Summer Camps

We let kids be kids—discovering the outdoors one mud puddle, bird sound, or quiet step in the forest at a time. Our instructors are among the most experienced in the field, and we focus on ensuring small student-to-teacher ratios both for safety and for greater learning. Because our groups are small, we are able to emphasize in-depth, experience-based learning with a curriculum that is personalized to match the skill level of each group of students.

We’re proud to say that Parent Map has consistently recognized the Wilderness Awareness School as the region’s Best Nature Camp.

Our Camp Philosophy

What do you remember about nature from your childhood?

Most likely, it’s a special place that you would share with friends—making forts, climbing trees, and more—all while getting muddy and wet in all kinds of weather.

We bring these kinds of adventures to kids today, giving them opportunities to explore the wonder of the world around them and reconnecting them with nature. As they learn the skills required to survive in the outdoors, they also learn the skills they need to survive—and thrive—in our modern world: self-confidence, healthy risk-taking, learning, and appreciation for the natural world.

We use our unique “Coyote Mentoring” techniques both to train our staff and to bring these powerful experiences to our students, blending modern and ancient ways of connecting with nature, and promoting community. Students learn and share experiences with a small group of kids, while still receiving much-individualized instruction.

A key aspect of our learning approach is the importance of learning from our immediate community. In our summer camp programs, we create small groups called “clans,” averaging 9 to 10 students per paid staff, supported by additional volunteers. Because of this tight ratio, each instructor can personalize and customize our curriculum to the skill level of each student. This enables students to learn at their own pace. All courses emphasize in-depth, experience-based learning, which means from the moment a student enters our camp, the experience is hands-on. We challenge and guide our students, encouraging them to take healthy risks that they are ready for.

What Kids Learn

The Wilderness Awareness School is focused on helping kids develop an understanding and appreciation of the natural world, connecting with other students, and growing their self-awareness and self-appreciation. Over the course of their week at camp, your child will have fun, explore the world around them, and learn from our nature-based curriculum, including age-appropriate activities on topics such as:

• Hazards and Wilderness Basics – Things that could be harmful to us and others, and what we need to do to avoid or resolve issues once they happen
• Wildlife Tracking and Mammals – Who lives here, and what we can tell about their lives from their tracks and sign even if we don’t see them directly
• Edible, Medicinal, and Poisonous Plant Identification – How to identify a plant using sketches, field marks, and field guides, and which ones have poisonous look-alikes in our area
• Ecology and Natural Communities – The cycles and relationships that make up the rhythm of the natural world and what we can learn from them
• Survival and Trees – How to select and use trees for shelter, food, tools and fire
• Birds and Bird Language – What we can learn from birds that will help us stay safe from predators and locate animals that pass nearby

Developing new nature skills, exploring the wild, having fun, and creating adventures that become lifetime memories are only a part of what your child will learn during his or her week with Wilderness Awareness School. We also focus on helping campers build skills that will serve them for a lifetime by weaving the development of tangible and intangible personal and interpersonal skills into each and every activity. Through activities such as patiently waiting to approach wildlife or working together to build a group shelter, campers develop skills in:

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Thankfulness
• Stewardship
• Awareness
• Patience
• Common sense
• Self-confidence
• Self-respect
• Respect of others
• Problem Solving

Of course, each camp program—and camper who participates in them—is different, and so are the set of skills and knowledge they bring home as a result of their experience. In addition, the week’s curriculum will shift opportunistically, taking advantage of the interests of the group, the weather, the particular park or environment in which the program takes place, the animals, and other less predictable learning moments in nature. We have had kids repeat our Nature Adventure camp for every week of summer, and they learned something new each time!

Our Commitment to Safety

We are committed to your child’s safety while enrolled in our camp programs. Each of our new and returning employees is required to personally participate in pre-camp training sessions covering a broad range of topics, including safety protocols and policies.

We know that policies and training alone are insufficient. To keep your camper safe, the Wilderness Awareness School also:

• Has an emergency and medical response plan in place that is specific to each location
• Ensures that every summer Camp Director AND all instructors are CPR and Wilderness First Aid certified
• Requires Criminal Background Checks for ALL staff and volunteers
• Requires Sexual Offender Background Checks for ALL staff
• Requests and checks both personal AND professional references for ALL staff

Diversity and Equity Statement

We are on a learning journey regarding our role in raising awareness and implementing best practices in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Challenges that arise at our programs and in our organization will be resolved to the best of our ability; we are committed to providing a responsive environment. We cannot promise to do this perfectly, but we are willing to engage and always continue learning.

We believe that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

We value respect for the whole human family in its wide diversity. This includes the uniqueness we bring into community as influenced by our nationality, ethnicity, gender identity, spirituality, sexual orientation, body shape or size, economic status, or physical ability. As we move towards widening the circle of accessibility in nature connection, we recognize that at this time, our programs do not accommodate all physical, emotional or cognitive needs.

Please note that equity and diversity topics will be addressed at our programs by instructors and directors as needed. Some possible examples:

• Program Agreements that emphasize treating people well in terms of our differences
• Using pronouns that are appropriate for someone’s gender identity
• Storytelling that may have same-gender protagonists in a relationship
• Developmentally-appropriate response to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, etc. with individuals or groups as needed
• Normalize appropriate exploration and natural curiosity around these topics

Ecosystems, including humans, require diversity to thrive.  We find that people learn best in environments where they have a sense of healthy safety and belonging.

About Our Instructors

It’s our mission to bring nature connection and fun adventures to kids across the region, and our phenomenal summer camp staff is the secret to our success!

The Wilderness Awareness School hires only experienced, uniquely trained adults thoroughly grounded in both wilderness and community-building skills. Many of our lead Summer Camp staff members are graduates of our intensive year-long Immersion program or our Nature Instructor Training program. All of our camp directors were, at one time, camp instructors at the Wilderness Awareness School.

Not only is our staff experienced and enthusiastic about connecting kids with nature, they are also committed to the Wilderness Awareness School. We are proud that most of our camp staff return year after year. As a result, they are very familiar with our camp programs, helping to ensure a consistent and high-quality experience for campers.

Perhaps most importantly, developing high quality youth programs isn’t a part-time job for our summer camp leaders. Our commitment to giving a great nature experience to youth is a year-round mission for us. While most other camps are taking a break at the end of the summer, we continue to train our staff and volunteers throughout the year, engaging kids all over the Puget Sound area in programs that allow summer nature adventures never to end! One benefit to our year round approach is that we can attract and retain the region’s leading outdoor educators on staff. For information about our school year programs, click here.

To learn more about our acclaimed adult training programs, including The Immersion, click here.

Our summer camp team shares a passion, energy and dedication for being with kids in nature. We’re extremely selective, and we’re always looking for the perfect blend of experience, skills and passion for working with youth. To find out about opportunities to join the summer camp team, click here.

While we hire a staff of experienced adult instructors to lead our summer camp programs, we also have volunteer opportunities available for adults and youth. As with our staff, we carefully select our volunteer leaders for their wilderness, survival, and nature skills, leadership and communications skills, and ability to work with youth. Volunteer Assistant Instructors play an important role and receive excellent training and experience. We are always looking for volunteers, starting at age 13, who are enthusiastic about sharing an appreciation of nature with youth and want to learn more about mentoring. For more information, click here.

Summer Camp Leadership Team

Our Camp Locations

With parks or locations in or near Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Kenmore, Issaquah, Redmond, Carnation, and Duvall, we strive to select places that feel like true wilderness and are also as close to home as possible. We provide wild experiences that are convenient to access for families in the greater Seattle area. That way, the camp location can become a place for the whole family to continue to visit and enjoy throughout the year. For a map of our camp locations, click here.

The Results of Our Programs

Every year, we get hundreds of positive comments from parents. They tell us that their students’ self-confidence and sense of empowerment increased. They tell us they learned to articulate their creativity in innovative ways, applying new knowledge and skills. Most importantly, they tell us they had fun. But you don’t have to believe what we say—listen to what our campers and their parents have told us in the testimonials below.

Is Scholarship Funding Available?

Yes! As a not-for-profit organization, Wilderness Awareness School is thankful to our donors that allow us to grant scholarships to families in need of assistance.

Youth Scholarship Application

Testimonials