The Yakima Arboretum is in the process of developing a formal environmental science education program. Moving closer towards our goal of becoming a lead educator in the Yakima Valley, we have developed our first Nature Day Camp series for this upcoming summer. We are also partnering with multiple organizations, such as the North Yakima Conservation District, Yakima Greenway Association and Yakima Solid Waste, to provide numerous free environmental education events at the Arboretum between and following our camp sessions.
Unfortunately, even with this dramatic increase in the number of opportunities provided at our facilities, the quality and extent of environmental education received by our community will continue to vary with economic level and geographic location. In response, we also aim to increase outreach by providing off-site education opportunities to children in the Yakima area who have no access to our services and may not otherwise be able to benefit from our evolving program. This new outreach strategy is intended to address the greatest need in reaching environmental and community sustainability- ensuring that money is never a barrier to accessing education. You can take advantage of this expansion and arrange for a lesson to be taught at a convenient location that is tailored to your audience. We can provide 1-2 hour sessions that include presentations and activities that cover broad life science subjects like freshwater ecology andregional natural history or prepare a more specific lesson plan on a particular topic of interest to your group. We look forward to working within the community at multiple levels and thank you in advance for your support.
Michelle Lester
Natural Science Educator
Yakima Area Arboretum
1401 Arboretum Dr
Yakima, WA
(509) 910-9047 cell
(509) 248-7337 office






