Channel Islands Camping & Sea Kayaking
Experience the stunning beauty of Channel Islands National Park for a week of camping, sea kayaking, hiking and community building! Often called "the North American Galápagos," the Channel Islands are a precious, protected, remote, and lightly trafficked gem just 12 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara. Our home-away-from-home for the week, the island of Limuw (or Santa Cruz Island as it is presently known), is also home to wildlife galore including species that don’t exist anywhere else in the world; hundreds of world-class sea caves; mesmerizing giant kelp forests; and a complex and vital history of Chumash people. As a group, we will both recreate on this land and learn about the stories it tells, all while sleeping under the stars and enjoying the process of working, living and learning as a team.
This Project Fulfills Outdoor Education Graduation Requirement.
We will be procuring airfare in early January; please do not make other travel arrangements for spring break until we do.
Students must be comfortable swimming in a supervised, ocean setting.
Students will be expected to do place-based research in advance and be prepared to speak on their topic while on the island. Topics might include, but are not limited to: geology, geography, climate, plants and animals, night sky/astronomy, marine science, and history and culture.
Students will be expected to participate in reflective practice, including personal reflection, partner time and group discussion periodically throughout the week. This practice is imperative to help us think critically about our experiences, to learn about the experience of others and to spend time processing the highs and lows of each day.
Overlake requires that on a day to be specified before departure, Overlake will administer a COVID test to all participants and leaders. To participate in the Project Week, the test must be negative, and students must be symptom-free from any illness to leave on a trip.
Participants must be willing to follow King County and destination travel COVID guidelines. If a participant should become COVID positive during the trip, the student will be isolated, and the student’s family will be required to pick up the student within 36 hours at their current location. The family will bear all the costs associated with any travel to pick up their student and any costs for isolation or return travel.
By selecting the above project, you and your family are accepting the financial responsibility for the cost of the projects. This includes any unrecoverable expenses incurred if Overlake, or any federal, state or local government forces cancelation of the project, or if you or your family decide not to attend, or your student becomes COVID positive and needs to be isolated.
Project Week (2024-25)
Mar 24, 2025 - Mar 28, 2025