Conservation District receives grant for student outdoor education program in NCW

WENATCHEE— The Cascadia Conservation District has been awarded a grant from the Confluence Health and Wenatchee Valley Medical Group Community Partnership Fund to provide outdoor educational experiences for local elementary school students.

The grant, which is part of a fund that distributes up to $500,000 annually, will support field experiences for students in Mission View Elementary School's After School Program in Wenatchee. The program will include activities such as snowshoeing, hiking, stream exploration, habitat restoration projects, and wildlife photography using trail cameras.

"We are incredibly thankful to the continued support from Confluence Health and the Wenatchee Valley Medical Group through their Community Partnership Fund," said Cascadia educator Kirk Beckendorf. "This grant will provide opportunities for these students to connect with nature and develop a sense-of-place that will do a great deal to help better our community."

The Community Partnership Fund, jointly supported by Confluence Health and the Wenatchee Valley Medical Group, focuses on initiatives in health and wellness, education, and arts and culture across Chelan, Douglas, Grant, and Okanogan counties. The fund is administered by the Community Foundation of North Central Washington.

Eligible applicants for the grants include 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, public agencies, and public schools serving the four-county region. Applications are accepted annually from June 1 through July 31.

Confluence Health, which serves over 12,000 square miles across the four counties, is one of only two locally-led healthcare systems in Washington state. The Wenatchee Valley Medical Group, its largest affiliated physician group, traces its origins to the 1940s when three physicians founded the Wenatchee Valley Clinic.

The Cascadia Conservation District, a non-regulatory organization funded by grants and a system of rates and charges, serves Chelan County by providing technical and financial assistance for natural resource conservation efforts.

Organizations interested in applying for future grants can contact Jennifer Short, director of community grants at the Community Foundation, at jennifer.s@cfncw.org or (509) 663-7716.