K-12 Education at the Environmental Learning Center

The Environmental Learning Center offers three field trips that will immerse your students in discovering and exploring the beautiful wetland and forest ecosystems.

Thanks to generous support from the agencies listed below, and their commitment to healthy watersheds, some field trips are available at no cost for schools in their districts. If you think your school is in one of these districts, please contact sarah.bidwell@clackamas.edu for more information.

• Who: Ages K-5 (classroom with teachers)
• When: Two hours (select days), fall 2022 and spring 2023
• Where: Environmental Learning Center, Oregon City campus
• Cost: Pricing varies depending on school district and class size. Please inquire with our Children's Program Director for pricing details to ensure you register for the correct field trip: sarah.bidwell@clackamas.edu. 

LET'S GET DUCKY: DISCOVERING WETLAND WILDLIFE

Grades: K-1

Wetlands make up only about 5% of the earth's surface, yet they are crucial habitat for a wide array of plants and animals. During their visit, students will learn about several species of wildlife that live in and around our wetland. Field trip activities include solving wildlife mysteries, playing wildlife games and observing the wetland.

NGSS alignment: Relationships in the Environment (K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1), Exploration of Plants and Animals (1-LS1-1).

WELCOME HOME: EXPLORING WETLAND AND FOREST HABITATS

Grades: 2-3

Wetlands and forests are important habitats to a diversity of plants and animals. This field excursion will give your students a better understanding of how these habitats provide clean water, food, shelter and space. Field trip activities include discovering macroinvertebrates in the wetland, exploring micro habitats in the forest, building wildlife shelters and observing the wetland.

NGSS alignment: Diversity of Life (2-LS2-1, 2-LS4-1), Growth and Development of Organisms (3-LS1-1), Traits and Organisms Influenced by Environment (3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4).

HEALTHY WATERSHEDS: HOW DO WE GET THERE?

Grades: 4-5

We all live in a watershed, but what does that really mean? In this field trip, a variety of activities and games will engage students in learning about the inter-connections that exist within a watershed, including how our actions can impact the water quality, the people and the wildlife within it. Students will measure the quality of water in our wetland and experiment with the role that soil plays in filtering pollutants from the water.

NGSS alignment: Natural Hazards and Steps to Reduce Their Impacts (3-ESS3-1), Interpreting Earth Features from Maps (4-ESS2-2), Using Science to Protect Earth Resources and the Environment (5-ESS3-1)

For more information, contact Sarah Bidwell, ELC Kids' Education Coordinator, sarah.bidwell@clackamas.edu.

Register

Nature Striders is the Environmental Learning Center’s preschool program for ages 2 – 5. This program will give you and your little one a chance to explore nature together through activities like story time, crafts and walks in the forest/wetland habitat. Each session includes both indoor and outdoor activities, so be sure to dress for the weather!

Who: Ages 2-5 and their caregivers

Cost: $10 per child (caregivers are free)

When: Programs are held on the third Wednesday of the month, 10-11:30 a.m. 

Where: Environmental Learning Center at the Oregon City campus  

Register

Upcoming programs

• Sept. 21, 2022: Spiders
  Discover the diversity of fascinating spiders and their intricate webs.
• Oct. 19, 2022: Trees are Terrific!
  Meet and learn about the superheroes of the forest: trees!
• Nov. 16, 2022: Fungus Among Us
  Discover the rich variety of fungus living all around us.
• Dec. 21, 2022: Winter’s Slumber
  Learn about some of the animals that take long naps in the winter.
• Jan. 18, 2023: Tracks: Clues that Tell a Story
  Solve track mysteries and learn to "read" the tracks left behind by our wildlife neighbors.
• Feb. 15, 2023: T-Rex at the ELC?
  Observe and discover the modern-day dinosaurs living all around us: birds!
• March 15, 2023: Whoo-oo is it?
  Learn about owls and their special features that make them silent hunters of the night.
• April 19, 2023: Frogs Hop to it!
  Explore the wetland for different kinds of frogs that live in our area.
• May 17, 2023: Mamma Built a Little Nest
  Explore and discover the variety of bird nests in and around our wetland.
• June 21, 2023: The Salamander Room
  Learn about our amphibian friends, the salamanders, explore our wetland area for salamanders and create our own salamander "rooms."

Register

Thanks to our sponsor Clackamas River Water Providers!

The ELC's Nature Spy Explorer Kits are sent right to your door and have all the supplies your budding naturalist will need to learn, create, and play for the winter. Engaging crafts, fun facts and playful activities will help them discover the natural world that surrounds them – from the comfort of home and neighborhood! Kits are designed for children ages 4-8, although we hear that older children enjoy them too.

The kit includes:

• Easy to follow instructions
• Materials for creating one nature-themed craft
• Nature journal page with fun facts
• Activities to keep them exploring all week long
• A nature guide or storybook

Three Wild About Winter explorer kits:

1. Nature Spy tracker
   Use air-dry clay and paints to make animal tracks. Make a Track Trap and see who's out and about in your neighborhood at night! Head outside to play tracking bingo. Use the journal page to reflect on wildlife signs in your neighborhood or park, and try to solve the track mystery.
2. Mosses, Lichens and Ferns - Oh My!
   Design and build a beautiful terrarium of mosses, lichens and ferns. Record your observations and get creative in inventing a new lichen species! Go on a scavenger hunt to find a variety of mosses, lichens and ferns in your local natural area.
3. Whoooo are the Owls?
   Build a nighttime forest scene with owls hiding in the trees and glow-in-the-dark moon and stars. Explore owl habitat, hiding places and signs of owls and color an owl picture. Dissect an owl pellet and discover what your owl ate! 

Cost:

• $35 each (includes shipping)
• Limited number of scholarship (free) kits available

Shipping:

• Kits are available to order now
• Shipping begins Feb. 2, 2023

For questions about our explorer kits, email Jill Sorber at jill.sorber@clackamas.edu

Purchase Your Kit

Spring Break Camp and Kits: Spring into Nature

Spring is a magical time in nature with seeds sprouting, buds opening, birds singing and baby animals being born. This spring break, the ELC offers a range of opportunities for exploring the renewal and rebirth of nature in spring:

One-day camps include nature-based games and discovery onsite at the ELC's beautiful wetland. Nature Spy Explorer Kits with crafts and activities are included to take home.

One-day camp and the explorer kits are appropriate for children ages 5-8.

WHEN

Camp activities are the same each day, so please sign up for one day only.

• Full-day camp: Monday, March 27, 2023, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Full-day camp: Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Half-day camp: Thursday, March 30, 2023, 9 a.m.-noon

COST

• Full-day camps (Monday and Wednesday): $130
  • As part of the cost, campers receive two Nature Spy Explorer Kits: Spring Into Nature and Bug Safari ($85 value), which include activities to engage your child in discovering nature all week long.
• Half-day camp (Thursday): $60
  • As part of the cost, campers receive the Spring into Nature Explorer Kit ($50 value), which include activities to engage your child in discovering nature all week long.

A limited number of scholarships are available to families with a demonstrated need.

For more information, email Sarah Bidwell, ELC Kids' Education Coordinator, at sarah.bidwell@clackamas.edu.

Register Now

Thanks to support from Clackamas Water Environment Services, Oak Lodge Water Services and Gladstone Public Works for making these programs accessible to students in their districts. 

What: Join us virtually as one of our instructors leads you on an exploration of a specific aspect of the Environmental Learning Center watershed habitat.

We would love to take comments and questions from you or your students during the programs (if your school allows online interaction).

Join us on Zoom, or view a recording at your convenience. Using Google Meets? No problem. We have instructions for sharing a Zoom screen through Google Meets.

For each program that you register, you will receive:

• Zoom link to the livestream program
• Student activity sheet
• Recording of the episode

When: Every Tuesday (ten episodes total), Jan. 10 – March 14, 2023. Attending all episodes is not required.

Wild About Water (register here)

• When: 10-10:20 a.m.
• Grades: K-3 

Wild in The Wetland (register here)

• When: 10:30-10:50 a.m.
• Grades: 4-5

Schedule:

• Jan. 10: (K-3) Go With The Flow

                      (4-5) Where Are You in the Watershed?

• Jan. 17: Mighty Tiny Wetland Creatures

• Jan. 24: Plants With Wet Feet

• Jan. 31: (K-3) Beavers – Nature’s Builders

                      (4-5) Watershed Health Art Project

• Feb. 7: Animal Homes

• Feb. 14: Wetland Wildlife in Winter

• Feb. 21: Duck, Duck, No Goose

• Feb. 28: (K-3) Nature’s Recyclers

                      (4-5) Raccoon The Masked Bandit

• March 7: Water Check-up

• March 14: Water on the Move

We are excited to offer virtual field trips for educators thanks to support from Clackamas Water Environment Services, the city of Gladstone and Oak Lodge Water Services!

WATER IS LIFE

Grades: K-2 

Description: Every drop of water around us could ultimately be linked to the life-sustaining waters in our rivers. In this engaging virtual field trip, students will explore the wetland and surrounding forest at the Environmental Learning Center. They will explore aquatic life, the movement of water in the ecosystem and the concept that healthy water supports life everywhere.

WELCOME TO THE WATERSHED

Grades: 3-5 

Description: Watersheds are home to lots of animals, plants and waterways that are connected to each other in interesting ways. In this field trip, students will learn about how trees and other plants provide food, shelter, and places for animals to raise their young, and the special role that wetlands play in cleaning the water. They will also explore what it means for water to be healthy and how to give water a health check-up.

Virtual Field Trips Videos