HAWKs (Hiking Adventures With Kids) is a nature-based outdoor education program where children hike, explore, and fall in love with the natural world through child-led discovery. Experienced naturalist educators create safe, fun environments for kids to learn about local wildlife, develop trail skills, and build lasting confidence and connection to the outdoors. 

HAWKs was founded in Los Angeles in 2022 by Emma Flanders and Martha E. Flores.  

HAWKs was created in direct response to a growing disconnect between children and the outdoors. The founders saw that most kids' enrichment options were indoor, screen-adjacent, or heavily structured — and that there was no scalable program designed around the simple, powerful idea of getting children outside, moving freely, and learning through real discovery. 

Using Los Angeles's diverse parks, trails, and green spaces as outdoor classrooms, they built a model that required no brick-and-mortar locations, could flex across regions and seasons, and put trained naturalist educators — not screens or facilities — at the center of the experience. We move that legacy forward in the Treasure Valley of Idaho at HAWKs Kids - Meridian!