Olympic

Over the next few months we will be introducing you to the places that make NatureBridge so special - our national park classrooms. First up, we invite you to explore Olympic National Park! From the shores of the coast, through old-growth forests to alpine peaks, Olympic National Park (ONP) in Washington state presents students with the unique opportunity to investigate and understand complex ecosystems in an example of a temperate rainforest.

With the rise of anxiety and depression about young people today, social emotional learning (SEL) is also on the rise. SEL a holistic educational framework that focuses on building mental, emotional and interpersonal skills that lead to positive outcomes for students and the community as a whole. We spoke with National Director of Education Meg Jakubowski to learn more about NatureBridge’s unique role in furthering SEL.

When she was a child on the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s reservation, Cameron Macias would listen to her grandmother tell tales of 100-pound salmon swimming up the Elwha River. Read on for our interview with Cameron, a NatureBridge alum and graduate research assistant at the University of Idaho studying wildlife on the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe reservation.

Next month, NatureBridge board member Todd Cota will be sharing his insight and actionable steps for the fight against climate change in the Pacific Northwest and globally at Patagonia’s downtown Seattle storefront. We spoke with him ahead of the event.

Longtime partner REI donated 250 sustainable “Outdoors for Everyone Poncho” to our Olympic campus, helping all kids feel like they belong by ensuring that they stay dry and comfortable during programs in the often inclement Pacific Northwest weather.

We caught up with 2018 NatureBridge Student of the Year, Marisa Granados, an environmental steward and climate activist who is already accomplishing big things.