You’ll never pay as close attention to the individual cup-shaped flowers of a lavender or vein patterns on a carrot until you try to draw it. That’s why we love botanical illustration at the Sauvie Island Center — it’s the naturalist’s Life Hack to learning Plant ID. And at our upcoming Family Farm Day, you […]
Family Farm Day: Friday, November 11th at 10 AM on Topaz Farm. “Ewwww!! AWESOME!!!” is something you might hear children scream during a typical Soil and Compost lesson. It all starts with soil. Gardens. Seeds. Roots. Fungi. Bacteria. Compost. Every plant you eat has needed to stretch their roots in that nutrient-dense topsoil. At our […]
Family Farm Days Return. School is out on Friday, November 11th. Play outside with us! At 10 AM, we will have activity stations set up and knowledgeable educators to facilitate* your morning in the garden. Step One: Pickup your Passport from the Grow Lunch Garden Step Two: Explore the Farm** Step Three: Collect a Stamp […]
During Spring 2022, we served 19 classes from 6 schools: James John Elementary, Sauvie Island School, Holy Cross, Harrison Park, and a homeschool group from Portland. We were also very excited to host Grant Watts Elementary from Scappoose for the very first time. For 17 years, we have served the Portland Public Schools network […]
Summers are a whirlwind at every environmental education center and we are no exception. We held four weeks of camp: two partnered with Catlin Gabel and two organized in-house. We had four camp counselors, two managers, one volunteer, and 90 kids. It was our third summer on Topaz Farm and running programs with Covid-19 safety […]
Hello Friends and Farmers, As summer camp has concluded, our thoughts turn to autumn. We will be running Field Trips at full capacity for the first season since Covid-19 began and Family Farm Days will make their return. We ask for your help in educating children about food, farming, and the land. The […]