August 25th E-NEWSLETTER

Programs

ATTENTION: We are paying very careful attention to COVID-19 guidelines. Please be aware that any community programs may transition from in-person to virtual and masks are required for all indoor programs.

Summer Camp Overview

Since our last E-Newsletter, there was one final summer camp: Amazing Artists. Campers (grades 1-6) embraced their artistic side and made a variety of creations including nature journals, wands, watercolor art, scientific illustrations, and even used plants as a media for painting and trees as easels! Guest artist Martha came to teach the older kids how to create self portraits incorporating nature with pastels. Guest artist Zuly taught the younger kids to paint rocks like bugs.

WRI held a total of 12 summer camp sessions over the course of 6 weeks, serving a total of 144 students entering grades 1-6! There were 7 camp themes including Kids in the Wild, River Wild, Forest Friends, Cool Critters, Amazing Artists, Soil to Snack, and Bike & Explore (which was partnered with the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance). 

Summer camps have always been a summer staple for WRI. However, we introduced a few new things this year!

1. Three interns were hired to assist education staff with camps. This allowed for two sessions of camp per week, meaning more students were able create fun memories and interact with nature.
2. The Pay What You Can structure helped increase accessibility and lessen the financial hardship for campers and families.
3. Connections were made with the migrant labor camp in Monitor to offer programming to children. These camps house families who travel for seasonal farm work. Space was kept in each summer camp for the opportunity for kids from the migrant labor camp to attend, and three did! We are excited to further nurture our relationship with the camp.

It was a wonderful summer! We are getting ready for the school year to begin and planning fall programs. Help us reminisce and look at the Summer Camps 2021 photo album on Facebook!

Place

Farewell to our Interns

As summer youth programming is coming to an end, it is also time for our interns to head back to their studies. We could not have made the summer camps the way they were without them! Extra staff means more students were able to learn, connect, and interact with nature. A big thank you to Miranda, Tom, and Izzy and best wishes on your future endeavors!

Join our Team!

Come work with us! We’re looking to fill some upcoming jobs such as Field Educator (leading hands-on, experiential activities on our campus with elementary students), Traveling Naturalist (traveling to regional schools to teach programs in 4th and 5th grade classroom or after school programs), or assisting with Community Education programs (leading seasonally-based, educational walks and facilitating workshops and presentations). For more details, see the job listing on our website.

Thank you to our donors from the last 2 weeks!

Kamuron Gurol - Sustaining

Tracy and Ben Brulotte - Sustaining

Dave and Pat Notter - Sustaining

Nancy and Charles Warner

Lisa Therell and Rich Haydon

Thomas and Ann Dark

Ginger Holladay and Dean Marson

Mickey Fleming and Dirk Horton

Sam and Karry Meshberg Foundaton

Lisi Ott - Sustaining

Mary Carol Nelson - Sustaining

Peter B. Clark

Scot Brower

Andrew Tokar and Alexandra Chasin

Edward Starbird

Dave and Nancy Bartholomew - Sustaining

Brunners Lodge, Inc.

Many of the donors above are supporting our Endowment Fund campaign. Want to learn more? Click here.