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Facilities, Rates and Information

Location:

Lutherwood is located 8 miles south of the city of Bellingham and 3 miles from Interstate 5 o n the shores of Lake Samish in the Samish River water shed.

Facilities:

On a 103 acre property Lutherwood has six cabins that are each able to accommodate 18 students and/or chaperones and 2 lodges are available to teachers or those with special needs: one lodge sleeps 14 and one sleeps 8. A large and small heated indoor meeting space are also available. A water front of 1500 ft with swimming area, volleyball court, basketball court and canoe shed with a fleet of canoes lines the shore of Lake Samish. An extensive low and high ropes challenge course, 44’ climbing tower, two large play fields, and miles of hiking trails cover this lakefront property.

the trek Program Package

$100.00 per student

$60.00 per adult chaperone

There is no charge for teachers or school staff

Provided by Lutherwood:

• Meals: Six meals and a snack will be prepared by Lutherwood’s Food Service Director
• Lodging: Two nights lodging in heated cabins and teachers have the option of staying in one of our lodges.
• Programming: All curriculum, activities and programming are provided by trained Lutherwood staff and volunteers

Provided by the school:

• Please bring chaperones in a ratio of 1:10 students (Any chaperones above that ratio are full participant price)
• Transportation to and from Lutherwood

Welcome to The TREK at Camp Lutherwood!  During your 3-day journey, you will discover that a trek is a trail, a path, a life adventure.  And more, the trek is not just where you are going, but how you get there and who you travel with.  Do you walk, run, bike or drive?  Do you step lightly on the earth, respecting all its inhabitants?  How do your values determine where you journey on your trek? 

The Trek you are about to embark on at Lutherwood will lead you on a concept path where you will learn about Energy Flow, Interrelationships, Cycles, Diversity, and Sustainability.  Hang out with Ranger Sandy, Ranger Sky, Ranger Phly, Ranger Green, and Ranger Strider on your Ranger Expeditions.  Feel the satisfaction of completing a service project and go home with a memory bracelet and incredible stories of our trek together!

We focus on the following concepts that connect directly to our wonderful wetland site:

• Energy Flow:  The sun's energy is captured, changed, and used as it travels along the food chain.  Plants make their own food using energy from the sun.  Plants make it possible for animals to use the energy from the sun, linking together in a food web with producers, consumers and decomposers. (EALR 4-5 LS2B, 4-5 LS2C)

• Cycles: A journey of earth's materials that ends where it began.  As producers, consumers and decomposers grow and die, they use essential nutrients and return them to the great reservoirs in the earth’s air, soil and waters. Soils are formed by weathering, erosion, and decay and consist of different properties depending on where they are found. (EALR 4-5 ES A-F)

• Interrelationships: Natural connections between plants and animals and their environment that help them survive.  We can sort species by their structures and behaviors and learn how plants and animals depend upon each other and the earth for their survival.  (EALR 4-5 LSIA)

• Diversity:  A variety of living things within an ecosystem is vital. A vast number of plants and animals are able to share the earth because their needs vary greatly and they have unique abilities that enable them to find energy and nutrients for their survival. (EALR 4-5 LSIB, 4-5 LS3A)

• Sustainability:  The ability for an ecosystem to survive from generation to generation.  Big changes over a short period of time can have significant impact on an ecosystem and affect the populations of plants and animals living there.  How can we support the health of our planet? (EALR 4-5 LS2A, 4-5 LS2D, 4-5 LS2E, 4-5 LS2F)

 

These are the highlights of each day:

Day 1:  Group Building & Concept Paths

• Challenge Course.  Learn how group dynamics are an essential part of how we live with each other and work cooperatively to build a sustainable community.  This is the first part of the program.  Participants will bring a sack lunch from home/school and dine on the trail.

• Concept Path.  The group will rotate through 5 different stations, learning one of the ecology concepts at each station through experiential learning.  Each station will take about 30 minutes.

Day 2:  Ranger Expeditions. 

The Rangers will take you on 1.5-hour treks through camp, learning through outdoor laboratories, and sensory experiences.  They will reinforce the concepts learned on the first day, and delve more deeply into various aspects.  Here is what the rangers will focus on:

• Ranger Phly will look at macroinvertibrates, the spineless ones in Mud Creek who provide food for the salmon.  They will discuss how the creek has been revitalized and investigate what makes a healthy environment for the salmon.  They will look at dissolved oxygen levels and take a Ph sample of the water and discuss acid rain. Wading into the creek they will search for samples of macroinvertibrates and try to identify them.

• Ranger Sandy will investigate the geology of the area and the soil types we have.  They will look at wetland soil vs. upland soil.  They will filter water and discern that the soil plays a vital role in filtration of our water.

• Ranger Sky will go out in search of birds.  They will look at the diversity of species in the forest and the unique adaptations that allow them all to thrive.  They will look at the differences between shore birds and water birds and perhaps learn how to identify a few birds by their calls and learn to make a few calls themselves.  They will play a hawk and mouse game, learning about camouflage.

• Ranger Green will look at a dichotomous key to identify plants and take the kids on an “each one teach one” path in which the students learn from the ranger and then teach each other.  They will take a census of organisms in one area and make a survival soup with edible wetland plants.  (or tea)

• Ranger Strider will “touch the earth” through movement and opening up of the senses, becoming more aware of the world around them and their impact on it.  They will go on an Indian run, a swamp walk, a solo walk and a labyrinth meditation where they will discern ways they can make less of an impact on the earth as well as ways they can make a dramatic impact by their lifestyle choices and by sharing these insights.

Day 3:  Service & Ceremony

• This day will feature a service element.  The students will be reminded that humans are critical in creating a sustainable world to live in.  The students will participate in a project to help make a lasting difference for our ecosystem.  Projects may be:  building a bat house, a bird feeder, tending the camp garden or the worm bin, or planting trees.

• We will conclude with a closing ceremony that will recognize the trek of discovery they have been on and the journey ahead.  They will be make and take home a beaded bracelet that will help them remember the ecology concepts they learned for years to come.

 

to schedule your school, please contact:

Nichol Ellis
1185 Roy Rd, Bellingham, WA 98229
Phone: 360-734-7652
Email: program@camplutherwood.org