Press

Summer Camps for Every Kid, Bellingham Alive, June/July 2023

Wild Whatcom and our popular summer camps made the top of the list in the June/July 2023 issue of Bellingham Alive. As Bellingham Alive said, summer camps are a surefire way to keep kids social, active and challenged. Read more here…

In an educational landscape where most of the chatter is around larger class sizes and the removal of programs due to budget cuts, it can be easy to overlook the positive things happening in public schools. Mount Baker School District has chosen to take a proactive approach to create opportunities for its students even as funds from the legislature are lacking for them and many other districts across the state. Read more here…

Friends in Focus: Wild Whatcom, Chuckanut Center, March 2023

Wild Whatcom is a local nonprofit that fosters lifelong connections to nature. They serve thousands of individuals of all ages throughout Whatcom County every year. Our relationship with Wild Whatcom began with the Nature Preschool program in fall of 2022. Read more…

We appreciate The Wilderness Society and the No Child Left Inside Coalition for helping to gather more than 100 signatures to support additional funding for the No Child Left Inside initiative, which our Executive Director has signed. Read the full letter here and consider calling your representatives to ask for additional funding for outdoor education in our state.

Nature is the Bee’s Knees, Whatcom Talk, August 15, 2022

Wild Whatcom Development and Outreach Manager, Amye Bronson-Doherty, and Vice President and Compliance Manager at Peoples Bank, Amy Brock, sat down with WhatcomTalk to discuss Peoples Bank’s recent donation to Wild Whatcom’s mission, and how Brock’s own love for nature, evident through her beekeeping, connects the organization’s values with the main tenets of Peoples Bank. Read more…

Outdoor Education Expands in Whatcom County, Hello Neighbor, August 2022

A unique collaboration, the Connections Program, reached nearly all Blaine and
Mount Baker School District elementary students with outdoor education last school year and plans to do the same in the coming year. Read more…

Announcing Our Early Summer 2022 Grants, The Cairn Project, June 2022

Wild Whatcom was selected as one of The Cairn Project’s Early Summer 2022 Local partners. Support from The Cairn Project will contribute to scholarships for young women participants in our programs. Read more…

“The Bellingham Bells have long been a perennial part of Bellingham summers.

…Thanks to a partnership between the team and Puget Sound Energy, several of their home games are now a great reminder of the many wonderful community nonprofits that exist in Whatcom County.” Read more…

Outdoor Education Expands In Whatcom County, Whatcom Talk, May 10, 2022

A collaborative effort among six community organizations, the Connections Program, will reach nearly all Blaine and Mount Baker District elementary students with outdoor education this school year and next. Each student will receive 5-10 hours of outdoor instruction aligned with classroom science standards, with lessons ranging from investigating stream health to managing school gardens. Read more…

Earth Day volunteers get to work at Fairhaven Park, Cascadia Daily News, April 30, 2022

Wild Whatcom’s Operations Director, Rachel Budelsky, (left in photo) was on hand to help at a volunteer work party at Fairhaven Park hosted by the City of Bellingham in celebration of Earth Day 2022. 

The work party was organized to clean Padden Creek of common invasive plants in developed areas and lay mulch. Read more…

Connecting to Nature Connecting to Self, Washington Trails, Spring 2022

In their Spring 2022 edition, WTA highlighted our partnership: "Over the years, WTA staff and volunteer leaders have loved seeing the ways that Wild Whatcom incorporates their organization's practices and culture into their WTA day work parties, specifically those practices that cultivate mindfulness."

Read all the highlights WTA mentioned about our shared outings and more.

Twelve kids and two mentors stand in a circle under a covered area at Lincoln Park while they excitedly introduce themselves. The group is just beginning its second session of Wild Whatcom’s winter after-school program. As the kindergarten through second graders have already had a long day of school, they head into the woods to enjoy a socially-distanced snack before exploring. Read more…

Expert Tips for Getting Outside with Kids, washington trails association, october 2021

“Holly Roger, community programs coordinator and mentor at Wild Whatcom, says that kids love to get outside in the rain. Puddle jumping is a time honored tradition, after all. If you have a kid who really loves it, she suggests checking out fishing stores for super-waterproof gear…” Read more…

Best of the Northwest, Bellingham Alive, October 18, 2021

Children are never too young to learn to respect the environment. Wild Whatcom encourages youth to build lifelong connections with nature, offering weekly drop-in programs, mentorship programs, field trips, after school programs and more. Read more…

Moss, Mud, and Masks, Mount Baker Experience, Spring 2021

“Licia Sahagun, executive director of Wild Whatcom, served as the program lead for the partnership with Bellingham Public Schools. She said the school district played a crucial role in identifying which families to service, since school counselors and principals were able to recommend students who were falling through the cracks of distance learning.”

Healthy Body, Health Mind, Whatcom Land Trust, February 8, 2021

Holly Roger is the Community Programs Coordinator for Wild Whatcom, an organization working to get children and adults connecting with nature. Roger says, “Our minds are so busy and cluttered and screen driven, (getting outside) makes your brain take a break. There’s something healing about nature. The sensory experience of being out there and engaging all of your senses. If you slow down and stop and sit, that’s when amazing things can happen. Read more…

Wild Whatcom then took on a leadership role in the Bellingham school district on behalf of our organization and eight other partners to design the program, to coordinate how the partners would collaborate together, what the scheduling and the staffing looked like, what the funding would look like. Read more…

Why teaching kids outside might help them thrive, National Geographic, January 27, 2021

How parents can encourage outdoor learning at home:

Holly Roger, co-founder of Wild Whatcom, a nonprofit advocating for outdoor education in Whatcom County in Washington State, suggests getting kids to poke around in damp environments to look for slugs and snails. Talk about what slugs like to eat, where they like to hang out, and observe how they move, she says. Read more…

Some kids have been learning outdoors for months…, KNKX, December 18, 2020

Best Summer Outdoor Camp (Silver), Bellingham Alive, October 15, 2020

Opening Doors to Outdoor Learning, Whatcom Talk, July 10, 2020

Waking Up Whatcom Youth, Klipsun, February 28, 2020

Purpose and Perspective in the Superstition Mountains, The Cairn Project, December 18, 2019

Diane Garmo: Leaving a Legacy Through the Land, Whatcom Talk, July 11, 2019

This Nature Program Lets Your Kids Go Wild, Bellingham Families, Spring 2019

Women Who Lead: Stormie Romero, The Cairn Project, December 8, 2018

Holly Roger Interview, Brandon Nelson Partners, November 2018

Wild Whatcom: Where the Wild Kids Are, Whatcom Talk, March 10, 2018

What kinds of homes do animals build, and how do they blend in?, Bellingham Herald, October 2, 2016

Wild Whatcom receives grant, Bellingham Alive, August/September 2016

State grant to help Bellingham students learn with nature, Bellingham Herald, April 24, 2016

Aimee Frazier, Environmental Hero, ReSources for Sustainable Communities, September 2014

Bellingham-based ReSources to honor environmental heroes Thursday, Bellingham Herald, September 2, 2014

The 5 Best Summer Camps for Outdoor Kids, Outside magazine, May 7, 2013

Aimee Frazier, Whatcom Peacebuilder Award, Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, November 19, 2012

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