Fern Hollow Nature Center Youth Programs

Fern Hollow Nature Center Youth Programs include Summer Camp Crew teen volunteering, where teens spend time working with kids and exploring the great outdoors. Programs also include family programs, adult programs, nature walks, community events, educational programming to local schools, a Native Tree Walk, and a variety of Outdoor Classroom activities such as climbing a tree with climbing holds, using a small amphitheater made of tree stumps, jumping on recycled tires, crawling through or climbing over a tunnel, walking on a sensory walkway, playing a wooden hanging xylophone with fallen branches, adding to or using a lean-to made of large sticks, playing in a “nature kitchen” with pots and pans using pine needles, pine cones, rocks, and dirt, climbing a tall wooden playground structure, writing or drawing in sand in a fossil pit, and digging in a fossil pit.

• Ages: 13–18 years old
• Schedule: Teen volunteers needed June 15–August 14, 9am–4pm

Since 1997, Fern Hollow Nature Center has served local schools, scouts, families, and individuals of all ages and is described as a trusted educational and environmental resource for the community. It welcomes over 10,000 visitors each year and provides educational programming to local schools that is aligned with school curricula, including a three-year collaborative environmental education project with Quaker Valley Middle School supported by a grant from the Mackenzie Foundation and Child Health Association. The organization’s mission is to inspire people of all ages to connect with nature through hands-on education and exploration of the Sewickley Valley parks.

Fern Hollow Nature Center’s leadership team includes Executive Director Sam Capezzuto; Development and Communication Manager Jessica Cindrich; Marketing Coordinator Maddie Abuyuan; Naturalist Janel Morrison; Lead Educator and Grounds Manager Cam Elko; and Environmental Educators Kara O’Neill and Sam Burke. In 2025, Fern Hollow Nature Center was named an Accredited Level 1 Arboretum by ArbNet through The Morton Arboretum and offers 32 different species of native trees as part of a Native Tree Walk. Members of Fern Hollow Nature Center have rental privileges and receive priority and discounted registration to programming.

Last updated July 11, 2026.