the opportunity to connect them with the habitats and wildlife in their own communities. All Nature Camp curriculum focuses on place-based learning, allowing campers to see their connection with the natural world just outside their front doors.

Registration Information

More information on registration and offerings at each location will be available on our website later this month. This year’s camps will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis as we build relationships within these new communities. If you know any families near these sites who would benefit from access to high-quality, outdoor environmental education this summer, please make sure that they’re signed up to receive Birds Connect Seattle emails so they’re among the first to receive the registration link.

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