Building for the Future
We’ve been busy! The construction at IslandWood is in full swing – from the framing of the Ichthyology Inn (our new sleeping lodge) to the completion of the Graduate Lodge (our new housing for six additional graduate students), we are making progress on our expansion while still hosting our summer programs for over 900 children!
We are thrilled with the strong community support we have received for our growth. We reached 90% of our $8 million funding goal in July.
IslandWood Summer Program “Adventure Racers”
taking a break on the suspension bridge
Ichthyology Inn Taking Shape
Our new lodge is well underway, featuring many green-building and energy-saving technologies. The coils for radiant floor heat are in place on the main floor, and we’ve completed much of the framing. This fish-themed lodge can host an additional 64 students a week!
Funding opportunities are still available for the lodge’s guest rooms and its majestic “great room” gathering space that will provide a living space for comfort and conversation, and allow teachers to use the space for meetings with their students before and after their time outside in the field.
The Ichthyology Inn is taking form quickly,
with the roof trusses being installed this week!
The Graduate Lodge
Open for Living and Learning
The new graduate housing– fondly named the “Grad Lodge” is now the home for six of our 27 IslandWood graduate students who moved into the new space on August 23. This new lodge is located on the far west side of our campus, adjacent to the existing eight cabins and graduate Commons building.
The Graduate Program at IslandWood creates the opportunity for students to live in a community while they spend ten months in their educational program living on the campus and engaged in hands-on teaching with our visiting fourth, fifth and sixth grade students in our School Overnight Program. Graduate students live and learn together in a tightly knit community, providing a strong supportive partnership for each other and the schools that they serve.
We are grateful to the support from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Bequest and the Bainbridge Community Foundation for funding the new Graduate Lodge. Mr. Birkenfeld supported IslandWood as part of an original West Sound Steering Committee during our early days. As a teacher himself, Keith understood the importance of community in the classroom. We are thrilled to know that future educators who deepen their teaching skills at IslandWood will have a comfortable place to relax and learn.
Renee, Emma, and Kira relax in the new
kitchen of IslandWood’s Graduate Lodge
$8 Million Goal Within Reach
Thanks to many amazing gifts this summer from the community, IslandWood’s Capital Campaign is now past the $7 million benchmark and has only 8% left to go to reach our $8 million goal. Many gifts have come in to make this happen – we can’t thank you enough.
If you know of someone who may be interested in supporting our campaign, please forward this newsletter or let us know.
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Did You Know?
IslandWood’s new graduate classroom will host our 27 graduate students during their instruction. Each Thursday afternoon, evening and all day Friday, our graduate students are taught by IslandWood staff who are University of Washington adjunct faculty. Classes include curriculum design and classroom management as well as natural history, science methods and nonprofit leadership.
The ten-month Graduate Residency in Education, Environment and Community at IslandWood (EEC), developed in partnership with the University of Washington, draws on the best practices of experiential, environmental and multicultural education, using natural and cultural environments as a context for learning.
Our graduate students are often the deepest connection point between IslandWood and the school children that we host in the School Overnight Program. The graduate students not only spend the week with each visiting school in field groups, but also spend time with each of our schools before and after the journey to IslandWood. For many of our Graduates, the richest part of the program is the time that they have with the classroom teachers and students pre- and post-IslandWood.
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Sarah G., IslandWood Graduate Student Alumni
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Questions about the Campaign?
For any questions you may have regarding the Capital Campaign or this email, please contact IslandWood’s Capital Campaign Manager, Allyson Brown, or Capital Campaign Planner, Margaret Powers.
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