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Connections with the Natural World in Action

Stormwater Stewards - Stormwater science lab and field activities for middle and high school students

The connected article presents in-depth and hands-on stormwater curricula which has been used successfully by many Portland teachers. It is our hope that educators interested in hydrology, urban ecology and engineering solutions to environmental problems will replicate or modify it for their use. It may be particularly useful for educators with stormwater mitigation sites on or near their school site.

Our ten-week inquiry aims to increase students’ environmental literacy, specifically their knowledge, dispositions and skills, and to teach students relevant ecological principles to...

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Teens in the Umpqua Explorers program gain self-confidence, friendships, and knowledge of the natural world.

Growing up in the lush Umpqua River Valley, a teenager might take for granted the rich natural heritage in his or her backyard.

The Douglas County Museum aims to change that.

“The museum is all about inspiring our community to see the big picture, and to feel like they're connected to each other and to the environment,” says Kelly Hibbert, Museum Education Coordinator.

For the past seven summers, Hibbert has led groups of 13- to 17-year-olds to...

Outdoor school is a rite of passage for Crook County sixth graders, who spend five days in fellowship with nature and their new camp ‘family.’

It’s a five mile hike around gorgeous Suttle Lake in central Oregon—quite a trek for the sixth graders from the Crook County School District.

But it’s all fun at outdoor school. With Bingo cards in hand, the students chart different plan species they find. They spot a bald eagle, then another, and a dramatic chase plays out before them. Even a rotten log comes to life with a careful eye.

For 57 years, the Crook County outdoor school has returned to this same location, the Suttle Lake Camp, to...

Day-long field trips allow fifth and sixth graders experience the diverse terrain of near-shore environments and take home a new perspective of their coastal home

How does the ocean influence you, and how do you influence the ocean?

If you’re a fifth or sixth grader living on the coast in Lincoln County, there are few better places to discover this than the Beaver Creek Natural Area, part of South Beach State Park.

Here Oregon State Parks has established a biologically rich learning laboratory where trained staff lead about 120 students each year in hands-on exploration of the near-shore environments.

A 2014...
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