family friendly

The Nature Park Interpretive Center will host an open house for anyone interested in learning about Nature Kids Preschool. Stop in to meet the teachers, experience the programs, ask questions and register for the 2014-15 school year. Children are welcome.

Be blown away by youth that demonstrate a passion for restoring the health of the environment! Join us at our next Sharing Ideas event, featuring the Roosevelt High School Science Club, a group of students determined to counteract pollution in North Portland. These local youth are experimenting with planters that recycle polluted air into clean air and testing of air quality surrounding Roosevelt High School. They have been invited to Washington, D.C. later this year to present their findings.

Sharing Ideas events raise awareness of local grassroots efforts throughout Portland that strengthen community. Project presenters share the inspiration that launched their idea, how it moved into action, where they are today, and their hope for the future.

Everyone is invited. RSVP suggested online or by phone at 503.546.7499. Refreshments will be provided. Childcare (9 and under), transportation, and interpretation are provided upon request, with 48 hours advance notice.

Join wild food expert John Kallas and get hands-on experience on how some wild plants are processed for grain, flour, and essential oils. We'll see how to shell, grind, process and leach acorns so that they transform into wonderful additions to breads, muffins, pancakes, and pudding. By the end of the workshop we'll have gone from bitter acorns in the shell to a sweet acorn pudding that any normal human would enjoy. Also learn how to make a distillation setup from simple kitchen ware. We'll make a distillate from mint that you could use to flavor teas, use in cooking or aroma therapy. For information or to register visit the Wild Food Adventures workshops page.  Enrollment Limited! - Advanced registration reserves you a place in the workshop.

Join wild food expert John Kallas to investigate wild foods from marshes, fields, and woods -- including wapato or Indian potato, elderberry, wild cherry, and many other plants. This island was originally called Wapato Island by the Lewis and Clark expedition for its abundance of the plant. Wild blackberries should be ripe for picking while we are there, so bring some gathering containers if you wish to pick them after the workshop. For information or to register visit the Wild Food Adventures workshops page.  Enrollment Limited! - Advanced registration reserves you a place in the workshop.

Join wild food expert John Kallas to identify gather and eat many of the plants seen in the book: Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt to Plate, which John wrote. Visit an organic farm and make a delectable wild gourmet salad on the spot with other participants. We'll harvest traditional European edibles (growing as weeds) that the farmers would be pulling. Learn how to identify common, plentiful, nutritious, and flavorful wild vegetables in this adventure. Get real hands-on experience with plants you'll see on a farm and in your own garden. Take advantage of these readily available sources of nutrients, and dietary variety. Traditional wild Eruopean edibles (gourmet greens and vegetables) plant themselves, enjoy the rich moist growing environment of the garden, and provide many seasons of foods that can add meal options you never dreamed of before. Once your learn these wild foods you can change from a "weeding" to a "harvesting" mentality in your own garden, yard, and neighborhood. Watch a news short on "Edible Weeds" by Garden Time TV series here. For information or to register visit the Wild Food Adventures workshops page.  Enrollment Limited! - Advanced registration reserves you a place in the workshop.