Outdoor Education in Tacoma, Olympia and the South Sound

Give your child the gift of our Wildlife Search & Rescue day camps which are excellent for exploratory learners 8-14 (and seven year olds okay if they attended a prior camp, if attending with older sibling, or if already a strong hiker in the outdoors). Please Note: New autisum spectrum students are encouraged to enroll our Wilderness Survival Craft camp next week, as our wildlife tracking curriculum requires a lot of flexibility as we follow tracks and bird calls, so it’s good for those who like to follow a schedule to get used to Wolf Camp a bit before attending this less predictable week.

##### July 14-18, 2025 Wildlife Search & Rescue Day Camp (no prerequisite)

Wildlife Search & Rescue is or original day camp theme and will celebrate its 29th summer in 2025 as we continue our mission to provide real connections to nature for a new generation of young people who face greater and greater separation through screens and virtual realities. Camp takes place at the wild Clark’s Creek Park where animals hide in their dens during the day before coming out at night to roam the fish hatchery and neighborhood farms.

Each day, we will explore field and forest for wildlife tracks and sign. We’ve found resident bears, watched bobcats hunting rabbits, heard coyotes yipping when catching prey, owls dropping countless pellets, herons and hawks fledging their young from dozens of nests, river otters and beavers going in and out of the creek, weasels hunting rodents around our neighboring farm … and those are just the big creatures.

Every find is a lesson to gain better understanding of who made the track; why it made the track; where it made the track; when it made the track; and what it was doing when it made the track. You will discover what it is like to be a bird or other animal by using sensory awareness skills to interpret what is happening around you. Participants will learn to understand and use the language of the birds and will practice interpreting bird language through a series of experiments.

Campers will work together to make plaster casts of our favorite animal tracks; craft tracking sticks; safely move through the woods; and investigate trails, lays, larders, and other signs of life. This camp is full of exciting, interactive, challenging and cooperative games. Campers will learn to work as a team to develop skills of leadership, cooperation, patience, orienteering, dexterity, and fun. Additionally, our staff, some of whom are Search & Rescue volunteers, will teach you how to navigate in the wilderness.

##### August 11-15, 2025 Advanced Wildlife Tracking Day Camp (with prerequisite)

Prerequisite: Wildlife Search & Rescue or two of our other day camps prior to this week.

Take it a step up and help us survey the wild birds, bobcats, bears and more secrets of Clark’s Creek Park and surrounding neighborhoods. Help with our annual survey of animal dens and other sign as part of a select group of overnight animal trackers, learning skills of the wildlife conservationist while also learning to harness the wisdom of an animal detective.

During this week, campers will learn how to: • design and run a wildlife Survey • set up wildlife cameras in areas with a high concentration of track and sign to capture photo evidence of active use; • document species’ presence, den locations, and movement patterns; • map critical habitat and habitat transition zones. All of our discoveries will be documented on a map overlay of the Clark’s Creek Park area and compared to data from previous years. Over time, day campers that participate in this week will be responsible for the development of comprehensive, analytically-based, documentation of all species known to use the site. This documentation will provide participants with a deep understanding of why they should, and how they can, protect unique habitat greenways in urban areas.

After this week, you will have joined an elite group of animal trackers, elevating your senses to new heights, using your newly found prowess to successfully search for animals, and gaining a deep understanding of the relationships between predators and prey.

##### Sample Camp Itinerary

Itineraries are subject to some amount of change based upon location, weather, instructor preference, and natural resource availability.

Monday: Awareness, Navigation and the Art & Science of Tracking Morning Session: Awareness Skills, Wildlife Safety, Arts of Tracking Lunchtime: Bring & Eat Lunch from home, then our After Lunch Activities (ALA) include choice of Archery, Chill Time, Sprinkler Games & Swimming (creek wading) Afternoon Session: Animal Families & Forms, Lostproofing

Tuesday: Bones, Skulls, Hides, and Teamwork Morning Session: Wildlife Journals, Animal Families, Hides & Skulls Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description) Afternoon Session: Teamwork, Hand Signals, Scouting Expedition

Wednesday: Birds, Insects, and Amphibians Morning Session: Language of the Birds, Animal Tracks & Sign Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description) Afternoon Session: Insects & Spiders, Reptiles & Amphibians

Thursday: Trailing, Scats, and Casts Morning Session: Trailing Animals, Scatology, Scent Marks, Browses, Lay Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description) Afternoon Session: Plaster Casts, Beaver Dens & Dams

Friday: Human Tracking, Animal Rescue, and Celebration Morning Session: Secret Spot, Human Tracking, Animal Rescue Medicine Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description) Afternoon Session: Wildlife Jeopardy, Review and Closing Ceremonies.

##### Daily Camp Schedule, Pick-Up & Drop-Off Directions

Meet at the Clark’s Creek Park – South Shelter, 1710 12th Ave SW, Puyallup WA 98371 located one mile west of the Puyallup Fairgrounds. The best arrival time is 8:45-9:00 am, and the best departure time is 3:45-4:00 pm.

8:30-9:00 Check-Ins & Morning Care (no early check-ins available)
9:00**–**9:15 Songs, Stories, Stretches & Late Check-Ins
9:15-11:45 Morning Lessons with snack break at 10:30
11:45-1:15 Lunch, Games & Archery
1:15-3:45 Afternoon Lessons with snack break at 2:30
3:45-4:00 Best Pick-Up Time
4:00-4:30 Aftercare & Late Pick-Ups

##### Camp Leaders


Camp Director Kim Chisholm directs this week with staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.

##### Day Camp Tuition in Puyallup/Tacoma

$495 is our full tuition rate in Puyallup, but we operate on a sliding scale and we don’t turn anyone away from being able to attend at least one week of camp due to financial reasons. Just email us and let us know how much you can contribute to the cost of camp, or to apply for financial aid from the Conservation College via the Max Davis Scholarship fund, click here and submit answers to their 8 simple questions. If your camper has physical disabilities that make other camps inaccessible, please call to discuss the accommodations we have available and register over the phone at literally any contribution level. To contribution to the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship fund, click here.

You will need to pack a healthy lunch, water and substantial snacks every day. Tuition includes t-shirt at your first camp with us, then in subsequent camps a choice of orienteering compass, recommended field guide, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.

##### Registration Options

STEP 1 – Reserve your spots in camp by making $100 deposit per camper per week (or $50 if requesting scholarship or reduced tuition) via one of the following methods:

• Zelle is preferred using our email address with that extra “e” on skye plus try to add a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, plus your CONTACT INFORMATION (phone number is fine if system doesn’t allow sharing email) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or use Venmo to @Chris-Chisholm-13 or • CashApp to $wolfschool but again, try to add your contact information, camper name, program theme and dates, or follow up right away with that via email;
• Or use Credit Card or Apple Pay by clicking here;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 with a credit card to register over the phone;
• Or use PayPal appearing on our website;

STEP 2 – If this is your camper’s first year with us, complete our once-in-a-lifetime Registration Form within one week of making your deposit, otherwise we will have to refund you and give your spot(s) to others. We’ll also email you Word/PDF versions of the registration form in case you’re having trouble downloading or making a copy of our Google Doc form which you can send or share back to our email address for review within one week to maintain your reservation. If your camper has attended Wolf Camp in the past, a new registration form is not needed, but we will may email a questionnaire for your camper to submit as application for this year.

STEP 3 – Pay balance before or during your summer camp weeks. We’ll email you an invoice this spring with camp prep info and balance payment options that can be done in advance or during your first camp week. All payments are non-refundable unless we refuse your registration. However, if you cancel (at any time for any reason is fine) we will save your payments as credit for you to use in future years, or you can choose to have us move the funds into our scholarship account if you prefer. The best practice is to make the minimum deposits to register, and then wait to pay the remaining balances during summer.

Give your child the gift of our Wilderness Survival day camps which are excellent for hands-on learners ages 8-14, and seven year olds okay if they attended a prior camp, if attending with older sibling, or if really good in group teaching environments. Campers are grouped with others closest to their age within our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s so critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences this year.

July 21-25, 2025 Wilderness Survival Craft day camp celebrates its 28th summer this year as we continue our mission to teach campers practical life skills in the outdoors. Now more than ever, young people need real outdoor connections, and we have found that wilderness survival training is the best way for all ages to achieve the skills of resiliency needed to face anything and everything society throws at us. The wilderness is the best of teachers, and with seasoned guidance, can be the fastest and safest place to learn and grow.

There’s nothing more real, more fun, and more thrilling than working together to master fire techniques that our ancestors once knew, build emergency shelters to figure out how our nomadic ancestors could sleep comfortably even when forced to travel, forage for wild edible foods and bring them home to cook together, process plants for herbal first aid remedies, find potable water and purify it further to ensure full hydration in any climate, and honor all the other gifts of wood, stone, air, fire and water. Specific skills introduced include:

• Learning the critical order of survival
• Practicing emergency response scenarios addressing the top hazards in nature
• Building the warmest emergency survival shelters
• Purifing drinking water
• Making fire
• Finding the most important plants and insects for survival
• Learning aidless navigation for lostproofing
• Crafting tools of stone, including a course knife. Campers will also make honorable hunting implements including rabbit sticks, learning that all life – plant, animal and mineral – is sacred to be respected.

Aug 4-8, 2025 Advanced Wilderness Survival day camp requires successful attendance at Wilderness Survival Craft or two other Wolf Camp programs earlier this summer or in past years. Participants move from the concept of mere survival to one of “thrival,” learning to shed the 10 Essentials one by one, learning natural navigation in addition to map/compass, foraging for food in addition to bringing their own lunches, purifying water rather than relying on spigots, making fire by friction rather than with manufactured matches and ferro rods, creating herbal first aid kits rather than buying items at the store, building crafting stone knives, building and more.

• Traditional Survival Shelters, such as the Wickiup and Thatch Hut;
• Practice Bow Drill method of fire-by-friction;
• Natural Water Purification [seeps, filters, rock boiling, and locating natural springs];
• Harvesting, cooking, and eating the Top 10 Most Important Survival Plants;
• Making Herbal First Aid Kits;
• Cooking over an open fire and practice Wild Edible Foraging & Preparation (Herbs, Nuts, Roots, Flowers, Fruits, Insects);
• Spinning natural rope for your shelter, bow-drill kit, shoelaces, and fishing line;
• Breaking rocks for stone tools;
• Stealthy movement in emergency situations;
• Community planning and population dynamics;

##### Sample Itinerary

All itineraries are subject to some amount of change based upon location, season, instructor preference, and natural resource availability.
Monday: Awareness, Navigation & Community Building
Morning Session: Introductions; Awareness Training, Order of Survival
Lunchtime: Bring & Eat Lunch from home, then our After Lunch Activities (ALA) include choice of Archery, Chill Time, Sprinkler Games
Afternoon Session: Natural Navigation & Survival Shelters
Tuesday: Water, Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants
Morning Session: Water Purification Practice, Digging Seeps & Rock Boiling Demo
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session: Top 10 Plants, Wild Teas & Edible Insects
Wednesday: Emergency Shelter & Fire
Morning Session: Fire Pits & Safety, Bed-Pillow-Blanket for Baby Fire, Tinder & Firesteel Trainings;
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session: Matches Training, Bow Drill Demo & Challenge
Thursday: Animal Craft
Morning Session: Rope Making, Stone Knife Making; Intro to Animal Trailing;
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session: Rabbitstick Training, Honorable Hunter Training, Animal Trailing;
Friday: Survival Scenarios
Morning Session: Survival Review & Scenario Challenges;
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session: Survival Craft Trading Market & Closing Ceremonies

##### Daily Camp Schedule, Pick-Up & Drop-Off Directions

Meet at the Clark’s Creek Park – South Shelter, 1710 12th Ave SW, Puyallup WA 98371 located one mile west of the Puyallup Fairgrounds. The best arrival time is 8:45-9:00 am, and the best departure time is 3:45-4:00 pm.

8:30-9:00 Check-Ins & Morning Care (no early check-ins available)
9:00**–**9:15 Songs, Stories, Stretches & Late Check-Ins
9:15-11:45 Morning Lessons with snack break at 10:30
11:45-1:15 Lunch, Games & Archery
1:15-3:45 Afternoon Lessons with snack break at 2:30
3:45-4:00 Best Pick-Up Time
4:00-4:30 Aftercare & Late Pick-Ups

##### Camp Leaders

Camp Director Kim Chisholm directs this week with staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.

##### Day Camp Tuition in Puyallup/Tacoma

$495 is our full tuition rate in Puyallup, but we operate on a sliding scale and we don’t turn anyone away from being able to attend at least one week of camp due to financial reasons. Just email us and let us know how much you can contribute to the cost of camp, or to apply for financial aid from the Conservation College via the Max Davis Scholarship fund, click here and submit answers to their 8 simple questions. If your camper has physical disabilities that make other camps inaccessible, please call to discuss the accommodations we have available and register over the phone at literally any contribution level. To contribution to the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship fund, click here.

You will need to pack a healthy lunch, water and substantial snacks every day. Tuition includes t-shirt at your first camp with us, then in subsequent camps a choice of orienteering compass, recommended field guide, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.

##### Registration Options

STEP 1 – Reserve your spots in camp by making $100 deposit per camper per week (or $50 if requesting scholarship or reduced tuition) via one of the following methods:

• Zelle is preferred using our email address with that extra “e” on skye plus try to add a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, plus your CONTACT INFORMATION (phone number is fine if system doesn’t allow sharing email) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or use Venmo to @Chris-Chisholm-13 or • CashApp to $wolfschool but again, try to add your contact information, camper name, program theme and dates, or follow up right away with that via email;
• Or use Credit Card or Apple Pay by clicking here;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 with a credit card to register over the phone;
• Or use PayPal appearing on our website;

STEP 2 – If this is your camper’s first year with us, complete our once-in-a-lifetime Registration Form within one week of making your deposit, otherwise we will have to refund you and give your spot(s) to others. We’ll also email you Word/PDF versions of the registration form in case you’re having trouble downloading or making a copy of our Google Doc form which you can send or share back to our email address for review within one week to maintain your reservation. If your camper has attended Wolf Camp in the past, a new registration form is not needed, but we will may email a questionnaire for your camper to submit as application for this year.

STEP 3 – Pay balance before or during your summer camp weeks. We’ll email you an invoice this spring with camp prep info and balance payment options that can be done in advance or during your first camp week. All payments are non-refundable unless we refuse your registration. However, if you cancel (at any time for any reason is fine) we will save your payments as credit for you to use in future years, or you can choose to have us move the funds into our scholarship account if you prefer. The best practice is to make the minimum deposits to register, and then wait to pay the remaining balances during summer.

Give your child the gift of our Wild Cooking & Herbology day camp which is excellent for focused learners ages 8-15, and seven year olds okay if they attended a prior camp, if attending with older sibling, or if really focused in group teaching situations. Campers are grouped with others closest to their age within our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s so critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences.

##### July 28 – Aug 1, 2025 Wild Cooking & Herbology Day Camp Description

Wild Cooking & Herbology is celebrating its 27th summer as we continue our mission to provide real skills and connections in nature for a new generation of young people who need this experience more than ever. Enjoy the fields, forests, streams, ponds, and backyards of Puyallup’s beautiful Clark’s Creek Park and Blue Skye Farm as we discover wild foods and medicines reflecting all the gifts that Pacific Northwest plants have to offer.

Campers will work with even more than the Top 10 Most Important Survival Plants of our area, and be able to identify their look-alikes. The kids will also learn to start and use fire safely, cook with ancient and modern methods, spin natural rope, purify drinking water, and come home with oils and creams they blended with herbs to heal common ailments, among other accomplishments.

We wish parents could watch the unfolding of this camp week, because the journey for these young chefs and healers is amazing. From discovering wild foods and medicine, to investigating their properties, to fully utilizing their gifts, and finally being able to tell their true stories, campers develop more real skill than you might imagine.

Camp includes optional wading/swimming and games/archery during lunchtime, depending on annual park rules, camper safety tests, weather and other conditions.

##### August 18-22, 2025 Advanced Herbal Medicine, Cooking & Craft Day Camp

Advanced Herbal requires successful attendance at Wild Cooking & Herbology or two other Wolf Camp programs earlier this summer or in past years. The advanced camp provides participants with an opportunity to go deeper into the skills of ethnobotany. Each day, participants will produce at least one herbal project and one wild foods/cooking project. Roast cattails over open flame, process nettles into a delicious pesto, drink delicious teas, and produce medicinal salves and glycerites to help heal maladies**. The goal** of this week is to provide participants with additional hands-on learning about Wild Edible Foods & Herbal Medicine. Skills covered include:

• How to understand the meaning of plant characteristics (astringents, etc.);
• How to harvest, process and administer the most important medicinal herbs of the northwest;
• How to honorably harvest and process plants;
• How to make fire, cook over an open fire, and “rock boil”;
• How to make rope from stinging nettle, cattail; cedar bark, and fire weed;
• How to harvest and cook with cattails, and hazelnuts;
• How to dry and store herbs to take home, make herbal chocolates;
• How to purify water naturally for cleansing wounds and making teas;
• Practice wilderness medicine emergency response scenarios;
• How to make and maintain fire in any weather, and witness traditional fire by friction;
• Learn Easy Plant Drawing and complete Journal Entries on your healing plants, and on corresponding poisonous plants;
• How to dry and store herbs;
• How to make salves, oils, tinctures and other medicines to take home.

##### Sample Camp Itinerary

All itineraries are subject to some amount of change based upon location, season, instructor and student preferences, camp group age range, and natural resource availability.

Monday:

Morning Session: Introductions; Awareness Skills; Plant Walk – ID Nettle, Cedar, Plantain & More;
Lunchtime: Bring & Eat Lunch from home, then our After Lunch Activities (ALA) include choice of Chill Time, Games & Swimming (creek wading)
Afternoon Session Options: Ethical Harvest; Harvest Plantain for Salve & Leaf Rubbings; Cedar Leaf Rubbings; Make Seasoning from Sesame Seeds, Ground Nettle, or Ground Bullwhip Kelp;

Tuesday:

Morning Session Options: Mint Tea; Observe Fresh Mint Specimens; Mint Bouquets – Lavender, Lemon Balm, Basil, Rosemary; Bath Salts – Lavender & Spearment; Try Mint Sprays
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session Options: Plant ID by Smell; Leaf Venations & Arrangements; Scavenger Hunt of Venation & Arrangement; Herbal Tag; Intro to Top 10 Wild Foods

Wednesday:

Morning Session Options: Wild Carrot/Parsely Family; Make Fennel Candy & Fennel Tea [Decoction]; Learn about and sketch Poison Hemlock and compare to edibles/medicinals;
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session Options: Nettles; Make Nettle Tea [Infusion]; Nettle Saute; Make Nettle Shampoo or Hair Rinse;

Thursday:

Morning Session Options: Elderberry Syrup; Fried Cattail Rhizomes; Finish Herbal Salve;
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session Options: Introduction to Dandelion; Harvest Dandelion; Make Dandelion “Coffee”;

Friday:

Morning Session Options: Pine & Rosehip Tea; Practice Herbal First Aid Scenario; Gratitude Ceremony
Lunchtime & ALA: (see monday description)
Afternoon Session: Herbal Market Trade Circle & Closing Ceremonies;

##### Daily Camp Schedule, Pick-Up & Drop-Off Directions

Meet at the Clark’s Creek Park – South Shelter, 1710 12th Ave SW, Puyallup WA 98371 located one mile west of the Puyallup Fairgrounds. The best arrival time is 8:45-9:00 am, and the best departure time is 3:45-4:00 pm.

8:30-9:00 Check-Ins & Morning Care (no early check-ins available)
9:00**–**9:15 Songs, Stories, Stretches & Late Check-Ins
9:15-11:45 Morning Lessons with snack break at 10:30
11:45-1:15 Lunch, Games & Archery
1:15-3:45 Afternoon Lessons with snack break at 2:30
3:45-4:00 Best Pick-Up Time
4:00-4:30 Aftercare & Late Pick-Ups

##### Camp Leaders

Camp Director Kim Chisholm directs this week with staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.

##### Day Camp Tuition in Puyallup/Tacoma

$495 is our full tuition rate in Puyallup, but we operate on a sliding scale and we don’t turn anyone away from being able to attend at least one week of camp due to financial reasons. Just email us and let us know how much you can contribute to the cost of camp, or to apply for financial aid from the Conservation College via the Max Davis Scholarship fund, click here and submit answers to their 8 simple questions. If your camper has physical disabilities that make other camps inaccessible, please call to discuss the accommodations we have available and register over the phone at literally any contribution level. To contribution to the Conservation College – Max Davis Scholarship fund, click here.

You will need to pack a healthy lunch, water and substantial snacks every day. Tuition includes t-shirt at your first camp with us, then in subsequent camps a choice of orienteering compass, recommended field guide, firesteel and other outdoor essentials depending on number of camps attended, age and availability.

##### Registration Options

STEP 1 – Reserve your spots in camp by making $100 deposit per camper per week (or $50 if requesting scholarship or reduced tuition) via one of the following methods:

• Zelle is preferred using our email address with that extra “e” on skye plus try to add a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, plus your CONTACT INFORMATION (phone number is fine if system doesn’t allow sharing email) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or use Venmo to @Chris-Chisholm-13 or • CashApp to $wolfschool but again, try to add your contact information, camper name, program theme and dates, or follow up right away with that via email;
• Or use Credit Card or Apple Pay by clicking here;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 with a credit card to register over the phone;
• Or use PayPal appearing on our website;

STEP 2 – If this is your camper’s first year with us, complete our once-in-a-lifetime Registration Form within one week of making your deposit, otherwise we will have to refund you and give your spot(s) to others. We’ll also email you Word/PDF versions of the registration form in case you’re having trouble downloading or making a copy of our Google Doc form which you can send or share back to our email address for review within one week to maintain your reservation. If your camper has attended Wolf Camp in the past, a new registration form is not needed, but we will may email a questionnaire for your camper to submit as application for this year.

STEP 3 – Pay balance before or during your summer camp weeks. We’ll email you an invoice this spring with camp prep info and balance payment options that can be done in advance or during your first camp week. All payments are non-refundable unless we refuse your registration. However, if you cancel (at any time for any reason is fine) we will save your payments as credit for you to use in future years, or you can choose to have us move the funds into our scholarship account if you prefer. The best practice is to make the minimum deposits to register, and then wait to pay the remaining balances during summer.