Idyllic Islandwood

We arrived this afternoon at Islandwood, an outdoor education center located on Bainbridge Island. I knew of the center, but my first actual experience of the place is beyond anything I could have dreamed. The focus of the learning center is to provide exceptional learning experiences and to inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship. Everything is about sustainability. There is composting, recycling, and solar panels abound. The food, fabulous by any standards, features many ingredients grown or raised at Islandwood or on Bainbridge Island. The housing is lovely; all wood railings created from the trees cleared to make space for the building and stone fireplaces made of igneus, metamorphic, and sedementary rock. The many paths wind through the trees and it's almost impossible to see one building from another. We spent our first half day here on a scavenger hunt to discover more about this amazing endeavor called Islandwood. After dinner, we shared our personal stories, after being introduced to the "Where I am from" poem by George Ella Lion. We all wrote about the people, places and things that influenced us as we grew up and helped to create the people we have become. As we shared our stories I was again struck by what an amazing group of people I am with on this journey. I feel honored to be a part of their lives and their ongoing stories.