For several years now, the Orcas Island School District (OISD) 6th grade class has taken a trip to the Olympic Park Institute (OPI). The tradition of this five-day environmental learning camp has been a wonderful experience for the students as well as the adult chaperones who attend. Apart from the in-depth science learning in the Olympic Rain Forest, the students leave camp with a strong sense of community and a heightened awareness of our natural world. (Additional information can be found at OPI’s website: www.naturebridge.org/olympic-park)
This year, the Orcas Island Education Fund (OIEF) realized that the cost of the trip for many parents would be a very big stretch. Recognizing both the educational value to students, and the potential hardship this could cause to parents, OIEF reached out to its donors over the summer. The success of this specific direct ask was incredible.
Because of donors on, and off, the island, and because of a generous grant from OPI itself, the cost of the trip has been reduced to a mere fraction of what it would normally cost. According to parent Barb Skotte “Prior to these grants, I was fearful that many of our families would not be able to afford this opportunity for their child. Now, I am confident that any student wanting to go will be able to attend.”
The Education Foundation would like to continue the support of this invaluable experience for future 6th grade classed, “But,” according to OIEF President Janet Brownell, “It all comes down to donors. Hopefully, we’ll be as successful next year as we were this year; we will just have to wait and see.”
