Yakima Family Times

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

Kennewick is one of the three cities that make up the Tri-Cities area. Richland and Pasco are the other two.  The area has a “bigger city” feel to it with a lot of amenities and things you can’t find in Yakima. It’s not Seattle/ Tacoma, but you can get there within an hour and the [...]

On our most recent date night, we went to Xochimilco Restaurant in Yakima. We had a good time on our impromptu date night to Xochimilco. You can read my review of Xochimilco at Yelp.com, I can’t wait to hear about them bringing in some real Mexican artwork, isn’t that tacky?

Our daughter was competing in a singing competition, the Washington State Nashville Country Star contest and we drove up to Wenatchee from Yakima. Google Maps said the drive would take 2 hours, but we’re in an old 1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet, it took about 3 and a half. We drove aimlessly through historic downtown Wenatchee. The [...]

On Saturday October 30th from 11am-2pm, Yakima kids can stop by the Yakima Valley Trolleys office on South Third Ave at Pine street to purchase tickets for a ride on the Haunted Trolley. Wear your costumes and arrive early. The first 100 kids in attendance will get a free pumpkin, thanks to Wray’s Food & [...]

If you’re looking for no kill dog shelters or a dog rescue in Yakima or an alternative to the humane society’s shelter then you’ve come to the right place. Whether you need a dog rescued, or you want to be a foster-pet-care provider or just want to volunteer your time helping animals at a dog [...]

The KIDS’ MARATHON is set for October 17th at 1 PM. This is a great way to encourage kids to do a little exercise several days a week!! Entry forms, information, and recording sheets can be found at the website below. http://www.hcrunner s.org/ Feel free to pass this on: Everyone (public school, homeschool, etc.) is [...]

When parents send their children to school every day, they might expect that the school goes to great lengths to protect the children entrusted to their care,. But not in Selah, Washington. At least one Selah school is hosting a website that displays the children’s names, homeroom teacher and picture. As if that isn’t enough, [...]

Kids can get free breakfast and lunch at several Yakima schools and parks this summer. ParentHelp123 is a website run by the state, to help low income families find resources that will help them take care of their kids. The free summer meals program, however, isn’t just for low-income kids. From their website: The Summer [...]

B&C Sewing is planning to hold summer sew camps again this year for children and teens. My daughter went two years ago and had a great time, I encourage anyone who has a child (boy or girl!) with an interest in sewing to sign up. The teacher was wonderful when we were there and sewing [...]