• 37 Discovery Tours reached a total of 2,243 students in school districts such as: Springfield, Bethel, Lowell, 4J, Pleasant Hill, and South Lane.
  • Of these schools 17 were registered as Title 1 and received scholarships (about ½ of all schools).
  • Expanded our “traditional” reach from K-5th grade to include occasional pre-K, middle, and highschool groups.
  • 6 brand new Nature Guides were added for a total of 15 guides who gave ~1,700 hours of volunteer time on Discovery Tours & educational programs. 
  • In partnership with U of O’s Environmental Leadership Program and River Road/Camino del Rio, we served over 185 3rd-5th grade students this Spring for their “Aves Compartidas” program, which is an initiative of the Willamette-Laja Twinning Partnership. 
  • Our half-day Summer Club program reached 260 participants filling a niche for a more affordable alternative to other summer environmental education opportunities locally. 
  • With grant funding from the Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District, we hired 3 Interns during the summer months that were trained to lead the Summer Club program, along with aiding in curriculum development, event preparation, and tabling.
  • This Summer was our second year training and mentoring Migrant Education Program Teens to lead guided bilingual nature tours. Reaching double the participants from last year, we hosted 13 teens who completed training, then led a total of 143 Kinder-5th grade MEP elementary students this summer over the course of 3 days. 
  • 7 MEP Nature Guides have continued on past the summer to lead bilingual walks on weekends to families & children in topics such as: “magnificent mammals,” “river life,” “all about acorns,” and more.
  • Over 50 guided nature tours on a wide variety of topics, including arranged tours with the Wednesday Wheelers, U of O Environmental Justice Conference, Transponder, Girl Scouts, and bilingual tours with Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad. In total, these tours served over 800 people.
  • Four field trips for Lane Community College and University of Oregon classes.
  • Five partner events with Beyond Toxics including collaboration on Boys and Girls Club summer field trips.
  • Six talks to partners and community organizations.
  • Revisions to interpretive signage, primarily in the Incense-cedar Exhibit.
  • Facilitation of community science projects associated with our Wildflower Festival and Mushroom Festival. These projects engaged hundreds of people across Lane County.
  • Lead local organizer for the annual City Nature Challenge–an international community science bioblitz that engages tens of thousands globally in documenting nature in urban areas.
  • Began and completed the Mount Pisgah Lichen Inventory Project, a one-of-a-kind community science project engaging 30 volunteers in documenting lichens on Mount Pisgah. At completion, volunteers had identified hot spots for lichens and established one of the most thorough biogeographical accounts of lichen species at a single site in the Willamette Valley.
  • Engaged six interns in education programs, from the Lichen Inventory Project to Discovery Tours and Summer Club.
  • Redesigned kiosk and brochure trail maps to better convey accessibility information in both English and Spanish.
  • Collaborated with Lane County Parks and the Friends of Buford Park and Mt. Pisgah on development of new kiosk information for the North Trailhead at HBRA.
  • Partnered with McKenzie River Trust and other local partners to host a one-day workshop for land managers and educators on making nature more accessible for people with disabilities, led by Freya McGregor, a nationally recognized leader in the field.
  • Partnered with the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network to host a one day workshop on decolonization led by Live Oak Consulting.
  • Initiated hiring process for a new full-time “Environmental Educator” position, funded through the Lane County Parks levy.