2017 Golden Teddy Awards — Camps + Classes

Photo:

Photo credit: Wilderness Awareness

Wild nature camp

Winner: Wilderness Awareness School

Perhaps your kids were nervous the first time they attended, but Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) has topped this category so many times, we’re sure your kids are begging to go again and again. The organization’s programs give lots of city kids a huge dose of nature, and they love it. Day camps and programs for young kids begin with basic skills, while overnight camps and expeditions for teens impart serious survival techniques. You called WAS camps “inspiring,” and one voter appreciates how the staff “teaches the kids to look inward and see how they move and think differently in the natural world, without any modern-day distractions.”

Finalists

Area Girl Scouts of Western Washington camps earned heaps of your votes as positive places for girls. Campers at the Girl Scouts’ overnight camps enjoy the typical camp activities — swimming, crafts, campfires — all while building leadership skills as well as an affirming community. One pleased parent noted that the camps “offer great opportunities for girls to explore and grow.” No Girl Scouts experience required to attend camp.

Hidden right in the middle of Bellevue, Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center is no secret to you. The City of Bellevue and Pacific Science Center partner to offer summer camps that take advantage of hands-on learning in the natural world. Nature walks, ranger programs, movies and more get families exploring this Bellevue gem as well.

The Nature Nanny is a one-woman tour de force getting kids outside and exploring. Offering camps in Seattle and on the Olympic Peninsula, the Nature Nanny’s goal is to teach wilderness skills and inspire curiosity and connection to the natural world. You are digging her efforts to expose our digitally entranced kids to the magic of nature.

Tapping into our Northwest thirst for nature, Tiny Treks is an all-outdoors program offering parent and child classes, an outdoor preschool and other programs. You love that your kids are practicing true hands-on exploration of the natural world.