In early May 2022, Recreation Northwest signed on to support the No Child Left Inside (NCLI) letter to Senators to express our sincere thanks for their part in investing $2.5 million to connect underserved youth to nature in Washington State. The support of this grant program provides critical support to programs that serve youth who come from low-income and historically marginalized communities across the state, in rural and urban areas.
Recreation Northwest received funding for the 2023-2025 school year to continue providing programming with Options High School, a small school of choice in Bellingham Public Schools, to get students outside to learn about the health benefits of nature, explore local parks, and promote community connection. Our programming efforts in the 2022-2023 school year were completely funded by individual donations – THANK YOU! The NCLI funding ensures that programming will continue and local Bellingham youth gain the opportunities to experience the healing powers of nature.
Parkscriptions has evolved from working with healthcare providers to prescribe time outside to provide nature education programming directly with high school students. During this programming, students use their five senses while in nature to become more present and resilient, and while learning how to connect with nature, themselves, and the community as a whole. This funding is a critical component to continue the invaluable effort to teach youth the importance of nature in our daily lives. We are thrilled that funding has been approved not only for our programming but for other local and statewide programming.
Below are images from our 2022-2023 Parkscriptions at Options High School programming and our Parkscriptions with GRADS students in the spring of 2023. We explored a variety of parks in Bellingham including Whatcom Falls Park, Lake Padden, Juliana Park, and Samish Crest trails. Students learned how to identify native plants and trees, learned about the Blue Mind Theory, and practiced mindfulness techniques.
We are honored to have partnerships to offer these programs for students, with the Bellingham Public School, Bellingham Parks & Recreation, and with Chris Brewer, professor at Fairhaven College who educated the students to the Blue Mind Theory. It has been a wonderful year to get students outside and we are looking forward to future collaborations.
Image credit: Torie Wold WWU Journalism Intern
We continue to explore and expand the Parkscriptions program with youth in Whatcom County. We are committed to offering opportunities to all people in Whatcom County to Get Your Dose of Nature.
As Director of Programs, Elizabeth Nelson brings her B.S. in Public Health, her extensive work with trauma survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, and her own experiences of the positive connection and health benefits of time spent in nature into the Parkscriptions program at Recreation Northwest. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder. She has a broad range of experience running her own business and working in nonprofit and government organizations.
