From Lighting a Spark to Fanning the Flame: How NOLS Courses Can Build on the NatureBridge Experience
For many students, a few days and nights spent at NatureBridge represents their first deep dive into exploring the natural world. They hike among towering trees, collect scientific data within various ecosystems, reflect under starlit skies, and begin to see themselves not just as visitors to nature—but as part of it. A spark has been lit.
Jen Kidder, Campus Director at NatureBridge Olympic and longtime outdoor educator, knows that spark is often just the beginning of a life-long journey. “A NatureBridge experience can light a spark of interest in nature, in science, in spending time with new people,” she says. It can “build confidence that they belong. Later, that can open a door to new interests, career ideas, or maybe just the confidence to try something else new.”
That “something else” might be taking a course with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)—a powerful next step for students ready to deepen their journey into nature.
A NOLS experience could easily be a next step for a NatureBridge student.Jen Kidder, Campus Director at NatureBridge Olympic and NOLS Instructor
Jen knows firsthand how impactful a NOLS experience can be. Before she ever stepped onto a NatureBridge campus, she was a NOLS student herself—trekking through the Wind River Range in Wyoming. She later became a NOLS instructor, leading courses across the American West and Mexico. From snow-covered peaks to sun-drenched deserts, she guided and supported students who faced challenges, grew as leaders, and built lasting confidence.
Jen recalls a student from one of the Outdoor Educator courses she led who struggled throughout the month-long course and often considered leaving early. However, with Jen’s encouragement he persevered and finished the course. “He was so proud to have made it,” Jen recalls. “I like to think that course changed his life and in particular his confidence and willingness to persist at hard things.”
While NatureBridge focuses on environmental science explorations tailored to school groups that come for shorter-duration programs, NOLS offers extended expeditions—often two to four weeks long—for individual teens and young adults who are ready to take on more challenges. Whether it’s backpacking, sea kayaking, mountaineering, or wilderness medicine, NOLS courses emphasize leadership, teamwork, and hands-on skill development in remote settings.
And just like NatureBridge, NOLS is built on the belief that outdoor experiences help young people become more confident, capable, and connected.
Both organizations connect people with the environment, other people, and challenge individuals to grow and be their best selves. These are my values. I believe that in taking care of others and our environment we are best setting up our future selves.Jen Kidder, Campus Director at NatureBridge Olympic and NOLS Instructor
Jen believes the two organizations offer experiences that complement one another. “I think a NOLS experience could easily be a next step for a NatureBridge student,” she says. Just like NatureBridge, NOLS offers scholarships and financial aid packages to participants, making its programs more accessible for students from all backgrounds—including those who first discovered their love for nature at NatureBridge. If a young person finishes their NatureBridge trip and starts wondering what’s next—how they can keep exploring or even become a leader in the outdoors—NOLS is a great place to take the next step.
So if you're a NatureBridge student—or a teacher, family member, or NatureBridge staff supporting a young person—who’s ready for more time in nature, more challenges, more leadership, and more fun, Jen has a simple message: “Let’s talk!”
Photos courtesy of Jen Kidder
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