Heartwood Nature Programs

Heartwood Nature Programs offers 100% outdoors programs where kids take part in crafts, nature study, play, hiking, art, yoga, mindfulness practice, field games, hands-on experiments, creative play, and free play. Activities include making a cloud in a bottle, building sundials, mapping constellations, shelter building, knot tying, learning orienteering skills and map reading, practicing outdoor survival techniques and basic first aid, weaving with nature, painting with mud, crafting self-portraits from fir cones, lichen, and leaves, and creating ephemeral art in nature. Campers also forage in the PNW forest, make paint from berries, make tea from stinging nettles, identify native plant species and non-native competitors, and join songs, games, exploration, storytelling, movement, music, silly skits, and peaceful nature sit spots.

• Ages: 0–13 years old
• Schedule: Weekly summer day camp sessions with half-day and full-day options, with camps running in 2026 between June 22 and August 13
• Price: Camp Bigleaf: $355/week; Camp Wildwood: $445/week (Week 8 $370); Camp Heronswood: $390/week; financial assistance available for qualifying families (apply before 1/15/26)

Camp Bigleaf runs in weekly sessions from June 22–26, June 29–July 3, July 6–10, July 13–17, July 20–24, July 27–31, and August 3–7, with flex drop-off from 8:45–9:00am and pick-up at 12:45pm. Camp Wildwood runs in weekly sessions from June 22–26, June 29–July 3, July 6–10, July 13–17, July 20–24, July 27–31, August 3–7, and August 10–13 (Monday–Thursday), with flex drop-off from 8:45–9:00am and pick-up at 3:30pm. Camp Heronswood runs in weekly sessions July 13–17 and July 20–24, with drop-off at 9:30am and pick-up at 2:30pm. Registration for Summer Camp 2026 opens January 22 at 7am.

Summer camp themes include Flora Explorers, The World Above, Outdoor Skills for Outdoor Kids, Creative Campers, Nature Detectives, Nature is Theatre, Engineers in Nature, and Greatest Hits. Some sessions include environmental education paired with a stewardship project, such as salmon habitat restoration in Bothell, sustainable farm help in Woodinville, and other community volunteer stewardship projects that are offered as 2-hour activities open to all ages. Additional activities include designing sets, backstage help, and creating a nature-themed story and performance; creating shelters, weaving nests, building dams, and designing structures inspired by wildlife and ecosystems; owl pellet dissections; bushcraft and fire building; nature sit-spots and reflection; and mindfulness activities and hikes.

Heartwood Nature Programs follows principles of Mindfulness, Stewardship, and Connection and is a locally run and operated 501c3 nonprofit organization composed of outdoor educators whose mission is to connect youth and families to nature while fostering community around a shared commitment to stewardship of wild spaces. Heartwood serves families of preschool, homeschool, and school-aged kids in the greater Seattle area, including Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville, Lake Forest Park, Brier, Shoreline, Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue, Snohomish, Edmonds, and Montlake Terrace, and offers multi-age nature enrichment homeschool and outdoor immersion programs. Former Camp Roots teachers Tess and Erin opened Heartwood Nature Programs, and Camp Roots Forest School was founded by April (also referred to as April Rose), who closed Camp Roots Forest School in the spring of 2020.

Families are asked to send kids in clothes that can get dirty and to pack a backpack with a nourishing lunch and snacks, water, a hat, sunscreen, sneakers, crocs, or sandals with back straps (no flip flops), and a jacket or sweatshirt for cooler days. Electronic items are to be left at home, all personal belongings should be labeled, and Heartwood is not responsible for any lost or stolen item.

Last updated January 6, 2026.