Free passes offered to family hike group Adventure Club for low-income families

By Sequim Gazette Staff • June 7, 2017 1:30 am
Teacher Sarah Salazar-Tipton shows a group of children animal skulls before setting out on the day’s adventure. Submitted photo
Teacher Sarah Salazar-Tipton shows a group of children animal skulls before setting out on the day’s adventure. Submitted photo

Every Thursday at the Dungeness River Audubon Center at 10 a.m., a group of children and their families gather. Sometimes there is a small group of five children and the weather is chilly, with everyone bundled in coats and gloves. Sometimes there are 20 children and everyone is in shorts and sandals.

First the group gathers together for an intro lesson on how to notice things in the forest and then they put those observation skills to work and begin to find pockets of magic. It might be a tiny flower, or the seeds from a huge tree, or the delicate dew on a specific shrub, but these children will begin to ask questions that lead to small and large discoveries.

This family hike and play group is called Adventure Club, a program run by the nonprofit Olympic Nature Experience in cooperation with the Dungeness River Audubon Center. The group’s goals are to educate, empower and enjoy community in nature. The cost for this program is $5 per child or $10 per family and revenue from this program pays for staff time to lead and facilitate it.

The board of directors at Olympic Nature Experience was concerned that low-income families still might see the entrance fee as an obstacle for attending.

“Ten dollars a week might be two lattes to one family but a half tank of gas for another,” said board chairman Kia Armstrong. So Olympic Nature Experience received a grant in January from the Ben and Myrtle Walkling Memorial Fund to offer free passes to low-income families. Now all families, regardless of finances, can have access to this play group and the community support and nature education it offers.

“There is lots of evidence that time in nature can increase your health and happiness. Studies even show that the more stress in a person’s life, the more beneficial nature time can be. We believe that offering all families community-time in nature is a great way to support our goals of empowerment and education. We want that to stay accessible for everyone, no matter their current financial situation,” said director Sarah Salazar-Tipton.

For those interested in receiving free passes to Adventure Club, email info@OlympicNatureExperience.org or fill out the short form provided at Adventure Club.