E-mail: kidsinnature.office@gmail.com
Santa Cruz Kids in Nature
NATURE IS OUR CLASSROOM
Where curiosity leads
and childhood thrives.
From creek explorations to art with natural materials, from team games to quiet sit spots-KIN is a place where children are free to be themselves and part of something bigger.
Play. Learn. Belong.
WHO WE ARE
Santa Cruz Kids in Nature—KIN—is a place where childhood has room to unfold.
We are a grassroots outdoor learning community where children spend their afternoons exploring creeks and forests, making art from the world around them, building forts, following curiosity wherever it leads, and learning to care for the places they call home.
At KIN, learning happens through experience. A fallen log becomes a balance beam. A tidepool becomes a classroom. A question becomes an adventure. Through play, creativity, and time spent together outdoors, children grow confidence, resilience, curiosity, and a deep sense of connection—to themselves, to one another, and to the living world.
Our programs weave together social-emotional learning, natural and cultural history, art, and environmental stewardship, but at the heart of it all is something simple: children learning through wonder, in community, with the freedom to be fully themselves.
We offer outdoor after-school programs throughout the academic year, along with themed nature camps each summer.
We believe every child deserves the chance to experience the joy and belonging that come from time spent outdoors. We offer scholarships to help make our programs accessible to families across our community. Please reach out to learn more.
After School
Programs
WHY KIN?
There is something that happens when children have time to wander.
When children spend their afternoons outdoors—moving their bodies, following their curiosity, getting muddy, solving problems, and making things together—they are doing more than having fun. They are practicing how to be human.
At KIN, children have the space to grow in ways that are difficult to measure, but impossible to miss.
They become more confident.
Climbing a tree, crossing a creek, navigating a trail, or figuring out how to build a shelter all offer children the chance to try, struggle, adapt, and discover: I can do this.
They become more curious.
The natural world is endlessly surprising. A feather, a mushroom, a tidepool, a bird call—each one opens the door to a question. Children learn that the world is worth paying attention to, and that their questions matter.
They learn to belong.
When children build a fort together, care for a garden, explore a creek, or sit around a fire, they learn how to listen, collaborate, navigate conflict, include others, and become part of something larger than themselves.
They grow resilient.
Nature offers challenges that are real but manageable. A trail is steep. The weather changes. The fort collapses. The plan doesn’t work. Children learn to adapt, try again, and find their way forward.
They develop a relationship with the living world.
When a child knows where the salamanders hide, recognizes the call of a hawk, or notices when the first wildflowers appear, a place begins to feel like home. Over time, familiarity becomes affection—and affection becomes care.
And they get to be children.
They run. They wonder. They invent. They get dirty. They laugh until they can’t breathe. They spend whole afternoons absorbed in something that matters deeply to them, even if it is only a stick, a beetle, or an imaginary world in the woods.
This is what we believe childhood needs: time to play, space to wonder, and a community in which to grow.
At KIN, we give children the time and freedom to discover who they are—and to experience the joy of being part of the living world around them.
After-school adventures that help children become more confident, resilient, and compassionate humans.
Licensed outdoor educators. Daily exploration. Small groups.
Over 13 years serving Santa Cruz families.
Summer
Camps
CONTACT US
Have any Questions or want to get enrolled? Send us a message by email or through our form.
Business hours are Monday - Friday 10 am - 6pm.
But - we're out in the forest for a lot of that!