By Pepper Fisher
CLALLAM COUNTY – Kids in Clallam County will benefit this summer thanks to a state grant designed to get them outside to explore our national park and other wild places.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Olympic Peninsula received a $57,000 “No Child Left Inside” grant, which they’ll use to extend the “Exploring the Great Outdoors” summer education project for youth in Clallam County.
Executive Director Mary Budke says the program combines the Olympic National Park’s Jr. Ranger program with additional weekly outdoor excursions for hands-on learning.
“The field trips are going to be heading out for hands-on activities experiencing our parks and our shorelines, riverbanks, tidepools. They’ll be at Ruby Beach, Dosewallips, they will be traveling all over the Olympic Peninsula and of course our fantastic rainforest. The field trips are very educational in nature and they are really one of the most sought-after programs that we have ever run.”
Budke and staff are thrilled to be able to offer this program again after having to shut it down last year due to Covid restrictions, and she says now is the time to get your child enrolled.
“This falls in line with Boys and Girls Club Initiative for Healthy Lifestyles. This gets our kids in outdoor discovery, education, recreation and most importantly, conservation.”
Learn more by visiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula website at bgc-op.org.
(Photo by Boys and Girls Clubs)