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MEDIA RESOURCES

IslandWood strives to be a leader in equity-oriented environmental education. Our education experts are available to discuss our work and provide background information for developing stories. Topics we can comment on include: environmental education, equity in education, experiential education, community-based learning, informal education environments, learning in the schoolyard, the intersection between classroom and informal learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, stormwater education, and educator preparation.

 

Please direct media inquiries to Rachel Samuelian at [email protected].

PRESS COVERAGE

Find out what others are saying about our work in this archive of news coverage and mentions of IslandWood.

IslandWood can see the forest through the trees

October 30, 2020
Bainbridge Island Review
A feature in the Bainbridge Review highlighting how IslandWood has adapted in response to tremendous losses due to COVID-19, and innovated new and existing programs to serve children and adults throughout the region.

 

Payment Protection Program: Who received emergency small business loan in Kitsap?

July 13, 2020
Kitsap Sun
IslandWood was featured in this article from the Kitsap Sun, as one of the businesses and organizations in Kitsap County to receive a Payment Protection Program loan as a result of COVID-19. Like many others, the environment education industry is at great risk due to COVID-19, and, as CEO Megan Karch states in the article, “the Payment Protection Program money is a step in the right direction.”

 

Corporate Getaways: 11 Resorts for Your Next Seattle-Area Company Retreat

January 24, 2020
The Seattle Times
IslandWood is featured in this piece from The Seattle Times as one of the top corporate retreat and meeting centers in the Seattle area.

Pacific Beach Elementary 4th Graders Experience IslandWood
December 18, 2019
The North Coast News
“The scientific and academic knowledge gained was astounding — but so too were the relationships formed with one another, students from other schools, and instructors and teachers. As our students loaded onto the bus to return home, there were more than a few tears to go around — many from kids that I least expected.” Check out this wonderful feature from the North Coast News about the memorable week that Pacific Beach Elementary spent in the School Overnight Program.

 

The Winners: 2019 Community Impact Awards
October 24, 2019
Seattle Business Magazine
We are thrilled to announce that IslandWood has received a 2019 Community Impact Award from Seattle Business Magazine for our work impacting youth in the Puget Sound region. The Community Impact Awards honor Washington state businesses and organizations that are having a tangible, measurable effect on their communities. Learn more about the award here.

 

Leading the Way to Climate Justice in Education
September 1, 2019
University of Washington College of Education
Funded by the Washington State Office for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the ClimeTime initiative helps provide more than 200 teachers each year with the tools they need to inspire 4,000+ students in becoming climate-literate problem-solvers. Learn more about what makes ClimeTime “the most ambitious statewide climate science education initiative in the U.S.” here.

 

18 Amazing Yoga Retreats Near Seattle
May 30, 2019
Seattle Yoga News
IslandWood is listed as #2 in this article on yoga retreat destinations in the region.

 

In Washington state, classrooms are putting climate change at the forefront of K-12 education
May 28, 2019
The Daily
The UW Institute for Science + Math Education has partnered with ClimeTime, a Washington public schools initiative for climate science education, to put a $4 million science education grant to work, educating teachers and providing equitable access to STEM education.

 

8 Super-Cool Treehouses, Forts, and Lookouts to Explore with Kids
April 28, 2019
Parent Map
The Canopy Tower on IslandWood’s Bainbridge Island campus was featured in this round up of Seattle-area treehouses, forts and lookouts to explore with kids.

 

Why Not You? A Star NFL Quarterback Aims to Empower Youth
March 18, 2019
Inside Philanthropy
This article mentions IslandWood as a past grantee of Russell Wilson and Ciara’s Why Not You Foundation.

 

Best Spring Hikes in the Seattle Area for Kids and Families
March 01, 2019
Parent Map
IslandWood’s educational and community programs at Brightwater Treatment Plant were mentioned in this round up of Seattle-area hiking destinations.

 

Kim named VP of Philanthropy at IslandWood
January 22, 2019
Bainbridge Island Review
Jennifer Kim has been named Vice President of Philanthropy for IslandWood, the nonprofit has announced.

 

Former Amazon VP Will Lead Jeff Bezos’s Day One Academies Fund (Transitions)
January 04, 2019
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Jennifer Kim, director of major and planned gifts at Virginia Mason, has been named vice president for philanthropy at IslandWood, a charity that leads experiential learning programs in schools near Puget Sound, Wash.

IslandWood School Overnight Program Leaders Discuss the Importance of Feedback and Evaluation
November 6, 2018
NAAEE
IslandWood’s Sapna Sopori and Jenny Cunningham discuss the importance of developing strong and trusting relationships with teachers and community members.

 

How Paul Brainerd’s Extraordinary Career Went From Revolutionizing Publishing to Empowering Enviros
July 29, 2018
GeekWire
The sale in 1994 of Seattle’s Aldus to Adobe for $525 million didn’t end Paul Brainerd’s entrepreneurial run. It just pointed it in a new direction.

 

NFL Stars Are Helping Children Realize Just How Cool Nature Can Be
July 19, 2018
Adventure Sports Network
NFL tight end Cooper Helfet hosted the first TNP program at IslandWood.

 

Access Is The Key To Igniting A Child’s Curiosity – And Our Future
July 19, 2018
Puget Sound Business Journal
Research tells us that only five percent of learning over a person’s lifetime takes place in the classroom and that the best way to increase the public understanding of science is to reach people during the other 95 percent of their lives.

 

Seattle’s Every Kid in a Park Collaborative Addresses Some of the Barriers That Keep Low-income Youth from Accessing Public Lands
May 16, 2018
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Every Kid in a Park Collaborative launched in 2015 with five original partners — the Washington Trails Association, Islandwood, NatureBridge, the Mount-Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, and the Seattle Area National Park Sites.

 

IslandWood Announces Bainbridge Resident as New CEO
January 22, 2018
Kitsap Sun
IslandWood’s national search for its next CEO led it to its own backyard. The Bainbridge environmental education organization announced Monday that islander Megan Karch will lead IslandWood beginning in March.

IslandWood Promoting Green Time Through Screen Time
November 23, 2017
Kitsap Sun
For many nature purists, pulling out a phone or tablet in the great outdoors is anathema. With a new smartphone application it has helped to develop, IslandWood, an outdoor education nonprofit on the island, is flying in the face of that line of thinking.

 

6 Healthy Ways to Opt Out of Black Friday
November 23, 2017
NBC News
Have a family member whose phone is permanently attached to his or her hand? Use that to your advantage and download the Nature Passport app. Created by two non-profits, IslandWood in Washington state and Nature Play in Australia, the app encourages climbing, foraging and discovering.

 

IslandWood Campers Deliver a Message to our Nation’s Leaders
August 11, 2017
Bainbridge Island Summer Camp participants represented the West Coast in a Soul Pancake video, produced in partnership with the film “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.”

 

Creative Container Gardening Interview with Univision Seattle
July 07, 2017
Univision Seattle
In the second of this four-part series, IslandWood graduate program alum Daniella talks about creative container gardening at home, with tips on recycled materials and which seeds to use.

 

Univision Seattle Tours the IslandWood Garden
July 07, 2017
Univision Seattle
Pablo Gaviria explores the IslandWood school garden and learns about the Soil to Snack cooking program.

 

Univision Seattle Segment on Vegetable Gardens
July 07, 2017
Univision Seattle
In the final segment of this series, Daniella answers frequently-asked questions about vegetable gardening with Noticias Univision Seattle’s Jaime Mendez and Paula Lamas.

 

Garden Education Segment on Univision Seattle
May 22, 2017
Univision Seattle

IslandWood graduate program alum Daniella Miramontes talked with Noticias Univision Seattle’s Jaime Mendez and Paula Lamas about IslandWood’s work to take learning outside the classroom.

 

Nature Preserves & Summer Camps Double as Wedding Venues
May 03, 2017
Brides Magazine
By day, IslandWood is a 250-acre outdoor-learning property. On the weekends, the property transforms into a luxury wedding venue.

 

Seahawks help kids go play outside at IslandWood
April 06, 2017
King 5 Evening
Kids who live in the so-called “concrete jungle” may never have a chance to experience the great outdoors. Some local pro athletes want to change that at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island…

 

Seahawk Jermaine Kearse doing some good in the neighborhood
April 06, 2017
King 5 Evening

 

Croaks from the Heart
April 01, 2017
Bainbridge Island Magazine
IslandWood’s popular community event, Amorous Amphibians, teaches the tantalizing topic, the ins and outs if you will, of how island frogs get their leap on.

The Island of Outdoor Enlightenment
July 11, 2016
Mountain Magazine

 

 

Cultural Exchange Program Will Send Compton Teens to Alaska
May 04, 2016
CBS Los Angeles

 

Straight Outta Compton… to Alaska
May 04, 2016
Southern California Public Radio

STEM project aims to help Stilly Valley recover from mudslide
December 14, 2015
Everett Herald
The community of Darrington turns to nature-based science experiences, including a trip to IslandWood, to help students of all ages feel more connected to the natural environment and more invested in their own learning.

 

Living Machines — Innovative Technology Turns Water into Renewable Resource
September 22, 2015
West Sound Magazine
IslandWood’s Living Machine is featured in this article about how the system allows the site to capture and reuse their wastewater.

 

IslandWood offers outdoor therapy to families of the fallen
September 07, 2015
Kitsap Sun
Virginia-based Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, also known as TAPS, gathered about 60 widows, their children and other family members together at Islandwood for three days of activities focused on coping with their loss and building new friendships.

 

Message at TAPS military survivors’ camp: ‘We grieve because we love’
September 1, 2015
Tacoma News Tribune
Campers came from Washington state and around the nation to search for hope and healing in the 255-acre wooded setting.

 

‘Voces del Campo’, experiencia científica para hijos de trabajadores migrantes (Voices from the Field, science experience for children of migrant workers)
July 02, 2015
Yakima Sol

 

IslandWood y el Estado de Washington se unen para ofrecer una oportunidad educativa de verano para hijos de trabajadores migrantes (IslandWood and Washington State partner to offer an educational opportunity in summer for children of migrant workers)
June 19, 2015
El Mundo USA

 

IslandWood, founders recognized for commitment to education.
June 2, 2012
University of Washington

 

Seattle Times Op-Ed
May 18, 2015
Seattle Times
Kids plus the outdoors equals a good investment

A School in the Woods
April 1, 2009
Washington State Magazine

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Curious about what we’ve been up to? Read all about it in our press release and announcements archive.

FROM THE GARDEN: Planting with Kids!

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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

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