Welcome Educators!

The Sauvie Island Center offers elementary school students a guided exploration of our Grow Lunch Garden located on Topaz Farm’s beautiful 130 acre farmland and natural areas.

Standard Farm Field Trips

Standard field trips:

• Students in grades 2nd-5th – We also offer special programs for both younger and older students
• Groups of up to 30 students – Please reach out to Helen if your group has more than 30 students.
• The cost per trip is $250 – Scholarship funds are available for those who qualify.

The Sauvie Island Center offers elementary school students a guided exploration of the many exciting offerings on Topaz Farm’s 130 acres. Our curriculum is aligned to Next Generation Science Standards. Visiting students are separated into three smaller groups. Each group rotates through three 45 minute, hands-on lessons based on our five-part curriculum, which includes:

• Compost and Soil Investigation (Fall only)
• Plant Parts Investigation
• Seed to Harvest (plant life cycle) Students plant, tend and harvest vegetables in the Grow Lunch Garden
• Pollinator Investigation (Spring only)
• Wildlife and the Food Web

For more information about our curriculum and Next Generation Science Standard Correlations, see our Field Trip Resources Page.

Standard Field Trip Cost, Scheduling and Questions

We prioritize Title 1 and historically under resourced schools.

Our maximum number of students per field trip is 30, occasionally we make exceptions. Please email Program Manager, Helen, before scheduling a trip.

Click here to schedule a field trip.

If you have questions or need additional information contact Program Manager, Helen, at helen@sauvieislandcenter.org or call 503-341-8627.

To pay for a field trip, click here.

If you have questions about a field trip you’ve already scheduled, check out our Sample Field Trip Leader Letter and/or our Chaperone Letter.

Support for our Educator Resource pages has been generously provided by West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District.

Winter Classroom Visits

SIC staff come to your classroom and lead a 50 minute lesson. This offers students an opportunity to reinforce what they learn in the garden.

• We’ll discuss the journey food takes from farm to store.
• Indigenous and Global food systems, from eating seasonally to systems of year-round availability of certain produce.
• To wrap up, we’ll offer a tasting.

Classroom Visit Cost, Scheduling and Questions

Scholarship funds are available for those who qualify. Regular cost of a classroom visit is $75.

To schedule a classroom visit, click here.

This is ideal for classes of 2nd-5th graders.

If multiple classes from one school wish to take part, please schedule all classes on the same day. If times on the scheduling platform don’t align exactly with your schedule just make a note in your registration of your ideal timing.

If you have questions or need additional information contact Helen Dixon, Program Manager, at helen@sauvieislandcenter.org.