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About Us
Coastal Adventures
Founded in 2006, Coastal Adventures (formerly Upgrade Children's Center) was opened in Princeton-by-the-Sea, by Jon and Heather Lowings.
Coastal Adventures is an outdoor education and adventures program. We offer daily outdoor adventures, arts, crafts and active games for children. Since its inception, it has fostered everything Jon loves - children, nature, adventure, learning, and just good ole’ fun. But more importantly, thousands of children have and continue to build friendships, explore the Coastside, build confidence and strength, and above all a develop a lifelong respect for nature.
Jon revels in watching children mature and encourages children to explore and push their boundaries, inspiring personal growth and confidence within them.
Jon Lowings - Program Director
Jon grew up on the Coastside. As a boy he spent his free time climbing trees, exploring beaches, building forts, and playing games. This fostered a deep love and respect for the outdoors that followed Jon into adulthood.
After graduating from Half Moon Bay High School, Jon continued to live on the coast, where he studied Recreational Administration at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo. There he ran the Junior Rangers Program, which inspired his passion for working with children. Jon continued to inspire and educate children in Earth stewardship, working for local state parks during the summer.
Jon moved back to the Coastside and spent the next 10 years directing the Kings Mountain Children’s Center before deciding to go back to school to attain his teaching credentials. And although he loved teaching children, he struggled with the sedentary nature of the curriculum and tight boundaries of the classroom. He recognized how deeply the children wanted to move, explore, be active, and just play; and he wanted to do that with them. And so, Upgrade Children’s Center (now Coastal Adventures) was born.
Jon and his wife Michele have two children, Sam and Claire, who both thoroughly enjoyed their UpGrade experience. During his free time, Jon adventures with his family, climbing trees, exploring beaches, building forts, and playing games. He loves to coach baseball, help in classrooms, and is an avid surfer.