The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, the City of Tacoma, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and Tacoma Metro Parks are joining forces with cultural institutions throughout the South Sound to present this year’s Youth Heritage Project’s (YHP) summer field school for high school students and teachers from across the state. As part of this year’s focus on our area’s maritime history, participants will spend an evening at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum exploring the stories and historic structures of the first European settlement on Puget Sound.

YHP is a 5-day (overnight) history camp that connects high school age youth to historic, cultural, and natural resources in Washington. YHP is designed to introduce historic preservation to youth and excite the next generation of leaders that will advocate for and protect our historic places. The dates for camp this year are July 11-15.

This year, YHP will take place in downtown Tacoma, focusing on the National Maritime Heritage Area that has been proposed for Washington State. For many communities in Washington, including Tacoma, this heritage area would promote tourism and increase public awareness of the importance of Washington’s waterways to its history, economy, and development.

You can look forward to:

– Taking a ride on a historic fishing vessel and even get a chance to pilot it

– Visiting a former “rails to sails” warehouse that once stretched over a mile

– Helping with a boat building project at a local woodshop

. . . and much more!

Each year at YHP we ask students to reflect on their experiences and demonstrate what they’ve learned by creating and presenting group projects. This year we are excited to try something new by having our students produce projects with video components. We will be teaching participants about the power of visual storytelling and guiding them as they learn new skills to help them document and share what they learn about Washington’s maritime heritage.

In order to make the Youth Heritage Project accessible to all, full program scholarships covering lodging, meals, programming, and travel during YHP activities will be awarded to all accepted applicants. Additional financial assistance to travel to the YHP site is also available.

For more information and application details check website (http://preservewa.org/) or call 206-624-9449.

      – Washington Trust for Historic Preservation