conservation education

WORLD WETLANDS DAY: WETLANDS FOR THE FUTURE
Monday, February 2, 2015
Hedges Creek Planting
Tualatin, OR
10:00 AM-2:00 PM

We are kicking off our planting season and we hope you will join us!  World Wetlands Day is February 2 and we will be celebrating all month with native planting parties!  Snacks and tools provided.  

Also during the month of February, we will be co-hosting a worldwide wetlands photo contest for 15-24 year olds with the Ramsar Convention (an international treaty to ensure the conservation and wise use of wetlands everywhere).  Submit your wetland photo during World Wetlands Month and win a trip to a wetland of your choice, anywhere in the world!  Bring a friend, plant a tree, and take a picture to submit to the photo contest with us!  

To sign up, or ask questions about the event, or if you are under 18, contact our volunteer coordinator Courtney at courtneywilson@wetlandsconservancy.org.

The Children's Clean Water Festival is a one-day environmental education event for 4th and 5th grade students from around the Portland Metro area.  The Festival reinforces STEM, Common Core and Next Generation Science concepts through water-focused classroom presentations, exhibits and stage shows.  Each year more than 1,400 students from local schools come to a college campus for a day of learning and fun!  The Festival is an annual event open to schools in the Portland Metro area.  Our goal is to teach children that they are capable of having real, long-lasting, positive impacts on water resources, and to equip them with the information they need to do that in a fun and engaging way.

Every 25 minutes, class groups move from one event to another according to their personalized schedule.  Classroom presenters, stage shows and exhibitors set up in the morning and classes rotate through their presentations throughout the day.  Volunteer roles include:

 1.      Class Guide.  You will help guide a class around campus to their scheduled activities. Teachers and chaperones remain with your class throughout the Festival.

2.      General Festival Volunteer.  This is "behind-the-scenes" work that allows the Festival to run smoothly - setting out signs, directing traffic, assisting with lunch distribution, etc.

 It's fun and easy!  To sign-up, simply register at:  http://www.cleanwaterfestival.org/volunteers/volunteer-registration/

The Swainson's Thrushes have arrived!  Who, you say?  Then this easy introduction into the world of songbirds is for you! Let's say you've been going to Lunch with the Birds weekly, you've come on Morning Bird Song Walks, and you're still unsure about the difference between thrushes, tanagers and buntings. Put down your binoculars for a spell and get some basic information to help you make sense of the field marks and behaviors you see. Take an optional bird walk after the class.

Celebrate Earth Day and welcome the return of bats to Oregon with this introduction into their fascinating night-time world. Learn about bats around the world, how they live and why they are important. What threats do they face to their continued existence? Is it just coincidence that Oregon has fifteen species of owls AND bats? After the program we go outside with special bat detectors and listen for bats over Jackson Bottom!  Long-time JBWP volunteer, Wolfgang Dempke, presents this program.

Join us every Wednesday from noon - 1 pm for Lunch with the Birds! Bring binoculars and a field guide if you have them. A few pairs of loaner binoculars are available. We meet rain or shine and spend our time outside. This event is free for all ages and you do not need to pre-register.  All four May dates (6, 13, 20, 27) are held at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve Education Building.  The natural landscaped grounds around the building are wheelchair accessible.