Free hands-on outdoor education

Growing Skills,
Feeding Futures.

PNW Provides is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering underserved youth and low-income single parents to use the Pacific Northwest’s natural resources to help put food on the table for themselves and their families. By removing financial and knowledge barriers, we make hands-on outdoor education and food-harvesting skills more accessible.

Explore Our Programs →Support the Mission
Washington State nonprofit Free to participants Volunteer-led
Outdoor instructor helping youth learn to fish from a boat on a Pacific Northwest lake
18youth reached at our first event
Kids Fishing Day • Lake Samish
Our mission

Skills that last a lifetime.

Through various hands-on outdoor programs, we aim to not only teach youth how to help feed themselves, but also positively shape their futures by encouraging healthy hobbies, building lifelong skills, and creating meaningful memories that can impact generations to come.

What we teach

Practical skills for the outdoors and the table.

Our programs combine real-world instruction, safety, conservation, regulations, harvesting, and food preservation to build practical skills that last.

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Fishing & Crabbing

Casting, tackle, species identification, regulations, cleaning, cooking, and responsible harvest.

Hands-on outdoor learning
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Hunting Education

Hunter education, safety, ethics, conservation, regulations, responsible harvest, and foundational skills.

Safety + stewardship
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Foraging & Harvest

Shellfish, mushrooms, edible plants, safe identification, seasons, and sustainable gathering.

Know what to harvest
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Gardening & Growing

Practical gardening skills that help families understand how to grow food at home and build confidence over time.

Grow food at home
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Food Skills & Preservation

Cleaning, cooking, canning, vacuum sealing, food safety, recipes, and ways to make a harvest go farther.

Make the harvest last
How our programs work

Try it. Learn it. Take it home.

Whether participants are trying something for the first time or building on limited experience, our programs help them develop the knowledge and confidence to safely and responsibly use these skills on their own.

Youth actively fishing from a boat while an instructor helps land a fish1

Try it.

Participants get hands-on experience and learn by doing.

Outdoor instructor demonstrating how to clean a fish for youth participants2

Learn it.

Participants learn how to practice the skill safely and responsibly, including the regulations, techniques, and how to clean and prepare what they harvest.

Young participant proudly holding a fish she caught3

Take it home.

Participants leave with the knowledge and confidence to use what they learned again on their own, along with take-home supplies whenever possible.

Built for access

Remove the barriers. Keep the knowledge.

Trying something new outdoors can be difficult when you don’t have the equipment, permits, experience, or someone to show you how to get started. PNW Provides creates free, hands-on programs where youth and families can learn together, ask questions, and build the confidence to keep going.

By including parents or caregivers, children have a trusted adult learning alongside them, someone they can practice with, ask questions, and continue learning with long after the program ends.

18Youth at our first event
7Communities represented
$0Participant program fees
100+Youth we aim to serve in 2027
Young participant holding a freshly caught fish
Youth learning to fish alongside an experienced guide on the lake
Youth reeling in a fish while an instructor helps with the net
Youth gathered around an instructor learning how to clean fish
Young participant handling a fish during a cleaning demonstration
Our first program

One day can open a door.

At our first Kids Fishing Day, youth learned directly from an experienced guide, spent time fishing on the water, handled their catch, and learned the process from catching a fish to cleaning and preparing it.

That is the model we are building on: introduce youth to new outdoor skills, teach them how to participate safely and responsibly, and give families the knowledge they need to keep going.

“The goal is more than just a great day outdoors. It’s giving kids the skills and confidence to use what they learn on their own, long after the program ends.”
Kids celebrating together during a boat ride at PNW Provides Kids Fishing Day
A positive first experience can be the start of something bigger.It can build confidence, spark new hobbies, and create a connection to the outdoors that lasts a lifetime.
Coming up

Next outdoor learning opportunity.

Programs are seasonal and designed around what the Pacific Northwest has to offer throughout the year.

Dungeness crab in a crab pot being pulled alongside a boat
UPCOMING PROGRAM
Fall 2026

Community Crabbing Day

Participants will learn how to safely catch, measure, clean, and cook Dungeness crab while learning Washington State regulations, conservation, and responsible harvest practices.

Cornet Bay areaHands-on instructionFree program
Event updates

Hear about upcoming programs.

Sign up to hear when registration opens, dates are confirmed, or new outdoor programs are announced.

We’ll only use your information for PNW Provides program and event updates.

Get involved

There are a lot of ways to help.

PNW Provides is volunteer-led. Community knowledge, donated equipment, business partnerships, and financial support all help us create more free outdoor learning opportunities.

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Volunteer or Teach

Share experience in fishing, hunting, foraging, gardening, food preparation, outdoor safety, photography, or event support.

Volunteer with us →
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Partner or Sponsor

Businesses and community organizations can sponsor a program, provide expertise, donate products, or help us reach more families.

Partner with us →
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Donate Equipment

Fishing equipment, safety gear, coolers, canning supplies, gardening tools, and other reusable program equipment help remove barriers for participants.

Offer equipment →
Connect

Connect with PNW Provides.

Whether you have a question, want to volunteer, teach a skill, donate equipment, sponsor a program, or build a partnership, send us a message and we’ll follow up.

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Serving Washington StateInitial focus in Northwest Washington
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Free hands-on programsOutdoor skills, food harvest, and practical learning
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Volunteer-led nonprofitGrowing through community support and partnerships

Messages from this form are sent to pnwprovides@gmail.com.