A banner year for Coastal Connections Camps

The Coastal Connections Camps are designed for middle-school students in coastal communities, and focus on science, teamwork and personal resilience. The weeklong day camps are guided by the Whole Being Teaching method, which aims to nurture students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development as they learn about their local environments. That means camps include traditional summer fun like kayaking, hiking and art projects, as well as scientific discovery, team-building exercises and content aimed at individual growth. 

“Combining the team-building and personal resilience is the key to creating a transformative experience, and to giving kids skills to be good community members in the future,” Lubin noted.

The new Bethel camp drew its activities and lessons from the natural and human history of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Students learned about the cultural importance of kayaks in Western Alaska, then kayaked on a local lake. They collected water samples and examined them under microscopes, getting a close-up look at some local microfauna. Another highlight was time spent at a traditional fish camp on the Kuskokwim River, where students gained hands-on experience in subsistence practices and learned about the importance of salmon to the region.

The 2026 Coastal Connections Camp program also offered camps in Seldovia–which was another first-time camp host–as well as in Valdez, Whittier, Kodiak, and Seward. While Alaska Sea Grant develops the curriculum and provides support, local organizations run the individual camps and tailor activities to local conditions. Students at different camps explored streams and tidepools, held “plankton races,” and created art with techniques like cyanotyping and hydro dipping. Two separate camps were offered in Valdez, while Seward offered three: a traditional offering, a “Just for Girls” camp, and a camp designed around building and operating underwater remote operated vehicles. 

“The camps build kids’ confidence and the basic abilities they need to be active citizens in their communities,” Lubin noted. “The activities align with Alaska Sea Grant’s mission: the kids learn new skills, they have a stronger connection to the environment, and they’re more interested in learning about the world around them.” 

The statewide program is supported by Alaska Sea Grant and the CORaL (Community Organized Restoration and Learning) Network, a consortium of educational organizations funded by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. The Valdez and Kodiak camps are operated by those cities’ Parks and Recreation departments; the Bethel camp by the Yukon-Kuskokwim School District Migrant Education Program; the Seldovia camp by Alaska Sea Grant; and the Seward and Whittier camps by the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm (KMTA) National Heritage Area.