Press

Out and About, In Bellingham, November 2024

Folks from BTV and their In Bellingham crew joined a recent outing of Out and About, where the theme was "Queer Critters". The outing explored animals around the world who exist outside of heteronormative expectations. Program regulars also shared their experiences at Out and About in recorded interviews where they were able to talk about why this program is meaningful to them! **Watch here…**

COMMUNITY SERVICE SPOTLIGHT, WHATCOM WATCH, JUNE 2024

In celebration of our 20 Years Outside anniversary, community newspaper Whatcom Watch featured us in a comprehensive write up in their June Community Service Spotlight. **Read more here…**

Summer Camps for Every Kid, Bellingham Alive, June/July 2023

Wild Whatcom and our popular summer camps made the top of the list in the June/July 2023 issue of Bellingham Alive. As Bellingham Alive said, summer camps are a surefire way to keep kids social, active and challenged. **Read more here…**

Mount Baker School District Integrates Outdoor Education To Expand Learning, Whatcom Talk, June 8, 2023

In an educational landscape where most of the chatter is around larger class sizes and the removal of programs due to budget cuts, it can be easy to overlook the positive things happening in public schools. Mount Baker School District has chosen to take a proactive approach to create opportunities for its students even as funds from the legislature are lacking for them and many other districts across the state. **Read more here…**

Friends in Focus: Wild Whatcom, Chuckanut Center, March 2023

Wild Whatcom is a local nonprofit that fosters lifelong connections to nature. They serve thousands of individuals of all ages throughout Whatcom County every year. Our relationship with Wild Whatcom began with the Nature Preschool program in fall of 2022. **Read more…**

No child left inside sign on letter, february 15, 2023

We appreciate The Wilderness Society and the No Child Left Inside Coalition for helping to gather more than 100 signatures to support additional funding for the **No Child Left Inside initiative**, which our Executive Director has signed. **Read the full letter here** and consider calling your representatives to ask for additional funding for outdoor education in our state.

Nature is the Bee’s Knees, Whatcom Talk, August 15, 2022

Wild Whatcom Development and Outreach Manager, Amye Bronson-Doherty, and Vice President and Compliance Manager at Peoples Bank, Amy Brock, sat down with WhatcomTalk to discuss Peoples Bank’s recent donation to Wild Whatcom’s mission, and how Brock’s own love for nature, evident through her beekeeping, connects the organization’s values with the main tenets of Peoples Bank. **Read more…**

Outdoor Education Expands in Whatcom County, Hello Neighbor, August 2022

A unique collaboration, the Connections Program, reached nearly all Blaine and
Mount Baker School District elementary students with outdoor education last school year and plans to do the same in the coming year. **Read more…**

Announcing Our Early Summer 2022 Grants, The Cairn Project, June 2022

Wild Whatcom was selected as one of The Cairn Project’s Early Summer 2022 Local partners. Support from The Cairn Project will contribute to scholarships for young women participants in our programs. **Read more…**

Bellingham Bells Baseball, Puget Sound Energy Team Up To Highlight Community Nonprofits, Whatcom Talk, July 11, 2022

“The Bellingham Bells have long been a perennial part of Bellingham summers.
…Thanks to a partnership between the team and Puget Sound Energy, several of their home games are now a great reminder of the many wonderful community nonprofits that exist in Whatcom County.” **Read more…**

Outdoor Education Expands In Whatcom County, Whatcom Talk, May 10, 2022

A collaborative effort among six community organizations, the Connections Program, will reach nearly all Blaine and Mount Baker District elementary students with outdoor education this school year and next. Each student will receive 5-10 hours of outdoor instruction aligned with classroom science standards, with lessons ranging from investigating stream health to managing school gardens. **Read more…**

Earth Day volunteers get to work at Fairhaven Park, Cascadia Daily News, April 30, 2022

Wild Whatcom’s Operations Director, Rachel Budelsky, (left in photo) was on hand to help at a volunteer work party at Fairhaven Park hosted by the City of Bellingham in celebration of Earth Day 2022.
The work party was organized to clean Padden Creek of common invasive plants in developed areas and lay mulch. **Read more…**

Connecting to Nature Connecting to Self, Washington Trails, Spring 2022

In their Spring 2022 edition, WTA highlighted our partnership: "Over the years, WTA staff and volunteer leaders have loved seeing the ways that Wild Whatcom incorporates their organization's practices and culture into their WTA day work parties, specifically those practices that cultivate mindfulness."
**Read all the highlights WTA mentioned about our shared outings and more.**

Blaine Students Learn in Nature Through Outdoor After-School Program, The Northern Light, February 23, 2022

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. **Read more…**

Expert Tips for Getting Outside with Kids, washington trails association, october 2021

“Holly Roger, community programs coordinator and mentor at Wild Whatcom, says that kids love to get outside in the rain. Puddle jumping is a time honored tradition, after all. If you have a kid who really loves it, she suggests checking out fishing stores for super-waterproof gear…” **Read more…**

Best of the Northwest, Bellingham Alive, October 18, 2021

Children are never too young to learn to respect the environment. Wild Whatcom encourages youth to build lifelong connections with nature, offering weekly drop-in programs, mentorship programs, field trips, after school programs and more. **Read more…**

Moss, Mud, and Masks, Mount Baker Experience, Spring 2021

“Licia Sahagun, executive director of Wild Whatcom, served as the program lead for the partnership with Bellingham Public Schools. She said the school district played a crucial role in identifying which families to service, since school counselors and principals were able to recommend students who were falling through the cracks of distance learning.”