After School Program
Location: Rail Road Bridge Park, meet in school bus drop location adjacent to parking lot
Time: Mondays, 3:15-5:15 p.m., Sept. 4-Dec. 18
Cost: $80 per month
Imagine 10 children sitting around a campfire, having a snack, and swinging in a hammock in the forest. They recently have come from school, so their first task is to relax and unwind. After snack, they play a game before heading out on an adventure through the forest. Today’s adventure is to navigate through the forest using a compass. They will learn ways to stay found or find their way back if they should get lost. As the children end their day, they will hear a story about other famous explorers and some of the ways they stayed safe in the forest, while sitting on the forest floor, leaning up against a tree, listening to the distant sound of the river.
These children will be taking place in Olympic Nature Experience’s After School “Foxes” program for 5-8 year olds. The program will take place at the Railroad Bridge Park, in partnership with the Dungeness River Audubon Center, every Monday from 3:15-5:15 p.m. from Sept. 4-Dec 18. The cost is $80 per month.
Skills practiced and lessons learned through this after-school program will include: team building, native plant identification and use, fire and shelter building, forest safety, navigation, tool using, nature journaling and safe forest play.
“This program will help students build a sense of place in the outdoors, through direct experience, play and learning. That sense of place is what will help students in future take care of this and other amazing places,” said Dungeness River Center’s Executive Director Powell Jones. “Immersion in the outdoors is also great at developing skills and confidence in students for any challenges in life and we are excited to partner in this program that will be so accessible by being at Railroad Bridge Park.”
To learn more about this after-school program, visit Olympic Nature Experience’s website at www.olympicnatureexperience.org/after-school-programs. To learn more about the Dungeness River Audubon Center, visit www.dungenessrivercenter.org.
