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.
Wild Whatcom, a Bellingham-based nonprofit that focuses on outdoor education, is currently running a seven-week after school outdoor program on Thursdays for kindergarten, first and second grade Blaine students. Wild Whatcom executive director Licia Sahagun said they are planning to have two 12-student programs available in the spring.
The nonprofit’s programming in Blaine is the result of state representative Alicia Rule (D-Blaine) securing state funding for the program. Through state grants, Rule provided outdoor programming for kids in the Blaine and Mount Baker school districts.
“During this pandemic, I knew it was going to be critically important to get kids outside” Rule said. “Kids need to get outdoors for not just their physical health, but their mental health.”
Rule said she was inspired by the work of the Connections program, a pilot program during the 2020-21 school year, which ran in collaboration with North Cascades Institute and various other organizations. Some kids in her neighborhood were in the program and Rule said she saw the benefits it had on them.
The Connections program originally focused on assisting students struggling with online learning, but as classes transitioned to hybrid, it shifted to outdoor education.
Blaine school district superintendent Christopher Granger previously told The Northern Light in an email about the Connections program that the school district was grateful for the unique program.
“This program has provided our students an opportunity to engage in hands-on outdoor learning in support of their in-class content,” he wrote. “We are appreciative of the community partners and collaboration to provide this to our students, and feel it models what can happen when people unite and work together.”
Wild Whatcom’s program is specific to the Blaine school district. The organization typically provides programs during school hours but the district thought an after-school program would be best due to the difficulty of resuming in-person classes during the pandemic.
The after-school program is intentionally less structured, Sahagun said in an email, since students have come from a long day of sitting in classrooms. The main focus is to connect students with the outdoors through exploration, play, art and nature-based activities. “This could be anything from learning about and finding bugs to a game of camouflage-based hide and seek to creating nature art in the park,” she said.
Sahagun said spending time outdoors has several documented mental and physical health benefits for all ages. In the after school program, students get a chance to refresh, exercise and connect with peers while also learning about and connecting with a nearby park.
Enrollment for the upcoming spring session will open with an interest list rather than registration, Sahagun said, which will give Wild Whatcom an opportunity to prioritize enrollment for families that qualify for free or reduced prices.
“For this year, we are thankful for the support from Representative Alicia Rule and the Recreation and Conservation Office so that we can offer this program for free,” Sahagun said. “We hope to reach the highest needs families.”
Rule said she’s had her own kids enrolled in outdoor education programs even before the pandemic. As a mental health professional, she said she knows the benefits of getting outside.
“This is really just a stepping-stone for the Outdoor Education for All program,” Rule said, referring to HB 2078.
Rule has sponsored a state outdoor education bill, HB 2078, that has already passed through the House and is currently in the Senate. The bill would establish a statewide grant program to ensure all fifth and sixth grade students can benefit from outdoor education. It would also create a position at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
“What we did in Blaine was a small pilot project compared to what we want to do throughout the state,” she said. “I’m glad Whatcom is always a pioneer in these areas.”
Sahagun said plans are in the works for Wild Whatcom to offer outdoor programming next year during school hours.
Sienna Boucher contributed to the reporting of this article.
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