Outdoor Environmental Education Spring Update | YMCA Camp Orkila
Last updated: April 20, 2026, at 10:17 a.m. PT
Originally published: April 20, 2026, at 8:54 a.m. PT
Spring has arrived on Orcas Island, and with it come the sounds we love most — nets splashing in the pond, kids calling out over microscope slides, buses beeping across the fields and pulling through the gate with another school ready to discover something new through our Outdoor Environmental Education programs that run in the spring and fall.
This is a big season for us. We have new spaces to share, new stories to tell, and, as always, a lot of learning happening — for students and for us. You’re part of this community, whether you are a volunteer, a past participant or staff, you’ve brought students for outdoor education, or you’re somewhere in between. We’re glad you’re here and were excited to share what’s new.
Robinson Education Center
Last Memorial Day, we cut the ribbon on the Robinson Education Center — a building more than a decade in the making and the result of years of fundraising, permitting, landscape design, and the kind of patient, determined work that doesn’t make headlines but makes everything possible. The Robinson Foundation, whose lead gift made this building a reality, joined us for that celebration, and it was a day none of us will forget.
But ribbon cuttings are just the beginning. This spring, the Robinson Education Center is fully alive for the first time. The landscaping is complete. The boardwalk is lit. The native plantings are showing their first signs of life after a long winter. And as of today, the building is full of students from the greater Seattle area and beyond, nets in hand, pulling live freshwater samples from the pond and preparing microscope slides in one of our most beloved classes — more on that in a moment.
The building itself is an instructional tool. Our facilities superintendent, Steve Miller, and his crew of four maintenance professionals — including Jason Dean, who just celebrated his 31st year on Orkila staff — worked for years to ensure that every detail serves a purpose. Solar panels are coming for the exploration breezeway to make energy systems visible and teachable. A viewing site for our well water system invites questions about where water comes from and how we protect it. And the entire footprint of the building was designed to benefit, rather than burden, the wetland ecology it sits within.
Perhaps the most unexpected gift of the Robinson Education Center is what it revealed about a place we already loved. No matter what time of day you visit the upper pond area, you are likely to be surrounded by birdsong. It has always been a remarkable bird sanctuary — and now there is finally a place to sit, observe, and enjoy.
We are grateful to the Robinson Foundation, to Steve and his entire team, and to everyone who believed in this project long before there was a building to show for it.
The Pond — Where Science Comes Alive
There is a moment that happens to nearly every student who walks down to the pond for the first time. It usually occurs about three steps from the water’s edge. The nose wrinkles. The eyes widen. The nets go in, and none of that matters anymore, because there is an entire living, breathing, squirming freshwater ecosystem in the bin, and it needs to be identified immediately.
Pond Investigation is one of Orkila’s most beloved classes, and the Robinson Education Center has given it a home worthy of the experience. Nets drag through the water. Microscope slides are prepared with the focused urgency of scientists who have somewhere to be. And sooner or later, inevitably, someone discovers a caddisfly larva — a tiny insect that has wrapped itself in a handmade nest of sticks and debris, tucked in like it has nowhere to be and no intention of leaving. Students find them deeply relatable. If you’ve ever seen a sixth grader bundled in a sleeping bag at 7 a.m., unwilling to emerge, you understand why.
Orca Sculpture in the Marine Science Center
While you’re on campus this spring, look up when you enter the Marine Science Center. You’ll find something new — and breathtaking.
A 14-foot orca whale, hand-carved from a single cedar log, now hangs in the MSC as a permanent symbol of Orkila’s connection to the Salish Sea. The sculpture was crafted by artist Walter Henderson and his team, and made possible through the generosity of YMCA Life Board Member Doug Boyden and his wife, Nancy. The markings on the whale match those of a matriarch of the local J-Pod. The circular cutout in the dorsal fin — a window, the artists call it, into the orca’s soul — has already drawn many visitors to camp just to catch a glimpse. The whale, held aloft above the space, has stopped more than a few guests mid-stride.
The orca has been a symbol of Camp Orkila since our founding in 1906. To have one watching over the Marine Science Center feels fitting — like everything else in the MSC, it serves as a window to the Salish Sea.
Staff Spotlight — Dylan Gonda, 10 Years at Orkila
Ten years ago, Dylan Gonda (pictured above center) arrived at Camp Orkila as a field instructor. Some people are naturally suited to a particular kind of work; others work hard, year after year, to get better. Dylan is both. He is the kind of director who becomes even more effective under pressure, when the stakes are high and the complexity is real.
He rose quickly. For the past six years, he has served as the on-site director of Orkila’s Outdoor Environmental Education program, a role that defies simple description. Dylan trains and supports staff. He drives buses. He solves logistical puzzles before most people notice there’s a puzzle. He is, in the words of people who have worked alongside him, the reason things work — quietly, reliably, and usually before you think to ask.
He is also a regional captain with the Washington Outdoor Schools Coalition, a marathon runner, a kayaker, a biker, and a knitter. He is easily startled. He is also, emphatically and on the record, not a fan of frogs — which is a fascinating disposition for a man who has spent a decade leading children through wetland ecology.
What makes Dylan exceptional isn’t the many hats he wears, though there are many. It’s a philosophy he lives out every single day: everything is a learning moment. Mistakes aren’t detours — they’re invitations. A miscalculation about timing, a misread situation, a plan that didn’t survive contact with a group of fifth graders — these aren’t failures; they’re deposits. Which brings us to another Dylan-at-Orkila concept: putting money in the bank. At Orkila, it means helping someone when it’s in your capacity to do so, for no better reason than to make their day a little easier. Not because they asked. Not because it’s in the job description. Just because you can, and so you do.
Happy 10 years, Dylan. The frogs are grateful you’re here, and so are we.
Washington Outdoor Schools Coalition — Navigating a Hard Moment Together
You may already know about the cuts. When the Washington State Legislature passed its 2025–27 budget, the Outdoor Learning Grants program — which had grown to $20 million over the previous biennium and was supporting nearly 800 schools across the state — was fully eliminated to help address a broader budget gap. Districts are now working hard to close the gap between a shared commitment to outdoor learning and the funding needed to make it possible. Schools that had finally found a durable pathway to outdoor education for all their students are fundraising or, in some cases, going without.
What we want you to know is that you are not navigating this alone. Camp Orkila is an active member of the Washington Outdoor Schools Coalition — a statewide network of program directors who collaborate, share resources, and advocate together for the future of outdoor learning. The coalition formed in the wake of the Outdoor Schools for All grant and has grown into something genuinely valuable: a forum where programs from the Columbia Plateau to Bainbridge Island to the San Juan Islands push each other toward excellence and support one another when the policy landscape shifts.
Dylan Gonda serves as a regional captain within the coalition, and the network is actively meeting with legislators, preparing advocacy efforts for the next session, and identifying grant opportunities to share with partner schools. The work continues.
Outdoor education is mandated in Washington State. The funding to do it well should be, too. We’ll keep you informed as this situation develops, and if there are ways to lend your school’s voice to the effort, we’ll make sure you know.
Changes to Outdoor Envirnmental Education Schedule & Ratios
One of the things we are most grateful for is feedback — not the kind that gets filed away, but the kind that actually changes the program. Over the past several years, we’ve heard consistently from school organizers on two topics: scheduling flexibility and class ratios. Here’s where we’ve landed.
On scheduling: this year, under the leadership of OEE Program Director Dylan Gonda, we shifted to a more flexible class block structure. Classes are now slightly shorter, which means you have more options. Plan a single focused session or double up for a deeper dive. We can book your school for a double block on the ropes course or build a fast-paced day across multiple shorter experiences. There are few things more influential on a child’s experience than the schedule. It can either be something they chafe against or something that supports deeper learning and belonging. The schedule now works for you, not the other way around.
On ratios: we hear you, and we share your values. Every educator would prefer smaller classes — and so would we. Our class ratios are consistently capped at 15 students, and we work hard to protect that ceiling. One of the ways we’re able to do this while keeping costs manageable is through a more flexible staffing calendar. This season, we’re running two major staff start dates — one in March and one in May — allowing us to right-size our team across the season, keep costs down, and maintain the low ratios that make a real difference for student learning.
Facilities and Naming Update
The YMCA of Greater Seattle has been engaged in an ongoing and important process of reviewing the names of cabins, lodges, and facilities across its properties — including Camp Orkila — to ensure they are appropriate, respectful, and non-appropriative. This work reflects our deep commitment to being a welcoming place for all students, families, and communities, including our Indigenous neighbors and partners. We are proud to be part of an organization that takes this work seriously, and we’ll share updates as that process continues. Read More >>