We are based in Washington, but our education programs extend throughout our region to Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Our education work revolves around bringing people closer to nature by getting them outside! Whether in the classroom, at workshops, or volunteering at events, our team is excited to bring the outdoors to you.
Garden for Wildlife
Our Certified Wildlife Habitat® program engages people to make it a priority to provide habitat for wildlife by providing the basic elements that all wildlife need. If you love gardening and connecting with people in your community, the National Wildlife Federation can help you certify your community as a certified Community Wildlife Habitat™ through our Garden for Wildlife™ movement. A Community Wildlife Habitat™ is a community that provides habitat for wildlife throughout the community—in backyards, on school grounds, and in public areas such as parks, places of worship and businesses.
The Northwest boasts over 12,500 Certified Wildlife Habitats®, over 250 Certified Schoolyard Habitats, and the most certified Community Wildlife Habitat Teams in the nation. Washington State has over 40 actively engaged communities from Bellingham to Olympia. Creating a wildlife habitat is a great project for families to do at home or for their apartment complex. It's also a great project for troop or volunteer groups, local businesses, or schools. Every native plant makes a difference to wildlife.
Find more information on the Garden for Wildlife website.
Washington Habitat Stewards Training
Are you interested in creating habitat for wildlife? Do you want to do your part to keep your community wild? Now is your chance to become a Habitat Steward™! In Washington state we offer a specialized, multi-week virtual training to teach you how to create and restore wildlife habitat in backyards, schoolyards, and other places in your community. The training include four evening virtual class sessions and also in-person field experience opportunities, and are held every few months. Benefits include: a comprehensive, digital training manual with local resources, instruction from local professionals, engaging field opportunities, certification as a habitat steward, and continued support from NWF staff. A variety of topics will be presented on habitat restoration, PNW ecology, natural yard care, invasive plants, native plants, & much more! For more information: WAEducation@nwf.org or (206) 577-7816.
Connecting Families with Nature
Kids today spend twice as much time indoors as their parents did, missing out on the simple pleasures and lasting mental and physical health benefits of daily outdoor time. Spending time outdoors can improve a child’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. The benefits of outdoor play are real: healthier kids with a life-long appreciation for wildlife and the natural world. We have a variety of programs and tools to engage your family with nature. From finding local parks with Nature Find to activities to play outside, and our annual events like National Wildlife Week and Great American Campout!
For more information, visit Connecting Kids and Nature.
EcoSchools U.S.
After over a decade of growth, EcoSchools U.S. has engages schools in environmental education through hands-on nature-based experiences. With a certification program for elementary through secondary schools, EcoSchools U.S. nurtures environmental learning and climate action. Our award-winning, curriculum-linked framework supports school communities as they assess, track, benchmark, and celebrate environmental excellence.
EcoSchools U.S. is home to:
- A free K-12 program for project- and place-based environmental learning.
- A framework based on three overarching themes: Climate Change, Wildlife and Biodiversity, Healthy and Resilient Communities. These represent our priorities to address real and present threats to wildlife and people and center equitable nature-based solutions connected with global Sustainable Development Goals.
- An Action Card Library with over 35 cross-cutting action cards that consist of a variety of fun and educational projects, campaigns, research, and challenges that help schools assess and improve their environmental practices. Topics vary, from Active and Sustainable Transport and Single-Use Plastics to Water Quality Testing and Restoring Biodiversity Balance in the Schoolyard! There’s even an opportunity to ‘Create Your Own’ unique and innovative action cards.
- Certification levels of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Green Flag with schools earning a digital certification seal to display.
- A certification platform that displays metrics reflecting a school’s impact over time.
- Student-based action teams composed of dedicated environmental champions.
- Certification Benefits and School Resources.
Meet Our Washington AmeriCorps member!
My name is Guinevere Unterbrink and I will be serving as the Habitat Stewards Program Coordinator until August 2024. I look forward to meeting you all!! A little bit about me: I am a recent graduate and transplant from Virginia Tech where I studied Wildlife Conservation and Forestry. I moved here in July of this year! I'm super interested in botanically accurate art, assisted migration, and squirrels, among other things. I also work part time at a plant store so feel free to reach out to me with any plant related questions.
Photo courtesy of Guinevere Unterbrink.
For more information about the National Wildlife Federation's Washington and Regional Education Programs, please contact Courtney Sullivan at sullivanc@nwf.org.
