Our lottery will open on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. and close at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. During this time, you can log in to our registration system and complete a lottery application with a few questions about your camper and which camp location and dates are of interest to you.

Families will be notified about their status on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Families who received a spot will receive an email invitation to register. Registration, including completion of pre-camp paperwork and payment in full, must be completed by Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. This registration process includes the opportunity to apply for financial aid by self-reporting your household income and the number of people supported by it. Your spot will be reserved free of charge while you wait to hear back about your financial aid application. If we can’t offer enough aid, you can cancel the camp with no cancellation fee.

UWBG Summer Camp 2025 – Key Dates

Registration is done online. If a session is full, you can add your child to the waitlist through the registration system. Waitlists open on February 3, 2025.

Fiddleheads Summer School is for children who have not yet completed kindergarten. Fir Camp is for children who have completed kindergarten. If you have more questions about which program is the best fit for your child, please contact us at uwbgeduc@uw.edu.

Yes. Fir Camp (UWBG Summer Camp) is for children who have completed kindergarten. Rising first graders, even if they have a summer birthday, are eligible to attend Fir Camp (UWBG Summer Camp).

If you need to cancel camp, please let us know as soon as possible. We have long waiting lists full of families that would love your spot if it no longer works for your camper and family.

UW Botanic Gardens Summer Camp Cancellation and Refund Policy

If you cancel for COVID-19 reasons: If you must cancel your registration for COVID-19 related health reasons, where quarantine is recommended or required because of exposure or symptoms, we appreciate your precaution and will provide a refund for any missed days.

If you need to cancel your program for non-COVID-19 exposure or symptom related reasons, our refund policy is as follows:

If UWBG Cancels: Cancellation may occur due to inclement weather, poor air quality, COVID-19 complications, or other significant unforeseen events. If summer programs are canceled by UWBG for any reason and the cancellation lasts two or more days, we will do our best to make fair compensation for families by offering make ups, refunds, or spaces in future programs.

Summer Program Late Pick-Up Policy: If you are late to pick up your camper, you will be charged $1.00 for every minute after the end of the program. The rate will increase to $3.00/min if you are more than 15 minutes late. Additional late fees are due upon pick-up.

Campers are assigned to trail groups of up to 10 campers. Two trail groups, up to 20 campers, will come together throughout the camp session for larger activities and the whole camp comes together for lunch and recess each day.

You may request that one sibling or friend be assigned to the same trail group. While we will try our best, we cannot honor every request as many factors go into the creation of our trail groups. If the campers are more than one year apart, they will most likely be in separate groups.

Yes. Financial assistance is available on a first come, first served basis to those who qualify. Aid can cover between 10-80% of the camp cost.

In our online registration form, there is an opportunity to apply for financial aid by self-reporting your household income and the number of people supported by it. Your spot will be reserved free of charge while you wait to hear back about your financial aid application.

If you qualify for financial assistance we will adjust your cost accordingly. If we cannot offer enough aid, you can cancel the camp with no cancellation fee.

Yes. A 10% discount is available to current UW employees, current UW students, and Arboretum Foundation members. This discount only applies to the camp session cost and does not apply to after care. Please have your AF member number or NetID ready when registering. Retroactive discounts are not possible. Anyone can be a member of the Arboretum Foundation.

The University of Washington Botanic Gardens Employer Identification Number (EIN): 91-6001537

Washington Park Arboretum: Morning drop off and afternoon pick up will occur on the north end of the Arboretum near the Graham Visitors Center.

Center for Urban Horticulture: Morning drop off and afternoon pick up will occur near the UW Farm.

We will email detailed drop off and pick up directions to you before your session begins.

Morning Drop Off: 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Afternoon Pick Up: 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

After Care Pick Up: 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

*Late pick-ups are subject to fees as described in the family handbook

We do not offer before care.

We do offer after care from 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Space is limited and you must register BEFORE your camp session begins.

We are unable to offer day-to-day after care. When registering, you will have the option to sign up for after care, as space is available. To add after care after registering, please email uwbgeduc@uw.edu.

After care will be near the regular drop off and pick up location at each site. Detailed instructions will be emailed prior to your session start date.

Camp Drop-Off and Pick-Up Times

Morning Drop-Off: 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch/Recess: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Afternoon Pick-Up: 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

After care Pick-Up: 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Our camp locations are large and our camps explore these places extensively. It can take a significant amount of time to move individual campers to and from their groups.

If you are picking up or dropping off outside of the drop off and pick up windows, a $20.00 fee will be charged unless you do so at lunch/recess between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. No fee will be charged during this midday time.

We do not have the staff to accommodate regular late arrivals or early pick ups. If you have questions or concerns particular to your camper, please email uwbgeduc@uw.edu

Yes. We take food allergies very seriously and are a nut free camp. We do not allow campers to share food.

During the registration process, we will ask you to complete a health form to provide information about any condition(s) that we should be aware of to provide a safe and supportive camp environment for your camper. We may contact you for additional information or request you to complete additional health forms prior to the start of camp. Please contact us if you would like to provide additional information or have any questions (206-685-8641), or uwbgeduc@uw.edu). All of our staff are certified in First Aid and CPR.

Yes. We do have potable drinking water available for campers to fill up their water bottle throughout the day.

No. We ask that all campers come in the morning with sunscreen already applied and bring sunscreen with them to reapply throughout the day. We do not keep extra sunscreen on hand as it is considered a medication and we cannot provide it without written consent. If this presents a hardship for your family, please email uwbgeduc@uw.edu for assistance.

Our highest priority is providing a safe and positive experience to all campers in our care. Experience shows that successful participation in UWBG Summer Camp requires the ability to do the following with appropriate guidance from staff:

UWBG Summer Camp endeavors to accommodate children with special needs—within the limitations of our resources, natural surroundings, minimalistic facilities, staff ratios, and program standards—while preserving the nature of the camp experience for all campers.

To request disability accommodation, please contact our office at 206-685-8641 or uwbgeduc@uw.edu.

The University of Washington makes every effort to honor disability accommodation requests. Requests can be responded to most effectively if received as far in advance of the event as possible, preferably at least 10 days.

Yes. We keep our trail groups small, allowing our camp naturalists to adapt activities and curriculum to the needs and interests of their campers. Our camp activities include games and hands-on activities that work for many different learning styles and learning abilities. We do ask that campers be able to understand and follow staff directions and communicate their needs and concerns to staff. If you have questions or want to discuss needs of your camper, please reach out to our office uwbgeduc@uw.edu.

We take the health and safety of our campers very seriously. Adjustments to our programs will be made to ensure that our campers are safe if air quality decreases in our area because of wildfires. Like weather events, poor air quality is beyond our control. Program hours and activities will be impacted when air quality is at unsafe levels to be outside for extended periods of time.

We will decide whether or not to cancel a program based on our judgment of the safety of running our program according to the information and resources we have access to at the time. We acknowledge and respect that families each have unique needs and levels of comfort. We encourage families to make the attendance decisions that are right for them.

Refunds

See the Camp Cancellation policy above for the full refund policy.

 Alternate Locations and Activities

We do not have access to adequate indoor space to run camp at either location. If air quality levels require indoor programming, we will cancel camp.

How do we make this decision?

Staff are monitoring both federal and state air quality monitoring websites to get the most accurate picture of local air quality conditions that we can. In making decisions regarding conducting or canceling our programming due to air quality concerns, we are following advice from the Washington State Department of Health on air pollution and outdoor school activities.

UWBG Summer Camp is adhering to guidelines provided by the Washington Department of Health for summer day camps and the requirements of the University of Washington’s Office for Youth Program Development and Support. We continue to update and incorporate the latest COVID-19 protocols.

No. Fiddleheads Forest School is another youth education program run by the UW Botanic Gardens.