Empowering the next generation
We share an amazing abundance of wild spaces here on the Kitsap peninsula. Our home is special because of our relationships with the forests, the open spaces, the secretive streams, and the broad, beautiful shorelines.
At GPC, we feel an obligation to share this connection with the generations that will inherit this place. Our preserves are protected forever, which means the next generation of leaders and decision makers will need to learn the stewardship values and conservation mindset that will keep our region beautiful. That’s why GPC created Land Labs.
By bringing students to protected wild spaces, we teach them practical, hands-on science lessons while fostering a love of the natural world. Many students don’t have the opportunity to get out on the land, or to associate what they learn in the classroom to the natural world around them.
These underserved students may come from backgrounds that have historically been excluded from conservation, they may not have the same opportunities for outdoor education as others, or they may not come from families with traditions of outdoor recreation. But every student who participates in Land Labs leaves with a new, personal relationship with nature. This relationship will stay with them forever.
Land Labs students also have the chance to meet professionals and experts who have careers in scientific and environmental fields. The 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students who participate in Land Labs are at a critical point in their lives. Thanks to these role models, students have a chance to start on their own journey towards careers in STEM fields.
Thanks to Land Labs, the next generation of leaders and changemakers on the peninsula will be able to rise to the challenges of the future, and protect our precious wild spaces.
Volunteer for Land Labs
Land Labs needs your help! We’re looking for a team of education volunteers to help teach Land Labs in Fall 2022.
- Explore wilderness preserves with 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students!
- Gain valuable outdoor education training and experience!
- Help students build a lifelong relationship with nature!
- Sign up today!
Volunteers will receive training in outdoor education techniques that meet BEETLES and Next Generation Science Standards. No experience necessary – we will train you!
Sign up today to help students in our region have unique experiences in our wilderness preserves, and get valuable experience in outdoor education. Email landlabs@greatpeninsula.org with any questions.
In the Climate Resilient Forests Module, students go deep into vast forest preserves where we protect mature forestland. They learn about succession and forest management, and all about climate resilience.
In the Puget Sound Shorelines Module, students explore protected tidelands, saltmarshes, oyster beds, and lagoons. Where the water meets the land, there’s a huge amount of biodiversity and many different habitats for them to learn about!
In the Salmon Supporting Streams Module, students visit some of the most important places on our peninsula – the streams that support vital salmon runs every year. They learn about the streams and the riparian zones around them, and how the whole ecosystem works together!
Teachers love Land Labs
“The experience with GPC Land Labs was the best field trip I have been on in my 14 years of teaching. Land Labs staff and volunteers organized a perfectly balanced day of learning, investigating, and protecting the Curley Creek Tyner Preserve. The scholars we brought along with us continually talk about how this trip was the best thing they did all year.”
-Stephanie Layson, 6th grade teacher at Catalyst Public School
