Who is Sustainable Spring?

I got so excited to do my first post about using baking soda and vinegar for hair wash that I forgot to introduce myself!

To begin, I’m a thirty-seven year-young woman who lives in Seabeck, Washington. In January 2014 I left my position as Program Director for the Olympic Outdoor Center to dedicate time to writing a memoir and this blog, as well as develop new programs to connect youth and adults to the outdoors. I still lead trips for the Olympic Outdoor Center and now for Bainbridge Island Parks and Recreation.

In addition to writing and leading outdoor trips, I also help people organize their spaces with my business, Spring Cleaning. I love to mountain bike, hike, garden as much as possible and work on the trails around my house, which are connected to the Stavis Natural Conservation Area.

From a young age I found solace and adventure in the natural world. I spent my first ten years living in a log house on five wooded acres outside of Spokane, Washington. I was surrounded by plants, water, snow, and animals from the time I was born.

My parents ran a plant nursery on our property and had a large garden that supplied a fair amount of our food. I played in the woods, collected frogs and worms, played with my ducks and chickens, cleaned peas from the garden and, well, you get the idea.

We moved to Poulsbo when I was 11 and I had a troubled teenagerhood, but through Outward Bound and long afternoons alone with my journal on the beach, I again connected with the natural world.

At age 19 I took a mountaineering course  at Olympic College, then helped lead a two-hundred mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon with teenagers from the Suquamish Tribe, and I got a job selling outdoor equipment at the Mountain Shoppe in Bremerton.

I hadn’t been so happy since I was a child. I decided I wanted a future being outside as much as possible.

As a student at The Evergreen State College, I began to learn about how humans were harming the natural world.  At first I was angry, depressed and frustrated. I wrote long, ranting speeches and poems, which I never shared.

One day as drove home from grocery shopping at Safeway, I realized it wasn’t fair for me to rant unless I was part of the solution. I sold my car and started riding my bike and the bus everywhere. I started eating only organic food and learned about buying in bulk. I started working at a consignment store and began buying only used clothes.

I realized the best way to help the natural world’s was to teach youth and from then on I have dedicated my passion and most of my energy to outdoor, environmental education.

I spent a few carless years working for outdoor education organizations in any capacity I could. During and after college I:

• did an internship with the YMCA Earth Service Corps
• did logistics for Outward Bound (in the High Sierra and Joshua Tree in California)
• taught snowboarding at Steven’s Pass
• taught ecology, natural and human history, canoeing, hiking and ropes courses for Naturalists At Large throughout California
• was a dogsledding guide in Leadville, Colorado
• lead kayak camps in Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island and Port Orchard

Things changed in my thirties – I bought a car, I give in to my Cheetos cravings, I occasionally eat out at chain restaurants. I worked for BabyLegs out of Seattle, which flew and drove me all over the country, to England and to Uganda. I got a certificate in sustainable business and helped get the Seattle Ski Shuttle, then came back to Kitsap.

I now live a relatively quiet life and try to have as little negative impact on the natural world as possible, though I don’t stress about it. I continue to learn and share my experiences along the way.

Adults are Kids, Too

I came back to Kitsap to be the Program Director for the Olympic Outdoor Center. I taught kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, standup paddleboarding, rock climbing and marine life to youth and adults.

While teaching kayaking, I realized that adults are just big kids who sometimes forget how to play. I see the same joy on the faces of both youth and adults – joy to be alive and having fun outside with seals, salmon and eagles.

My desire is that each person I come into contact with feels a little of that joy and is inspired to make choices to help preserve, protect and enhance the natural world that I love so much.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, thoughts, edits and sustainability ideas. You can reach me at SpringCourtright@gmail.com, find me on my personal Facebook page, or…

Join one of my upcoming trips:

Snowshoeing at Hurricane Ridge – February 23 with Bainbridge Island Parks and Recreation. No experience needed, all ages welcome. Snowshoes and transportation included ($45/person, details at bottom of page 31). Meet on Bainbridge.

Birding Kayak Tour with George Gerst – March 23 in Poulsbo with the Olympic Outdoor Center. No experience needed, all equipment, a lesson, seal viewing and a snack are included.

Wildlife Kayak Tour FUNdraiser – April 26 in Poulsbo for the Poulsbo Marine Science Center. No experience needed. Included: all equipment, kayaking lesson, seal viewing, a private tour of the Marine Science Center and a locally smoked salmon snack.

WOW: Women On Water kayak tours and classes – starting March 22. Paddle on the Kitsap Peninsula Water Trail, share a meal with other fun ladies and get paddling tips along the way. Trips and classes for beginner to intermediate paddlers.

All Grrls Outdoor Adventure Camp – August 18-22 on Bainbridge Island. For girls ages 8-12. Kayak, standup paddleboard, hike, mountain bike, have a beach party, learn Leave No Trace ethics, pet sea cucumbers, and much more.

Coming soon – women’s reTREATs at my house in the woods! Curious? Contact me any time with questions or ideas: SpringCourtright@gmail.com.

Wishing you happy, sustainable adventuring!

Spring