Courtesy of Recreation Northwest
For the rest of summer Recreation Northwest has stress reduction and nature crafts classes at Woodstock Farm, a sensory walk through Fairhaven Park and bike tours from downtown to the farm. The nonprofit organization that used to put on large events, like their Northwest EXPO, has shifted its gears toward focusing its efforts on outdoor recreation and nature education.
The new programs, oriented around small groups of six to 12 people, will offer a variety of beginning and intermediate level classes and tours of curated outdoor educational experiences. These classes are meant to introduce or reintroduce attendees to outdoor recreation skills, the health benefits of being mindful outdoors, and to Bellingham’s public parks and their history.
Courtesy of Recreation Northwest
Here are some of the classes available in the upcoming weeks:
- Bike tours: Start in Bellingham and travel along the Waterfront Trail and Interurban Trail to Fairhaven Park and Woodstock Farm and back.
- Crepuscular Crawl: A short twilight walk in the woods of Fairhaven Park to find crepuscular creatures and learn how they adapt to survive during dawn and dusk.
- Frontcountry/Backcountry Camping Skills 101: A guide will show what items are essential for both backcountry and frontcountry camping, while also demonstrating the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness – how to filter water, operate a stove and deal with waste.
- Hike tours: Start from Fairhaven Park and hike to Woodstock farm via the Interurban Trail, stop along the way to learn about historical points of interest in Bellingham and hear stories about how the parks and trails came to be.
- Nature Crafts: A guided nature walk around Woodstock Farm to collect inspiring nature materials for art projects, like a three-dimensional nature suncatcher, painted-stick wind chimes, twirling twig mobile or anything else imaginable, according to the organization’s website.
- Native Plants/Ethnobotany: A short hike around Fairhaven Park while a guide identifies native plants and their medicinal values and properties. The class ends with a tea tasting using plants found on the hike.
- Rediscover the Wonder of Nature: A guided nature immersion walk while reflecting on journal questions, personal exploration and discussion to rediscover a sense of wonder and play with nature.
- Sensory Walk: A silent adventure meandering through the Fairhaven Park trails. Encouraged to use all the senses to have a deeper connection to nature and the world.
- Stress Reduction in Nature: The guided experience will teach how to reduce stress through outdoor relaxation tools and methods. Connect to natural elements and learn to ground yourself through sensory techniques.
For more information on Recreation Northwest or to sign up for one of these courses, visit recreationnorthwest.org.
