IslandWood

IslandWood We're an environmental education nonprofit that inspires a lifetime of passion for the planet.
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As an environmental education nonprofit, we believe there are many paths to creating a more sustainable and equitable world. That’s why we offer a variety of immersive programs throughout the Seattle region to help children, educators, and community members deepen their understanding of the world around them, explore important environmental issues, and see the power they have to make a positive im

pact on their communities and the planet. We understand there is an inextricable connection between educational justice, environmental justice, and racial equity. Embedding justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) throughout our organization is central to our work in environmental education, and to inspiring healthy communities and a healthy planet.

We loved having you, Vitalize Kitsap 💚
05/29/2026

We loved having you, Vitalize Kitsap 💚

05/28/2026

Big discoveries start with the tiniest details. 🔬🧫

There is nothing quite like watching students lean in close, adjust the focus, and see the natural world come alive in a fresh new way. A peek through the microscope opens up a vast new universe for these students visiting IslandWood for our School Overnight Program!

Image description: Lowell Elementary School students in a classroom at IslandWood peering through microscopes.

Keep community events accessible on Bainbridge Island 🌿Many of IslandWood's community programs are free or low-cost — an...
05/27/2026

Keep community events accessible on Bainbridge Island 🌿

Many of IslandWood's community programs are free or low-cost — and that's possible because of support from people like you.

Right now, you can help make that possible through , a community-wide campaign to fund local nonprofits doing meaningful work. Every dollar goes directly to our work, with BCF covering all processing fees so 100% of your donation makes an impact.

👉 Find our application and give at BainbridgeGives.org

# Bainbridge Community Foundation

05/21/2026

Explore IslandWood’s Bainbridge Island Trails with Friends and Family! 🌲 🥾

Looking for a perfect Sunday afternoon in nature? On June 7th from 1 – 5pm, IslandWood is opening our Bainbridge Island trails to the community for a free public trail day!

Whether you're seeking a quiet stroll or a fun adventure with friends and family, our campus is yours to explore on a self-guided hike. Wander through lush hemlock and red cedar woods, cross our suspension bridge, climb the 120-foot canopy tower, or discover hidden treehouses along the way.

Keep your eyes peeled—you never know what local wildlife you might spot in our meadows and streams!

Sign-up >> https://bit.ly/3RMuJ78

05/19/2026

Golden hour at 120 feet! 🦅✨

The climb up IslandWood's 120ft Canopy Tower is no small feat, but these brave School Overnight Program adventurers crushed it! Standing high above the forest floor, they got a whole new perspective on nature—and a front-row seat to a beautiful Pacific Northwest sunset!

Moments like these remind us why outdoor learning is so magical. Environmental education, community building, and a view you can't get from a classroom window.

Images: Two adults with Lowell Elementary School students, in a montage featuring students climbing up the canopy tower, looking at the view, mugging for the camera, and posing for a group photo.

🐝 Bee our guest! Looking for a little wonder you can find in your own backyard? For this month’s Book Nook, we’re reflec...
05/15/2026

🐝 Bee our guest!

Looking for a little wonder you can find in your own backyard?

For this month’s Book Nook, we’re reflecting on our essential neighbors—the native bees that sustain our food systems and our local ecosystems.

These children's stories help our youngest explorers (and their adults!) build knowledge, shift perspectives, and learn to coexist with the tiny but mighty pollinators all around us. ✨

Explore the book list on our blog >> https://bit.ly/3P7eMrw

Image description: Dr. Dé holding up a book titled "You Are A Story" against a backdrop of shelves of books.

🌿 Redefining Science EducationWhat happens when we stop seeing the natural world as "it" and start seeing it as kin?We a...
05/14/2026

🌿 Redefining Science Education

What happens when we stop seeing the natural world as "it" and start seeing it as kin?

We are excited to share that IslandWood faculty, Dr. Déana Scipio and Dr. Priya Pugh, have published new research in Science Journal Their JuST Framework (Justice-Centered Ambitious Science Teaching) introduces transformative practices—like the "Perspective Taking" lesson used right here at IslandWood—to help students center justice and diverse ways of knowing in the classroom.

From "ditching the it" to writing "Who am I?" poems from the perspective of a caterpillar or a tree, this work is all about deepening our relationship with the world around us.

Read more about their framework and the "Perspective Taking" lesson on our blog >> https://bit.ly/4fksOR4

Image Description: (L-R) Dr. Priya and Dr. Dé smiling and holding up a cross-section of a tree trunk with their JuST Framework presentation behind them. The image was provided by .

🏆 Meet our 2026 Impact in Action Awardees! 🏆 We believe that when people connect with nature, they find the power to p...
05/12/2026

🏆 Meet our 2026 Impact in Action Awardees! 🏆

We believe that when people connect with nature, they find the power to protect it, our latest Impact in Action Awardees, Hannah Gallagher and Kelli Petrick —are the living proof.

Hannah has spent more than 20 years at Seattle Children's PlayGarden, an outdoor space in the heart of Seattle where children of all abilities play, explore, and belong — not as an accommodation, but as a given. As Inclusive Programs Director, she's built an environment where the question was never "how do we include this child?" but "how do we design a place that assumes everyone belongs from the start?" That belief was rooted in her time in IslandWood's Graduate Program, and it's shaped thousands of children since.

Kelli, part of IslandWood's founding graduate cohort in 2002, has carried that same spirit of place-based, reflective learning into two decades of teaching. As a K–5 science teacher at Munger Mountain Elementary in Wyoming, she's built a comprehensive science literacy program from the ground up — integrating real-world data analysis, mentoring AmeriCorps educators, leading a school-wide Science Fest, and connecting her students to researchers and community scientists near and far.

Want to be inspired? Check out their full profiles >> https://bit.ly/4nouFGr

Image descriptions: 1. Intro to 2026 Impact in Action Awardees (from L-R) Kelli in in the snow with hard hat, mask, and cape holding a pickaxe and shovel and Hannah holding a chicken for a child in a wheelchair. 2. Portrait of Kelli smiling 3. Hannah receiving her award.

05/08/2026

This community does not let inequity decide who gets to experience the joy, wonder, and awe of learning in and about the natural world.

What an extraordinary evening. Thank you to everyone who attended, supported, sponsored, volunteered, and showed up so fully for Dinner in the Woods 2026.

Because of this community, more students from under-resourced schools across our region will have the chance to learn, explore, and grow outdoors at IslandWood.

More photos & videos from the evening → IslandWood.org/ditw-26

🌿 Quiet moments, big impact. Celina Steiger, IslandWood’s Partnership Manager, takes a breath at Matthews Beach Park dur...
05/08/2026

🌿 Quiet moments, big impact.

Celina Steiger, IslandWood’s Partnership Manager, takes a breath at Matthews Beach Park during a Salmon in the Schools field trip. On the surface, it’s a calm scene—water, sky, a moment of pause. But beneath it runs the current of something much larger.

This school year alone, IslandWood’s Urban Schools Program—in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities—helped:

🐟 3,232 students release salmon at 8 local parks
🐟 344 Chinook fry
🐟 2,034 Coho
🐟 4,024 Chum

That’s thousands of young hands, hundreds of thousands of future salmon, and one steady commitment to connecting kids to the wonder of our watersheds.

Address

4450 Blakely Avenue NE
Bainbridge Island, WA
98110

Telephone

+12068554300

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