This program is for groups or organizations working with marginalized communities, especially children, youth, and families. Because of nature’s healing, calming, and regulating effects, time spent outside helps children and youth facing adverse circumstances to build the resilience needed to overcome challenges and lead healthier lives. Recreational outdoor trips also build community, empower participants, and offer the opportunity to play, relax, and explore.
Belong Outside trips are structured to maximize these benefits by emphasizing child-directed exploration and learning, including time for play or meditation in outdoor spaces, and creating team building experiences.

Belong Outside trips are free to participants, with partnering organizations contributing what they can towards direct trip costs. The remaining costs of the program is funded by generous donors, including the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office through the No Child Left Inside grant program. This has allowed us to offer $48,000 of programming to organizations and individuals in 2023, including hiking, caving, and camping.

Events include hiking, snowshoeing, caving, orienteering, and overnight camping and backpacking trips.

Age: Families, or ages 4-18

Plan a trip

Belong Outside group trips are private. Choose a preferred activity and date for your group, then email us at trips@sahaleoutdoors to request a trip.

You can also email or call us to request a consultation, over the phone or in person, about what types of programming would be the best fit for your group.

Looking for individual scholarships?

The Belong Outside initiative includes sliding scale pricing for all open trips. You can request lower price points for any of our trips from the trip page, or email trips@sahaleoutdoors for more information.

Highlights

Finding peace and joy in nature

Supported exploration and learning

Building connections with each other

Difficulty Level

Easy to Intermediate: Some events are adventures that can be accessible for almost all youth and adults, and some will be more challenging.

Available Weekend Dates

Winter

February: 3, 4, 17, 19

March: 2, 3, 17

Spring

Contact us!

Summer

Contact us!

Donate to Belong Outside

What is Provided:

• Transportation to and from locations for up to 12 people
• All gear specific to the activity, including clothing if requested at least two weeks ahead of time.
• Group camping and backpacking gear
• First-aid kit
• Food for overnight trips

Objectives

• Engaging with the outdoors
• Support through new outdoor activies
• Sustainable practices such as Leave No Trace
• Cultural history

Packing List

• Packing Lists

“It [Lushootseed] is from the beginning strength of the people, and it is from what the Creator put down upon this land for people…. The earth speaks. The animals speak. Everything has a voice.”

Vi Hilbert, Grandmother Video Project

The Puyallup tribe in their own language call themselves a name that means “people from the bend at the bottom of the river.” They are one of twelve Lushootseed speaking tribes in the Puget Sound region. The language of Lushootseed has vast diversity and multiple dialects, with each group having their own way of speaking. All dialects were to be honored and respected, reflecting the values of Lushootseed culture such as ‘Be kind, be helpful, be sharing.’

The Lushootseed speaking peoples called the mountain that dominated their horizon Tacoma or Tahoma, a word that may have meant “the mother of all waters.” The Puyallup tribe is calling on the state of Washington to rename the mountain from its current official name of “Rainier.”

Today, the Puyallup Tribe is a recognizable force in the fight for tribal rights, and were a significant player in the Boldt Decision of 1974, establishing the rights of Native Americans in Washington State to fish using traditional methods.

~ This information was found on PuyallupTribe.com