There is a YETI roaming South King County, but it doesn’t hide in snowcapped mountains. Instead, this YETI has spent years introducing hundreds of students to Washington’s wilderness wonders.
The Youth Experiential Training Institute (Y.E.T.I.) is a South King County-based nonprofit that hosts outdoor programs where kids can get outside and into nature, completely free of charge.
King County Parks is proud to have awarded Y.E.T.I. $400,000 in grant funding over the last five years to support their programming, primarily through the Healthy Community and Parks grants powered by the Parks Levy. That investment is paying off in a big way.
Meeting Students Where They Are
The heart of Y.E.T.I.’s programming is running nine after-school clubs across the Tukwila and Highline School Districts, serving schools where the majority of students identify as BIPOC and many come from low-income households. These are communities that have historically had fewer pathways into outdoor recreation, and Y.E.T.I. is working to change that. The organization provides everything: transportation, gear, food, trained instructors, and staff supervision. Students only need to show up with curiosity.
Each afterschool club meets at least once a week where a teacher, a Y.E.T.I. staff member, and volunteers lead the students in outdoor programming like hiking, fishing or just exploring a forest and climbing trees like only kids can.
The growth speaks for itself: at Foster High School, 17 students recently signed up for a hike, compared to just 4 students who took the same opportunity the year before. At Pacific and Sylvester Middle Schools, more than 50 students are now participating monthly at each school. The 5th graders at Cascade View Elementary liked their Y.E.T.I. club so much that they founded a new chapter when they graduated on to Showalter Middle School.
This growth was part of the plan for Y.E.T.I. Executive Director David Dunphy who applied for King County Parks grant funding to expand their ability to bring South King County students outdoors.
“We know that time in nature and outdoor adventure can profoundly impact a young person’s physical and mental health,” Dunphy said. “Our work over the last 17 years has shown there is no shortage of interest in these opportunities. Y.E.T.I. is so grateful for the collaboration with the county that allows hundreds more young people to enjoy the benefits of their public lands, support their personal growth and plant the seeds of stewardship for years to come.”
Y.E.T.I. also offers open enrollment programs where students outside their after-school clubs can get involved with outdoor adventures and overnight trips. Their Spring Break series features four consecutive day trips with different activities each day, so students can try hiking, biking, and kayaking all in one week.
A Year of Adventure
In 2025 alone, Y.E.T.I. offered 234 free outdoor adventures, served more than 550 students, and helped young people log over 7,500 hours spent outdoors. Students in the 9 after-school clubs can also opt-in to any of the 30 weekend adventures Y.E.T.I. offered, which included trips rock climbing at Vantage, mountain biking at Duthie Hill, snowboarding at Stevens Pass, and even a mountaineering trip to Mt. Adams.
“By starting local and building toward longer trips, we help students integrate the outdoors into their daily lives,” Dunphy said. “The Parks Levy allows us to provide those powerful ‘firsts’—seeing a waterfall, playing in mountain snow, or paddling a lake—that stay with a young person forever. The goal is to help kids grow up with outdoor adventure as a natural part of their childhood rather than a one-time event.”
These weekend trips give students a chance to get farther into nature and try activities outside their comfort zone. Soleaa, a student at Showalter Middle School in Tukwila, has been part of Y.E.T.I. since elementary school, joining after-school and weekend adventures year after year.
Speaking about her first time kayaking, Soleaa said, ““Everyone on the Y.E.T.I. team was really encouraging, even though I had no idea what I was doing and was bumping into a lot of things. That’s what Y.E.T.I. is all about. Failing, learning, and getting back up.”
There are so many obstacles to young people getting outdoors like lack of equipment, transportation, and even knowing where to go. Y.E.T.I. lowers the barrier of entry by starting students off in local parks by their school, building a community of their peers, and empowering them to plan all the fun parts of an outdoor adventure.
“I love Y.E.T.I.’s mission to help encourage kids who thought maybe they couldn’t do certain things outdoors, things they thought weren’t possible for them,” Soleaa said. “Y.E.T.I. helps make it possible.”
About Healthy Communities and Parks Grants
The King County Parks Healthy Communities and Parks grant program was established in 2020 and has invested $8.1 million to support 128 projects in local communities over the last six years.
With the passage of the 2026 – 2031 Parks Levy, this grant program will triple the funds available to $30 million for community projects over the next six years to help those with the least access to outdoor spaces participate in the benefits of parks and recreation.