educational course

Join us for a day of fun and learning at Family Fun on the Farm day. School is out for the day and you're invited to Sauvie Island Center's Family Farm Day on Friday, October 9th from 10 am to noon. We'll explore the 16-acre Sauvie Island Organics farm and the grounds of Howell Territorial Park while learning about food, farming and the land. Our staff will guide you and your family through an exploration of our curriculum, designed for elementary school-aged children, including:

• Soil Exploration. Dig in and learn about healthy soil.
• Seed to Harvest. Plant, tend and harvest the Grow Lunch Garden.
• Healthy Snacks. Taste fresh veggies that you can use at home to create yummy snacks!
• Plant Parts Investigation. Explore the farm and plants we can eat.
• Wildlife & Food web. Who else has been foraging on the farm?
• Pollination Station. Meet these hard-working farm friends.

The event is free, but pre-registration is requested.

Vermont Creek is located in southwest Portland and is a tributary of Fanno Creek. Vermont Creek is home to native fish, lamprey and cavity nesting birds including a variety of owls. Volunteers will be planting native trees including red alder, western red cedar as well as native shrubs like snowberry. Volunteers will also be mulching. Planting native trees and shrubs will provide shade, prevent erosion and improve fish and wildlife habitat.

Register online here: http://solveoregon.org/get-involved/events/vermont-creek-community-plant...

Interested in the animals that live on Mt Hood?  Love to snowshoe?  Join the Wolverine Tracking Project and help search for rare carnivores and other wildlife on Mt Hood.  Develop animal tracking skills, enjoy group trips in a winter wonderland, and help increase knowledge of rare wildlife.  

There are 4 sets of training dates to choose from.  Last set of training dates:

Classroom session: Tuesday, Dec 8, 6:30-8:30pm, at Cascadia Wild, 5431 NE 20th Ave.

Field session: Sunday, Dec 13, 9-noon, at Oxbow Park.

Survey trips take place all winter long.

For more information and to register: www.cascadiawild.org/wolverine-tracking-project.html

Interested in the animals that live on Mt Hood?  Love to snowshoe?  Join the Wolverine Tracking Project and help search for rare carnivores and other wildlife on Mt Hood.  Develop animal tracking skills, enjoy group trips in a winter wonderland, and help increase knowledge of rare wildlife.  

There are 4 sets of training dates to choose from.  Second set of training dates:

Classroom session: Wednesday, Nov 11, 6:30-8:30pm, at Cascadia Wild, 5431 NE 20th Ave.

Field session: Sunday, Nov 15, 9-noon, at Oxbow Park.

Survey trips take place all winter long.

For more information and to register:  www.cascadiawild.org/wolverine-tracking-project.html

Second Sunday event at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse:
"Celebrate Cedar" With Cowlitz artist and Weaver, Judy Bridges

Where:  Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge:  28908 NW Main Ave, Ridgefield, WA 98642

When:    September 13, 2015
 

12pm - 4pm:

Plankhouse Tours and Children's activities

• Cedar Weaving and bark processing demonstrations by weaving and artist Judy Bridges
• Hands on demonstrations of Cedar Plank Splitting, Cedar bark pounding, and other hands on activities.

2:00 pm: Naturalist Led Hike "Cedar, Tree of life"

Cost:   Refuge admission is $3 per vehicle

Join us for a day of demonstrations and hands on activities celebrating an icon of the Pacific Northwest, the Western Red Cedar.  The Western Red Cedar tree is highly honored by many Native Peoples in the Northwest for the role that it plays in their lifeways and cultures. Since time immemorial, Cedar has supported the needs of people by providing homes, clothing, canoes, medicine, and many other items people need to thrive. Many of these Cedar traditions are still vibrant in Native communities today, and Cowlitz weaver Judy Bridges will be in the Plankhouse demonstrating cedar weaving and bark processing techniques. There will also be opportunities to try your hand at splitting a cedar log, pounding cedar bark for fiber, and at 2:00, a Refuge Naturalist will lead a hike around the Oaks to Wetlands trail, exploring the connection between people, wildlife, and cedar.

You can also check out the ample wildlife watching opportunities on the River 'S' Unit Auto Tour Driving Route. Check the Friends website www.ridgefieldfriends.org for maps of Refuge trails, or contact Plankhouse Director Sarah Hill at sarah_hill@fws.gov, or call (360) 887-4106.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse, and the house will now be open weekends from12pm-4pm. Every second Sunday of the month from April - Oct the Plankhouse will host a special event with speakers, guided hikes, and children's activities. For more information on the upcoming events, visit www.ridgefieldfriends.org/plankhouse/programs . 

Funding for these programs has been generously provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, the Community Foundation for SW Washington, and Umpqua Bank. 

The Cathlapotle Plankhouse is a contemporary Chinookan Plankhouse built to interpret the Chinookan village of Cathlapotle that exists on what is now called the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. When Lewis and Clark visited Cathlapotle, it had 14 large plankhouses and a population of over 900 people.  The contemporary Cathlapotle Plankhouse is used to provide educational programs to youth and the general public through our Lifeways, Landscapes, and Wildlife Interpretive Program. To learn more about the Plankhouse visit www.ridgefieldfriends.org or contact Sarah Hill at Sarah_Hill@fws.gov or (360) 887-4106.