Outdoor Leadership Training Success Stories

Read how WTA's work has touched the lives of people across the state.

Many hands make light work — how one Trailblazer troop gives back by cleaning tents and more

Sep 29, 2025

The members of Girl Scout Trailblazer troop 4389 regularly help out at WTA’s Seattle gear library to ensure that the gear is clean, in good working condition and ready to lend out to other youth programs. Their dedication helps ensure that more than 3,100 pieces of gear in the Seattle gear library are regularly maintained and ready for use.

Post 84 helps hundreds of high schoolers get outside every year

Jun 11, 2025

Post 84, a partner with WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training program since 2018, helps teenaged campers from the Puget Sound area get outside by offering more than a dozen camping trips a year. WTA's gear library makes it possible for even more teens to attend the trips.

Building connections to nature

Woodland Park Zoo is a leading expert in wildlife conservation and empathy-based curriculum in their education programs. The Wonder in Nature photography camp, a part of their Community Collaborative, partners with WTA through our gear lending library-- ensuring youth are comfortable outside by lending backpacks, rain gear, warm layers and hiking boots. By Erin McQuin

Miles, smiles and community with Miles Hike Club

Mar 17, 2025

Miles Hike Club gets out on trail with hikers of all ages — and WTA helped them get there. By Joseph Gonzalez

Nosotros En Naturaleza is building community on trail

Mar 05, 2025

Nosotros en Naturaleza, a partner of WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training program, is helping young adults in the Latinx community connect to each other and to the outdoors.

WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training: 1,000 trips and counting!

Sep 23, 2024

WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training program has supported 1,000 trips with gear and funding assistance.

Intentional spaces

WTA’s Emerging Leaders find professional connections in the outdoor community. By Angelic Friday

Back to School with WTA: A Guide for Busy Educators Planning Outdoor Adventures

Want to create outdoor experiences for youth this year? Get trip planning tips, resources and opportunities for the 2025 to 2026 school year.

Gear up for learning: Transformative bikepacking trips for Olympia teens

Jul 09, 2024

The Avanti Bikes! program offers immersive educational experiences centered around bicycle education, safety, and community engagement. With the support of WTA, the program has also organized bikepacking trips to create hands-on learning opportunities, foster teamwork and promote environmental awareness.

A public school science outdoors program to inspire

Lincoln High School in Tacoma is proving the hypothesis that an outdoors science program can deliver on STEM, help students dream big and break down geographic, economic and social barriers to the outdoors. | by MJ Sampang

Outdoor educators who inspire: Whatcom Intergenerational High School

Jun 24, 2024

Science teacher Cameron Kolk on how place-based education that integrates Western and Indigenous ways of knowing can foster a stronger sense of student identity, community and lasting, trusting relationships.

Outdoor educators who inspire: Tacoma Online

Jun 19, 2024

Assistant Principal Ruth Schlattmann on why it's vital for all kids to have the opportunity to experience community, set goals and stretch their comfort zones with outdoor experiences, even when they go to school in a largely online environment.

Outdoor educators who inspire: Swiftwater Learning Center

Jun 12, 2024

Educator Michele Montgomery on how she uses hands-on learning and the outdoor classroom to share a sense of place and comfort and the outdoors. For high school students growing up in a recreation and tourism town at the foot of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, those lessons can lead to lifelong passions and potential future careers.

How WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training helped one teacher finally get outside with her students

Sara Ullmer led 24 outdoor trips with students from 2015-2019. Learn how WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training helped her get kids outside. By Krista Dooley

Thank You, Community Leaders, for Getting Washington Outside!

Dec 21, 2023

2023 is the Outdoor Leadership Training program’s 10th Anniversary and it’s been a banner year! From all of us at WTA we want to say THANK YOU to the community of leaders from 68 organizations who have joined a workshop, planned, coordinated or led outdoor trips for their school or community this year.

Celebrating 10 Years of Outdoor Leadership Training for the Next Generation

WTA is celebrating a major milestone in our Outdoor Leadership Training program. For a decade, we have been helping community leaders get outside with youth and families. By offering training, gear and resources, we have helped make more than 18,000 outdoor experiences possible. By Jessi Loerch and Rachel Wendling

Video: Spotlight on WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training Program

Oct 25, 2023

Hear from WTA staff and partners about how the program has made 18,000 outdoor experiences possible.

10 Stories from 10 Years of Outdoor Leadership Training: How WTA Helps Community Leaders and Kids Get Outside

Oct 06, 2023

Over the last decade, WTA has met some incredible leaders through the Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) program from a variety of programs, including educators, therapists, youth ministers, scouts, environmental justice workers and members of tribal and affinity groups. As a way to look back and celebrate the OLT program’s 10th anniversary, we wanted to revisit 10 stories from our partners.

How One Outdoor Leadership Training Leader Creates Outdoor Experiences Through Science-Based Programs

Jul 24, 2023

A Lincoln High School science teacher teams up with WTA to get students learning outside alongside their peers and community partners.

Y-WE gets Youth Outside. WTA is Proud to Support that Mission.

Jun 21, 2023

Y-WE empowers young women to be leaders in their communities — one of the ways they do that is by taking them outdoors. A strong partnership between Y-WE and WTA have had a strong partnership since 2015, helping thousands and youth and adults get outside.

WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training Helps Communities Spend Nights Under the Stars

May 24, 2023

For nearly a decade, WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training program has been working to increase access to outdoor experiences by reducing barriers to support educators and group leaders with training and gear for camping and backpacking trips. We wanted to look back and see how those experiences have made an impact.

Taking Students Hiking and Backpacking — With a Little Help from WTA

Jan 18, 2023

Seattle charter school Rainier Prep recently added outdoor programs to its curriculum. Last year, six teachers from Rainier Prep attended WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training workshop. Since taking the workshop, they've hit the ground running and have successfully led two trips in the last year.

Building Onramps to Nature’s Benefits

Dec 06, 2022

Braided Seeds is helping communities of color rest and reconnect to nature. A wilderness first aid course, in partnership with WTA, has been one way to help people in their community feel safer outside.

How Friends of the Children Seattle Made 'Trail Tuesdays' a Reality, with a Little Help from WTA

Nov 16, 2022

Friends of the Children Seattle spent the summer exploring local trails and introducing youth to the fun of hiking. (And the joy of eating frozen yogurt during a hike.) WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training program helped them have a successful summer of exploration.

Step by Step: How WTA's Community Partner Used Boots From Our Gear Library to Get Outside

Nov 07, 2022

Whether it's for hiking Mount Rainier, taking early steps to leading the way for environmental justice or celebrating being comfortable outdoors, we caught up with community partners to learn more about how they've utilized hiking boots from WTA's gear lending library.

Shared-Language Hikes Helped Break Down Barriers to the Outdoors This Summer

Oct 31, 2022

Last month, ECOSS wrapped up its summer season of shared-language hiking trips to Little Si — aiming to expand outdoor access to underserved communities — using the Trailhead Direct program. We connected with some of the ECOSS staff and trip leaders to talk about their experiences hiking with their communities.

Let’s Play: King County Coalition Comes Together to Get Youth Outside

Sep 20, 2022

King County Play Equity Coalition is a network of organizations dedicated to making changes that make it easier for young people in all communities to move their bodies outside — and to get all of the benefits that come with play.

My Journey to an Outdoor Career

How WTA helped me gain the skills to transition from the classroom to the backcountry. By Iman Chatila

Field-Tested Favorites: Mealtime Experiences and Recipes from WTA Outdoor Leadership Training Leaders

Jul 18, 2022

Two leaders from WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training program, Christine Zarker Primomo and Harper McFadden, share their experiences cooking with youth in the outdoors, and their favorite backpacking recipes from their trips.

Outdoor Leaders Who Inspire Us: the Service Board

Jul 26, 2022

We recently talked with a few groups we admire, including Shona Kerrick from the Service Board, to learn more about how they are building better futures for their communities.