seasonal natural interest

Build your child's sense of wonder about nature and invite them to explore wildlife and the world around them. Games, songs, new friends, crafts, and adventure make this a good camp for young children.  Dress for the weather. Suitable for ages 4 - 6 years. Advanced registration required; call 503/629-6350. An assessment fee will be charged for out-of-district patrons.

These rainy days of winter give us plenty o fmud in the park! We will explore the magic of mud as we mix it, paint with it, plant with it and stomp in it! Make sure to wear your mud boots and bring an extra change of clothes in case we get dirty.

Want to learn about birds of prey? Take a class and get primed for raptor viewing! Find out why these birds abound during the winter in the Willamette Valley.
Love the Raptor Road Trip? Do it again with your own naturalist! Grab your binoculars (or borrow some from us) and pack a lunch! We will drive to Sauvie Island to watch raptors and waterfowl.

Classroom program #393295
Tuesday, February 12
6:30pm-8:00pm age: 12 & up
Peninsula Park Community Center (700 N Rosa Parks Way)
$10Field trip to Sauvie Island #393295
Saturday, February 16
9:00am-1:00pm age: 12 & up
Transportation from Portland provided! Meet at Hollywood Fred Meyer
$18
Register for both the class & field trip for $28. Go online or call 503-823-2525.
Here's what past trip participants thought...
"I learned a lot - makes me want to learn more. It was fun - excellent instructor."
"Elvira was great!"

Are you wanting to get out of the house? Or learn ways you can help the environment in your Neighborhood? Two Saturdays a month, staff from the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, neighborhood organizations and volunteers will travel to different sites around the watershed to do restoration and management of invasive species, and we always need more volunteers!

Join the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, the Wilkes community, and volunteers to clean up the beautiful, two-acre Wilkes Creek Natural Area. The Watershed Council, SOLV and the Wilkes community have been restoring this site since 2003, removing weeds and litter and planting hundreds of native plants. The Columbia Slough Watershed Council will be working with the Wilkes community in the coming years to ensure that this natural area continues to thrive with community stewardship activities.

Tools, gloves, and snacks will be provided, but participants should come prepared for all weather conditions.

Already know how to identify morels but having trouble moving beyond that? In the class, we will learn what those specialized mycological terms really mean, so that you will feel comfortable using keys to identify wild mushrooms that you find. Bring mushrooms you wish to have identified. The instructor will also bring a variety of 'shrooms so that we will be able to see first hand what the different terms mean. We will use various keys, but will focus the most on those in the popular mushroom guide for this area, "Mushrooms Demystified." This class is suitable both for beginners and advanced students.   

When: Monday, November 5th    Time: 6:00-8:30     Cost: $25

Tired of seeing English Ivy take over natural areas and push out native plants? Wish it could be used to make something both beautiful and useful? You’re in luck! Rewild Portland will be holding a special ivy pull and ivy basketry workshop during Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge's annual celebration, BirdFest. The restoration event will be on the Saturday, October 13th, on the Carty Unit of the Refuge. From 9am to 11am, join the folks from Rewild Portland as they pull English Ivy and help restore refuge habitat. From 12 - 4, they will be teaching workshop participants how to turn the ivy pulled into artful and utilitarian baskets. Both the pull and the workshop are on a drop in basis, so feel free to join for the pull, the workshop, or both!