From the Headlands to Hawai‘i: Justin Umholtz’s Journey of Environmental Stewardship
Justin Umholtz still remembers the feeling of standing on the bluffs at the Headlands Institute (now NatureBridge Golden Gate) as a child. He can recall the dramatic coastline, the wind coming off the Pacific Ocean, and the sense that he was standing “on the edge of the city, getting to see that world that is on the edge and have it still feel so wild.”
Today, Justin lives more than 2,000 miles away in Hilo, HI, where he serves as Education Coordinator at Mokupāpapa Discovery Center—an interpretive arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary. Each year, the Center welcomes approximately 8,000 students, connecting them to the cultural significance, wildlife, and natural wonders of one of the largest protected marine areas on Earth.
But Justin’s journey toward this work began decades ago on the Northern California coast.
Programs like yours do have an impact on us. Even if the specifics fade with time, the connections sparked by the visits take hold and inspire us to build deeper relationships with place.Justin Umholtz, former NatureBridge student
Justin grew up in Sonoma County, CA, immersed in education and exploration from an early age. His mother was a kindergarten teacher at Cinnabar Elementary in Petaluma, CA, and his stepfather served as superintendent for the school district. That meant Justin often got to join other teachers’ outdoor education trips and district activities. And that’s how he found himself at NatureBridge Golden Gate as a nine-year-old, tagging along on another class’s field trip and marveling at the wild coastline that felt so different from the environments he knew.
Following his experience in the Marin Headlands, Justin cultivated a deep love of the California coast and coastal ranges—hiking, running, and camping throughout the region during his childhood and adolescence. He went on to study environmental science and ecological agriculture at The Evergreen State College in Washington state, where he contributed water quality data from the Nisqually Glacier in Mount Rainier National Park to the National Park Service. After college, Justin worked with Garden-Raised Bounty (GRUB), a youth development nonprofit in Olympia, WA, where he helped create hands-on science and leadership programs.
Inspired to deepen his work in education, Justin returned to Sonoma County to earn a Master of Arts in Education at Sonoma State University. As a graduate student, he revisited NatureBridge Golden Gate to study its teaching model. “I have to admit,” Justin says, “that experience tempted me to stay in the area and apply to work with [NatureBridge], but I ultimately returned to Olympia to carry my new experiences back to the young nonprofit I had been a part of building.”
Outdoor education, that model, teaches us to see the world deeper… You realize how much life is all around you when you look deeper.Justin Umholtz, former NatureBridge student
Whether working in long-term youth programs or designing one-time field trips, Justin believes that intentional experiences for young people matter: “If you build a very intentional experience for students where they see themselves belonging, if they see themselves having stewardship…it has deep, long lasting impacts.” In Hawai‘i, Justin has discovered and embraced the practice of kilo, or deep environmental observation that emphasizes the person's relationship with a place over time. Like the prompts of outdoor education he experienced as a child, kilo invites learners to look more closely and recognize the layers of life around them. “As you build your practice,” Justin says, “you build not just knowledge, but connection, relationship, and an unfolding awareness of seasonal change.”
What I love about this practice [of kilo], and what I think holds many similarities with the environmental education approaches I was exposed to as a kid, is the spark to see the world more deeply, to seek out the magical details hidden from casual observation, and to build that sense of belonging and stewardship.Justin Umholtz, former NatureBridge student
For Justin, environmental education is about more than teaching science. It builds belonging, invites students into stewardship, and helps them see how they fit into something larger. From the Marin Headlands to Papahānaumokuākea, his journey reflects the lasting power of experiencing the wonder of wild places.
Stories
From the Headlands to Hawai‘i: Justin Umholtz’s Journey of Environmental Stewardship
For Justin Umholtz, environmental education is about more than teaching science. It builds belonging, invites students into stewardship, and helps them see how they fit into something larger. From the Marin Headlands as a student to Hawai‘i as an educator, his journey reflects the lasting power of experiencing the wonder of wild places.
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