Registration Forms:
No School Day Program
Summer Daycamps
School
Programs
Summer Day Camps
Our summer daycamps in local parks provide week-long opportunities to explore
in depth various themes in the natural sciences. Rather than spending lots
of time talking about nature, we help kids discover nature. We take hikes,
play games, and use nature study tools. We also celebrate the imagination.
We tell stories, do nature crafts, act out plays, and write in journals. Finally,
we emphasize respect: of ourselves, each other, and the Earth.
Topics include wildlife, plants, bugs, watersheds and wetlands, and local geology
as well as organic gardening, alternative transport, appropriate technology,
and energy and resource conservation.
Learn more about daycamps
Join our trained volunteer guides on weekdays in the fall or
spring for morning nature walks in Alton Baker Park. Watch great
blue herons fish in the river and see wildflowers in bloom. Catch
insects in the tall grass and hear the music of songbirds.
Walk groups are always small (six to nine kids) and each student who participates
in a walk takes home a copy of EXPLORE, our youth newsletter highlighting nearby
natural areas, nature activities, and more.
1st-5th Graders: Theme Walks! Link your walk to topics you are exploring in
the classroom. Choose from five different walk themes: Critter Quest (aquatic
insects and other wild creatures), Conservation Quest (conservation and recycling
in nature), Nature Detectives (a bit of everything), Kalapuya Quest (our area's
original residents), or River Quest (water and geology). Our knowledgeable
and talented guides use a variety of nature games, hands-on activities, and
stories to make each walk educational and age-appropriate.
Preschool - Kindergartners: Kinder Quest! For classrooms of
younger children, we offer a slightly shorter hike designed to
fit into your tighter morning schedule. Guides inspire nature
discovery by using a medley of hands-on activities designed to
actively engage the senses and imagination.
Register
for Nature Hike
Learn more about
a being a Volunteer Nature Guide.
Invite a "wild" animal to visit your child care center
or K-2nd grade classroom! Listen to yarns spun by a spider or
sing songs with a butterfly. Play games with a raccoon or talk
bugs with a bat. During each Kinder Critters program, a Nearby
Nature staffer costumed as a wild creature from a nearby pond,
meadow, or forest will visit your classroom or child care center.
This "critter" will share a fascinating combination
of facts, stories, and movement games with your students.
Teachers choose one of nine possible visitors for each program: bat, beaver,
butterfly, dragonfly, frog, moth, owl, raccoon, spider, or turtle.
Register
for Kinder Critter Visit
Classroom Naturalist Visits
Nearby Nature also offers classroom visits for grades K-5. Each
45-minute ineractive, age-appropriate program includes a unique
mix of games, models, music, discussions and stories. Flexible
programming schedules are available to meet your classroom's
needs. Register
for Classroom Naturalist Visit
Teachers have a choice of the following topics for classroom
visits:
Who’s Polluting the River
Race for the Pond
River Walk
Mountain Melt
Dress for the Water
Model Watersheds
Living Lightly
Conservation Walk
Register
for Classroom Naturalist Visit
Oregon Bird Discovery Kits
Want to take a Peek at Beaks? Looking for a Bird's Eye View
of the world? Then you and your students should rent the Oregon
Bird Discovery Kits. Presented by the UO Museum of Natural History
and Nearby Nature, these ten discovery boxes cover everything
there is to know about birds from bills to feet, nests to flight.
Each kit includes real specimens, hands-on learning, information
cards, and a list of pre- and post-kit activities. For a small
extra charge, a Nearby Nature volunteer will also provide an
Oregon birds slide show for your class. Subject to volunteer
availability.
Combined with outdoor exploration, these kits offer a unique and in-depth look
into the fascinating world of our fine feathered friends.
Register
to rent the Bird Discovery Kits
When was the last time you really got up close and personal
with nature? We mean hands-dirty, seeds-in-your-hair, maybe even
eye-to-eye intimate? If it has been awhile, then it’s time
you joined us for a Nature Quest!
Designed with families in mind, but open to “kids” of
all ages, each Nature Quest will highlight a new and fascinating
aspect of nature nearby—from creepy-crawlies that hide
in the tall grass to the wonders of bird migration.
Each Quest will include a family-paced hike with lots of hands-on fun, a craft,
a snack, and a visit from one of our famous Kinder Critters!
We’ll meet at the Park Host Residence in Alton Baker Park, just east
of the park’s main parking lots and next to the new Community Gardens.
The cost is $2 person or just $5 a family. Pre-registration is suggested.
Click here for a list of upcoming
Nature Quests
Alton Baker Park Action Project
and Action Walks
Call 687-9699 to find out about weekly trash clean-up times
and work parties.
No School Day Programs
Modeled after our summer daycamps, these one-day camps are offered
during the scheduled 4J school district No School Days. The programs
are conducted at Alton Baker Park from 8:30am - 3pm, for kids
age 6-10 years.
We utilize the park's natural resources for our learning and
fun, and also have an indoor space for inclement weather. Each
program is themed for the season and includes tons of fun activities
such as games, crafts, hiking, stories, and exploration. Some
programs also have a special guest come and visit. Each program
is taught by an experienced Environmental Educator and an adult
volunteer. Class size is small with a maximum of 12 kids.
Learn more about No
School Day Programs
Located in downtown Eugene, Oregon, the Network Charter School
is a small charter program (with ninety to one-hundred and twenty
students) serving young people aged twelve to twenty. Classes
are offered through a network of community education organizations,
including Creative Minds, Le Petit Gourmet, Material Exchange
Center for Community Art (MECCA), and Nearby Nature. Other partnering
organizations include Centro Latino Americano, Planned Parenthood,
Lane Micro Business, Leadership Education Adventure Direction
(LEAD), Oregon Public Networking, and Lane Community College.
The unique offerings of the Network include class sizes of 10-15
students, practical and multicultural opportunities, and career-related
learning.
The Network Charter School can be reached for course and registration
info at 344-1229, ncs@efn.org, or http://www.networkcharterschool.org.
