School Programs
Outdoor adventures for your class!
Classroom visits and field trips are available for preschool to high school students. All school programs use fun, educational, and hands-on. Activities encourage investigation and discovery with the natural world and are customized for all grade levels. Learn more about program options below. If you are interested in a program for your school please Contact Us.
Not a classroom teacher but would like to be part of the experience? Apply to volunteer.
Field Trips
Preschool to high school
The best way to learn about nature is in nature. We use several different field trip sites in and around Yamhill County and are happy to meet you at a location of your choosing. During OEA field trips students engage in a series of activities taught by OEA naturalist-educators and trained volunteer educators. Lessons are curated to highlight the natural environment in which we are learning and to enhance students’ awareness, curiosity, and critical thinking. Field trips range in length from two-five hours.
Learn more below about Outdoor School and Salmon Watch field trips for students between 5th-12th grades.
Contact Us to schedule your Field Trip Experience or for more information on program options and pricing.
Outdoor School
5th and 6th Grades
The Oregon legislature funds Outdoor School programs so that fifth and sixth grade students across the state can engage in outdoor learning. Our naturalist-educators plan a full day of activities that allow learners opportunities to cultivate relationships with nature through engaging, hand-on activities, ecology explorations, and science lessons. Field trip are provided all school year, between September to Early June.
Our Outdoor School services include:
- A series of 3-day field trips (non-residential) to natural areas in and surrounding the Yamhill County Region.
- Coordination of on-site logistics, all instruction, educational materials, field supplies, and guided activities.
- Skilled naturalist-educators and volunteers to facilitate engaging lessons and activities.
- Hands-on, nature-centered curriculum that enhances student awareness, curiosity, and critical thinking.
- Each students is provided and OEA Outdoor School bag, a journal, pencil, and wood cookie necklace.
To be eligible for grant funding the program must range from 3 days, 0 nights to 6 days, 5 nights. Days must be consecutive. At this time OEA is only able to provide 3 consecutive day trips.
Families of homeschool and/or private school students can access Outdoor School funding by working with their public school district and attending as part of the public school district’s outdoor school program.
Salmon Watch - Yamhill Region
5th through high school
Salmon Watch is an experiential, environmental education curriculum for middle and high school students, centered around salmon ecology. The program provides options for classroom curriculum, a field trip to a local stream, and service learning projects.
Skilled naturalist-educators and volunteers facilitate engaging lessons and activities either in the classroom or alongside a salmon bearing stream.
During field trips students participate in a series of hands-on learning stations where they have the opportunity to wade into streams and catch aquatic macroinvertebrates, test the water quality and assess water health, look and listen for indications of healthy riparian habitat, and learn about the amazing life of wild salmon. Students gain knowledge that allows them to analyze a waterway’s capacity to support life and their connection to the ecological health of our region. When possible field trips are facilitated next to Salmon bearing streams, providing students an opportunity to observe migrating and/or spawning Salmon.
Yamhill County Salmon Watch field trips take place on local waterways during the fall salmon migration between October and early December.
This program can be added to an Outdoor School field trip for 5th or 6th grade students and qualify for Oregon Outdoor School funding.
Reach Out to Learn More About Salmon Watch
CLASSROOM PROGRAMS
Preschool to high school
Can’t get your students out to a field trip site? Bring the field trip to your classroom! Our educators will come to you with a host of activities and lessons that can be done inside your classroom and on school grounds. Lesson topics may include watershed geography & ecology, pond life, bird adaptations, salmon biology and anatomy, insects, and more.
A lasting memory for your students!
