conservation education

Do you love working with kids, gardening, learning and spending time outdoors in all kinds of weather? Well, come on out and join our amazing Volunteer Education Team! 

We are gearing up for, yet another, fantastic Fall Season here at Sauvie Island Center (SIC) with hopes that you will be joining us! 

Our Volunteer Educators lead small groups of elementary school students through hands-on, farm-based lessons on pollination, healthy soil, plant parts, the food web and planting and harvesting in the Grow Lunch Garden. We strive to provide quality, experiential learning opportunities for students and are seeking energetic and flexible field trip leaders to help us accomplish this goal.

The full day New Volunteer Educator Training will be held on Friday, September 14th from 8:45 am to 3:00 pm, at Howell Territorial Park on Sauvie Island.Lunch will be provided. (Please let me know of any dietary restrictions you may have).This training is for those who desire to become a Volunteer Educator for the Fall 2012 Season and have never before attended our Volunteer Educator Training. Our physical address is: 13901 NW Howell Park Rd - Portland, OR 97231Here is a cut and paste link to our website for directions: http://www.sauvieislandcenter.org/about/directions/

We will meet at the large, red barn behind the 2-story, white Howell House. Please park in the designated 'Public Parking' area in front of the Howell House and walk back to the barn.RSVP to jennifer@sauvieislandcenter.org by September 11th for the Volunteer Educator Training Day.Our Fall Field Trips will be offered on Tuesdays, some Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays beginning Tuesday, September 18th and run through Thursday, November 15th. Volunteer Educators are asked to be available from 8:45am to 2pm on field trip days. We ask that you be able to commit to at least four (4) Field Trips during the Fall 2012 Season. 

Please email your completed Volunteer application form found on our website (http://www.sauvieislandcenter.org/get-involved/volunteer/) to:

Jennifer James, Education Program Manager - jennifer@sauvieislandcenter.org

 We will also ask you to fill out a Background Check at the Volunteer Educator Training Day. We will need to see a current photo ID in order for the form to be valid. The Background Check is required in order to work with youth. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. 

Volunteers make this work possible!!! Thank You!

Join us for an immersion into the world of mushrooms and mushroom cultivation. Learn how to grow mushrooms at home, using simple, low-tech methods that utilize free and easily obtainable resources. Set up your back yard garden patch and keep your mushrooms thriving! Also learn basic mushroom taxonomy, ecological niches, and common edible and medicinal mushrooms that you can grow or harvest locally. Everyone receives printed instruction materials. A limited number of spawn kits will be available for purchase for $10-20.

A rain garden is a sunken garden bed that captures stormwater and allows it to soak back into the ground naturally. Part of a larger effort to reduce stormwater runoff and pollution from entering local waterways, this workshop provides step-by-step details on how to decide the best size & placement, which plants to choose, and how to build and maintain your new rain garden. Learn how a rain garden can add beauty to your yard and help restore overloaded urban streams at the same time! Participants receive a free how-to manual, and where possible, take a field trip to a nearby rain garden. Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Register at www.emswcd.org. Information: 503-222-7645

Dig into sustainable gardening! Naturescaping is the practice of using native plants to create sustainable landscapes that are good for people, animals and the environment. Learn how to design a low-maintenance, chemical-free landscape that conserves water and minimizes pollution, all while saving you time, money and energy! You’ll get natural gardening and landscape design tips, take a field trip to a nearby naturescaped garden, and receive a comprehensive workbook and a native plant to get started!Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Register online at www.emswcd.org. Information: 503-222-7645

A rain garden is a sunken garden bed that captures stormwater and allows it to soak back into the ground naturally. Part of a larger effort to reduce stormwater runoff and pollution from entering local waterways, this workshop provides step-by-step details on how to decide the best size & placement, which plants to choose, and how to build and maintain your new rain garden. Learn how a rain garden can add beauty to your yard and help restore overloaded urban streams at the same time! Participants receive a free how-to manual, and where possible, take a field trip to a nearby rain garden. Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Register at www.emswcd.org. Information: 503-222-7645