Barnacles & Bees

More Green, Less Screen

Barnacles & Bees is an organization supporting children and families through immersive nature-based experiences.  Our programs range from Free monthly Family Nature Play classes, weekly nature immersion classes for early childhood through grade school age, and an after school program.  You can find us at state and city parks throughout Kitsap and Mason Counties.  

We believe that nature makes kids happier, healthier and smarter.  Your donation will provide access to Barnacles & Bees programs for families and children ages 0-10 and help bring childhood back outside!

Bringing Children & Families Back to Nature.

The magic of being outdoors has always been a cornerstone of childhood in the Pacific Northwest. If you ask any long-time resident of our region – you will often find that a forest creek, a driftwood beach, or a neighborhood wood is at the center of their memory. A childhood outdoors was freedom and friends and coming home at dinner time.

Unfortunately, for children today, these are not the memories of childhood. In today’s culture, untethered access to beaches and forest creeks are being re-routed toward video games and social media. And the rise of childhood ailments like obesity, attention-deficit disorder, depression and anxiety are leading to a culture of medicated youth. Barnacles & Bees was founded to reconnect children and families in our community to nature, and combat what has now been dubbed “Nature-Deficit Disorder.”

Barnacles and bees was founded to change this. Our goal is to cultivate leaders and creative thinkers, playful families and connected communities. Learning through observation and immersion in nature is at the heart of our organization, our programs, and our values.

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DID YOU KNOW?

• The average American child spends only 10 minutes per day outside
• The rise of childhood obesity and developmental disorders are at critical highs
• The rise of digital media and gaming are at all-time highs - especially in the wake of COVID

Our programming is designed to get kids back outside: to play hard, be curious, build confidence and friendships and discover their creative passions.  An average child in our program spends 6x more time outside learning and growing with nature as their guide.