FIDALGO NATURE SCHOOL

Description

We are a non-profit, registered charity in Washington State that serves children 0-6 years old with outdoor education programming. We primarily operate a licensed outdoor preschool program for 3-6-year-old children, located inside Deception Pass State Park at Bowman Bay, but offer other programs for younger children in our area as well. We work to make our programs inclusive, equitable, affordable, and accessible to all children, including children belonging to groups that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in outdoor programs.

We operate on part of the ancestral lands of Coast Salish Peoples, including the Samish and Swinomish. We recognize this and respect Indigenous Nations’ rights to sovereignty and self-determination.

The beautiful Bowman Bay area includes a wide variety of ecosystems and playscapes, and State Park infrastructure provides access to utilities, shelters, and emergency services. Students in our preschool program are dropped off and picked up each day at "home base," which shifts based on time of year. The class travels on foot from home base throughout the day to explore forests, beaches, and meadows within the park.

Our school is guided by the board of directors, advisory board, executive director and staff who together make decisions to implement a program that helps children in our community grow through play and emergent education in our outdoor classrooms.