educational course

Bring your teddy bears to class as we learn about their wild cousins.  Hear stories, meet other parents and kids, and see natural treasures up close.  Each class includes a simple craft or coloring project.  Weather permitting, we’ll take a short hike into the forest.  Parent participation required.  Suitable for ages 3-5 years. Advanced registration required; call 503/629-6350.  $8 per session.

Mini Nature Camps are half-day camps for young elementary age children filled with fun and adventure. Create crafts, play games, make new friends, and explore the trails and habitats of the park. Campers need to bring a snack, bottle of water, and small backpack each day. Mammal Mania: Discover the many mammals that live in the Nature Park each winter. We will examine their bones, pelts, and tracks.  Head out into the park to explore their habitats and learn about their winter adaptations. Suitable for ages 6 -9 years. Advanced registration required; call 503/629-6350. An assessment fee will be charged for out-of-district patrons. $52 for three days of half-day camp.

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22

Oxbow Regional Park is rich in tracks at this time of year, when mink, beaver, otter and black bear often leave clear footprints in the sand. Learn to read the ground like a book. Metro naturalist and tracker Dan Daly introduces you to basic track identification and interpretation, and the stealth skills needed to watch wildlife up close. Suitable for adults and children 10 and older. Bring water and a snack and meet at the floodplain parking area. Leave pets at home. Registration and payment of $11 per adult or family required in advance. There is a $5 parking fee per vehicle payable at the park. You can now register and pay online for Metro activities. Go to Metro’s online calendar (www.oregonmetro.gov/calendar), find your event by searching or browsing, and follow the instructions. For questions or to register by phone, call 503-797-1650 option 2.

Beginning mushroom classes 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 13, and 20 Spicy scents of autumn trees, giant golden leaves on maples and the silvery chatter of American dippers in the river. These are the smells, sights and sounds of Oxbow Regional Park in the autumn. Witness the return of wild salmon to one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier rivers – the glacier-fed Sandy – just 45 minutes from downtown Portland.

Celebrate the abundance of fall by exploring the incredible diversity of fungi in Oxbow’s ancient forest. In this beginners mushroom class learn the basics of mushrooms and other fungi and how to go about identifying this complicated group of strange and fascinating life forms. This hands-on introduction will get you started identifying mushrooms and deepen your appreciation of the amazing variety of shapes, colors, textures and smells that make these life forms so intriguing. Suitable for adults and children age 12 and older. Meet at Alder Shelter (group picnic area A) at 1:45 p.m. Free with a $5 parking fee per vehicle and registration is not required. Leave pets at home. For more information, call 503-797-1650 option 2

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!