Bainbridge Island Nature Journaling Retreat
with John Muir Laws, Kate Rutter, and Nishant Jain
August 25-29, 2025
Join John Muir Laws, Kate Rutter, and Nishant Jain with special guest Maria Coryell-Martin for a 5-day nature journaling retreat at the beautiful IslandWood campus on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Join us for a fun, peaceful, creative, and joyful 5-day, 4-night nature journaling retreat on the stunning 250-acre IslandWood Retreat Center campus, nestled in the heart of Bainbridge Island, Washington. This retreat will immerse you in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest’s forests, meadows, and trails, and will energize your nature journal practice while inspiring, challenging, and encouraging you to connect with nature, fellow journalers, and yourself. People of all skill levels and backgrounds are welcome.
Throughout the week, we’ll explore the beautiful, wooded IslandWood campus and nearby nature areas. We’ll also discuss various journaling techniques and explore how to develop habits that keep you actively journaling while nurturing a growth mindset and being kind to yourself.
Jack, Kate, and Nishant will offer workshops on a variety of nature journaling topics, as well as informal tutorials in the field. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in guided activities with the IslandWood staff such as guided birding and naturalist walks.
By the end of the retreat, you’ll leave with a journal full of beautiful memories, new friends, and the tools, inspiration, and motivation to continue your nature journaling journey.
Please review the detailed information below before you register, including teacher bios, ticket price options, and cancellation policy.
Retreat Details
LOCATION
The retreat will be at IslandWood Retreat Center on beautiful Bainbridge Island, just a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle. Known for its lush forests, scenic shorelines, and outdoor activities, the island offers a peaceful setting for our nature journaling adventure. We will enjoy the island landscape and the sprawling IslandWood campus (see map here) which features a diverse range of natural environments, including a bog, pond, harbor, and miles of scenic trails.
IslandWood offers modern, comfortable, eco-friendly accommodations in its sustainably designed lodges (see a gallery of IslandWood spaces here), where all meals will be provided on-site, with options to accommodate dietary preferences and restrictions. IslandWood is a 501(c) (3) charitable environmental organization founded to increase access to environmental learning opportunities, particularly for students attending under-resourced schools.
SCHEDULE
Please plan to arrive at as early as 5pm on Monday August 25, so that you can get situated in your accommodations, take a deep breath of ocean air, and be ready for dinner and our first evening’s gathering. The retreat will end after lunch on Friday August 29th, so plan to leave no later than 1:30pm
Each day will be fun, full, and long, and participants may opt out of classes or field trips at their discretion. Our hikes will be gentle. Registered participants will receive a detailed schedule as well as a suggested packing list closer to the event.
Our special guest, Maria Coryell-Martin, will join our group for one day during the retreat.
ACCOMODATIONS
NOTE: Regardless of which accommodation option you choose, all meals are included and there is not a registration option that does not include meals. We are also not able to accommodate 1-2 day drop-ins to this retreat.
Note on group rooms and accommodations
To ensure a restful and peaceful environment for all participants, we kindly ask that those who are noisy sleepers (e.g. loud snoring, CPAP machines, etc) or have other habits that may disrupt others’ sleep please refrain from booking a shared or group room. We encourage you to select a private room option to ensure your comfort and to be considerate of others’ sleep needs. Thank you for your understanding and for helping us ensure a comfortable experience for all guests.
MEALS
All meals from dinner on Monday, August 25th through lunch on Friday August 29th, are included no matter which housing option you choose. The IslandWood team aims to sustainably source foods, and they will accommodate your dietary restrictions—we will send registered participants a survey to gather that information. Meals will be served buffet style in the dining room, with a hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. We may also have some boxed lunches for the field.
TRANSPORTATION
The nearest airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). We do not offer airport transfers, but we are happy to help connect participants to share rides to/from the airport. We also encourage participants driving from similar geographic areas to carpool, and we will help participants connect about those options.
Please read through IslandWood’s Campus Directions for more detailed information.
Note: IslandWood offers ADA parking at the center.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Wild Wonder Foundation is committed to inclusiveness, respect, and equal opportunity for everyone as we nurture and celebrate a diverse, global community of nature journalers. We have a very limited number of partial scholarships available. Those who face economic barriers, underrepresentation, and/or historic marginalization are eligible for financial support, and we will give scholarship priority to those most in need of assistance. Learn more and apply here.
COST
There are 3 room types available at IslandWood. All options include meals. All rates shown are per person.
$2440 for a Queen bed in a double room with a private bathroom (2 Queen beds in the room)
$3400 for a Twin bed in a private room with a private bathroom - SOLD OUT
$3600 for a Queen bed in a private room with a private bathroom*
We are also offering a limited number of off-site tickets. With this option, you would be responsible for your own lodging and daily commute to IslandWood, but everything else (sessions, activities, meals, etc.) are included.
$2050 for an off-site ticket - SOLD OUT
NOTE: A limited number of these rooms are ADA accessible—you can select an ADA room during checkout.
This retreat has capacity for 40-50 participants.
*You may add a single additional attendee to the private queen room option only for an add-on price of $2150 at checkout.
Is your preferred option sold out? Please fill out the Wild Wonder Retreats Wait List form asap. We get cancellations and will fill the open spaces in the order that wait list entries are received.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
We require all participants to purchase travel insurance that includes cancellation and medical evacuation. This is to ensure that you protect yourself financially if you experience illness before departure, cancelled flights, lost baggage, or a medical incident during the event OR if we have to cancel the event due to local emergencies such as wildfire, flood, or global health crises. We recommend Travelguard for this insurance, but you are free to choose the carrier that works best for you. Cost varies depending on your age, home state, and total travel costs, but it’s affordable and well worth the peace of mind it offers. Allianz Travel, Seven Corners, Travelex, and Faye are all highly rated travel insurance providers with options for trip cancellation coverage.
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS
If you cancel on/before July 10, 2025, you will receive a refund minus a $450 cancellation fee. If you cancel after that date, there will be no refunds. Please ensure that you purchase travel insurance, so in the event that you need to cancel, the insurance can cover reimbursement of expenses.
You may arrange to transfer your ticket to someone else (meaning you find someone else to buy your ticket from you and you arrange that transaction) by July 25, 2025 for a $250 fee.
Note: Refunds can take 3-5 business days to process.
RETREAT EXPECTATIONS
To ensure a positive, supportive, and healthy experience, we ask that all retreat participants read, understand, and agree to the following:
Please review the Wild Wonder Foundation Retreats COVID Policy as all participants will be asked to follow these guidelines.
Please review the Wild Wonder Community Values and Expectations of Conduct
Be aware, you will need to sign the necessary liability waivers for the retreat venue and the Wild Wonder Foundation before the retreat. These forms will be sent to your email ahead of the retreat.
QUESTIONS?
Please begin by reviewing our Frequently Asked Questions (located at the bottom of this page) to see if your question is answered there. If not, please reach out to us at retreats@wildwonder.org, and we will respond as soon as possible, typically within 3 business days. Please note that we are a small team with limited staffing.
Note: Our retreat tickets tend to sell out quickly, so we anticipate a fully booked event.
Meet Your Leaders
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John Muir Laws
A principal leader and innovator of the worldwide nature journaling movement, John Muir Laws (aka Jack) is an award-winning naturalist, artist, author, scientist, and educator who has dedicated nearly four decades of his life to connecting people to nature through art and science. The co-founder of Wild Wonder Foundation, Jack is the author of several books, including the Laws Guide to the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Birds, Sierra Wildflowers, and the Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling. He has taught nature journaling for more than 4 decades, and his passion, curiosity, and generosity are legendary. MORE
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Kate Rutter
Kate Rutter is an avid nature journaler, urban naturalist, educator, and native plant enthusiast who enlivens nature-human connection through sketching, observation, and curiosity. A lifelong sketcher with an experimental and rambunctious visual practice, Kate’s education work spans online teaching; corporate and nonprofit workshops; conferences and events; nature journal workshops at public gardens, private gardens, and nurseries; and serving as adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts. Kate earned a B.A. in Studio Art from Wellesley College. She serves on the board of the Wild Wonder Foundation, and she is one of the illustrators of the zine, Your Quick Start Guide to Nature Journaling, and the creator of the zine, 7 Ways to Connect with Nature. MORE
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Nishant Jain
Nishant Jain is an artist and writer living in Vancouver, Canada. After leaving in the middle of a PhD program in neuroscience, he began walking around the city with a sketchbook and fountain pen. This turned into an obsessive habit of what he calls “Sneaky Art,” a practice of quick sketching to capture life in his environment without drawing attention to himself. Nishant draws in cafes, on street corners, in parks, and in all kinds of public spaces. His art is a record of how cities work, and how millions of strangers live together in cooperation. Nishant’s work has been featured in news media around the world. Recently, he was an artist-in-residence on the Vancouver public transit system. Nishant writes the SneakyArt Post, a popular weekly newsletter of his drawings and observations. This year, he is working on his first book, and being a parent to a newborn. MORE
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Special Guest: Maria Coryell-Martin
Our special guest, Maria Coryell-Martin, will join our group for one day during the retreat.
Maria Coryell-Martin is an expeditionary artist following the tradition of traveling artists as naturalists and educators. In 2004, upon graduating from Carleton College, Maria embarked on a year-long Watson Fellowship to explore remote landscapes through art. This experience sparked a resolve to continue working as an expeditionary artist focused on polar and glacier science and to inspire environmental awareness in audiences of all ages. Maria’s travels have brought her face-to-face with polar bears, leopard seals, emperor penguins, and narwhals.
A memorable experience juggling clumsy sketching tools while crawling in the sand for hours to monitor walruses on a small island in eastern Greenland inspired Maria to found Art Toolkit, an adventure art supply company based in Port Townsend. Art Toolkit creates watercolor sketching supplies for sketching anytime, anywhere, including their namesake weather-resistant zippered Art Toolkit and pocket-sized watercolor palettes. MORE
Retreat Frequently Asked Questions
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Please see each retreat page for specific dates. If you cancel 45 days or more before the retreat, you will receive a refund minus a $450 cancellation fee. There are no refunds after that period. You may arrange to transfer your ticket to someone else (meaning you find someone else to buy your ticket from you and you arrange that transaction) up to 30 days prior to the retreat for a transfer fee of $250.
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Please review the Wild Wonder Foundation COVID Policy.
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Yes, we ask that you buy travel insurance to protect you if you have to cancel or leave early. Please review each retreat’s cancellation policy carefully. If you choose not to purchase travel insurance and need to cancel after the cancellation deadline, we will be unable to refund your ticket costs. This is due to the non-refundable expenses that the organization incurs while planning an event of this nature. We require participants to purchase travel insurance to ensure you are financially protected in the event of an unexpected cancellation. Thank you for your understanding.
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The travel insurance requirement is in place to protect participants in the event of unexpected last-minute cancellations, which we unfortunately cannot refund. For example, if you were to fall ill or test positive for COVID right before the trip, travel insurance would help cover both the ticket fee and any other expenses, like flights.
Additionally, some participants purchase emergency medical coverage as part of their travel insurance plan, especially if they are traveling from out of state where their health insurance may not be accepted or may not provide full coverage.
We want to ensure you're fully protected should anything unexpected arise, and travel insurance is the best way to safeguard your investment.
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We will provide registered participants with a high-level schedule approximately 2 weeks prior to the start of retreat. Note: because outdoor retreats can be subject to unpredictable weather and changing conditions, we are not able to offer a detailed hour-by-hour itinerary. Instead, we maintain a flexible, high-level schedule that allows us to adjust as needed in order to best accommodate the group and the environment. This flexibility helps us ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience, regardless of unforeseen circumstances.
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Yes, you may send your rooming preferences to us and we will accommodate where possible.
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Double occupancy and group room tickets are for participants who will share a room with one or more people. If you have a specific friend or person you’d like to room with, feel free to email us at retreats@wildwonder.org to make that request. Otherwise, roommates will be randomly assigned.
Please note that group rooms (for 3 or more people) may include mixed-gender assignments, while double occupancy rooms will be assigned same-gender roommates. None of these options involve sharing a bed—each bed is separate, and the bed type is listed in the ticket details.
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No, we cannot provide refunds after the cancellation deadline.
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No. Tickets are only available for the full retreat.
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This is an option for some retreats including the Point Reyes retreat, the Sierra Nevada retreat, and the Bainbridge Island retreat that offer off-site tickets. NOTE: All tickets include all meals, and there is no ticket that does not include meals.
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No.
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Children over 12 may attend when accompanied by an adult who is responsible for the young person’s supervision at all times. The child will require a separate ticket and there is no discount for children.
Note: Additional paperwork for children will be required.
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Yes. We will survey participants ahead of the retreat to gather food requirements.
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Yes, we have a small number of partial scholarships for each retreat–click here for the application. Note: Retreats sell out quickly, and we hold a small number of spots for scholarships. If you apply for a scholarship and do not receive it, all retreats will likely be sold out by the time you are notified.
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Due to the nature of our retreat locations and activities, most of our venues involve walking on uneven terrain and navigating steps or irregular ground. Activities at the retreats often include walking on trails, sometimes up to a mile. While all activities are optional, participants who require accommodations may find that they are unable to fully participate in some of the outdoor activities.
Our most accessible venue this year is IslandWood on Bainbridge Island, WA. This venue offers a variety of accessible features, including ADA-compliant bathrooms, lodging, parking, and trails. There are also staff members available at the retreat to provide golf cart rides to assist participants with getting around the campus as needed. Please note that some off-site activities may not be fully accessible, and we may use campus paths that are not ADA-compliant during the retreat.
At our Sierra Retreat this year, we offer some lodging options at Big Springs, including several ADA-compliant rooms. However, please note that most of our outdoor activities will involve dirt trails and uneven terrain. The field campus itself is not paved, so participants will need to navigate dirt paths and stairs to reach the dining hall.
We want to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible, so please feel free to reach out if you have specific accessibility needs or concerns. We’ll do our best to accommodate.
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While we can’t guarantee that everyone in your group will get a spot in the same room or that tickets will still be available when you sign up (our tickets can sell out quickly at times), we recommend having one person purchase all the tickets for your group at once. This gives you the best chance of securing all the spots together.
If you're unable to get all the tickets you wanted, consider exploring some of our other room options. Alternatively, you can cancel or reach out to us about a ticket transfer if you're interested.
We encourage you to carefully review our cancellation policy before purchasing your tickets. Please note that Wild Wonder incurs non-refundable transaction fees when tickets are purchased, so we are unable to offer a full refund once a ticket has been purchased.
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Fill out the Wild Wonder Retreats Wait List form if you are interested in attending a retreat but the tickets are sold out. We will contact you in the order you sign up if a spot opens up or a ticket transfer is available.
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Retreats and other paid events enable Wild Wonder to offer many low-cost and free events each year. Retreat pricing reflects the costs of paying experienced instructors and support staff, high quality food and experienced catering staff, and ensuring a quality experience for all participants. In addition, a portion of each ticket price supports retreat scholarships.
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If you cannot find the information you need in the retreat description or FAQs, please reach out to us at retreats@wildwonder.org, and we will respond as soon as possible, typically within 3 business days. Please note that we are a small team with limited staffing.