Seattle · Licensed center

Fiddleheads Forest School

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What the state has found

Someone reported a concern to the state, and in March 2026 the state found it valid. The state cited no rules at any of its 3 licensing inspections since March 2024.

Of the 405 Seattle-area centers with 3 licensing inspections, 11% had no rules cited at any of them, as this center did. 33% had rules cited at all 3.

Complaints the state found valid

Someone reported a concern. The state investigated and found reasonable cause to believe a licensing rule was broken.

Received Feb 12, 2026Valid complaintresolved Mar 18, 2026

  • “A volunteer trained in the Benefit Risk assessment placed a child on a root climber resulting in the child falling leading to climbing natural feature concerns.”

    The state’s description of the complaint

The state’s report (PDF)

Of the 205 Seattle-area centers licensed for 41 to 70 children, 157 (77%) have no valid complaint in the last three years; 48 (23%) have one or more, as this center does.

Licensing inspections

Feb 25, 2026No rules cited
Nov 13, 2024No rules cited
Mar 27, 2024No rules cited
Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Washington DCYF

Last visit
February 25, 2026
On file
3 visits since March 2024 — all of them cited nothing · 1 complaint investigation
Fixed?
Nothing was cited, so there is nothing to correct.
Most serious
Nothing was cited at any visit on file.

Washington DCYF publishes the licensor’s own observation and a risk level for every citation it issues at a licensing visit, with the inspection report attached as a PDF.

Feb 2026 Licensing visit nothing cited Report (PDF)
Feb 2026 Complaint 1 valid issue

Complaint · Received February 12, 2026 · Resolved March 18, 2026

“A volunteer trained in the Benefit Risk assessment placed a child on a root climber resulting in the child falling leading to climbing natural feature concerns.”

The state’s description of the complaint

The state’s report (PDF)

Nov 2024 Licensing visit nothing cited Report (PDF)
Mar 2024 Licensing visit nothing cited Report (PDF)

Shortlist replaces people’s names in the state’s text with initials. This is done by rule, not by hand, so it can miss a name or shorten a word that isn’t one. The state’s report, linked on each row, has the original.

Openings, Working Connections subsidy, cost, hours and late pickup, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.

How they teach

Nature and outdoor

“Welcome to Fiddleheads Forest School, Seattle’s pioneering outdoor preschool.”

Details

(206) 616-5261

Website
botanicgardens.uw.edu
Address
2300 Arboretum Drive E
License
PL-81551, active
Quality program
Early Achievers Enrolled
Ages they serve
ages 3-6

Nearby

The eight closest of the 10 other licensed centers in ZIP 98112

All in ZIP 98112

Run Fiddleheads Forest School? Correct or add anything here, free.

Add what is missing
Sources and dates

Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.

How they teach

State record

From Washington DCYF’s published reports, last checked October 10, 2026.

Details

Medium means the middle half of Seattle-area’s 859 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 41 to 114 children. Small is 6 to 40; large is 115 to 323.

The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.

Nearby

The other centers’ visit lines are from Washington DCYF’s published reports as Shortlist read them on October 9, 2026.