KINGSTON — Stillwaters Environmental Learning Center is offering several educational and camp experiences this summer. EcoFest is June 8 at the environmental center, 26059 Barber Cut Off Road.
One of the highlights of this family-friendly celebration is the Stillwaters’ Frog Chorus performance.
The event features more than 40 displays and exhibitors, including West Sound Wildlife Shelter with its birds of prey. Local food vendors include J’aime Les Crepes Sweets & Savories, Viking Ice Cream and Mi Sueno Taqueria.
Stillwaters hosts EcoFest to celebrate the Earth, Puget Sound and Carpenter Creek. There will be live music, and children’s and adult activities all day. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is free.
Stillwaters hosts a low-tide beach walk on June 22, the day of the lowest tide of the year. Meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Kingston Farmers Market.
A Stillwaters marine ecologist will help you discover the rich, nearshore environment and its countless species. Children must be accompanied by an adult, but the walk is suitable for all ages. Wear shoes or boots for the muddy, rocky walk.
Pre-register at (360) 297-1226 or find Stillwaters at the Saturday Farmers Market. Stillwaters suggests a $5 donation.
The next day, Stillwaters hosts a shoreline eco-cruise with Suquamish fisheries biologist Paul Dorn.
The health of Puget Sound is at risk and Stillwaters is delving deep into the reason why by taking people out on the water. The four-hour tour with Dorn and Stillwaters marine biologist Betsy Cooper will show off local geologic formations, the critters who live there and how they are impacted by humans. Hands-on activities will possibly include plankton tows and bottom sampling.
The tour is open to anyone 12 and older. However, anyone between the ages of 12 and 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The tour costs $30 each or $45 per couple or parent/child. Pre-register at (360) 297-1226, or email info@stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org.
Stillwaters hosts Nature Camps for children June 24-27, July 22-25 and Aug. 19-22.
Children entering second through fifth grade are encouraged to sign up for Nature Camp. Polliwog Camp, July 29 to Aug. 1, is for children ages 4-7.All camps will include critter hunts and art and habitat huts, while children explore the many ecosystems around Stillwaters and the Carpenter Creek watershed.
Scholarships are available; Stillwaters believes every child should experience the joy of getting dirty in the woods, muddy on the beach and wet in the stream.
Nature Camps cost $110 for Stillwaters members, $120 for non-members. Polliwog Camp costs $60 for members, $75 for non-members. All camps are held at Stillwaters Environmental Center.
To register, contact Program Assistant Kari Pelaez at (360) 297-1226 or kari@stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org.
For more information about Stillwaters, call (360) 297-2876 or go to www.stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org.
