These partners have facilities for your students to visit for hands-on learning:

CASEE Center - Classrooms, greenhouses, arboretum, pond, creek, forests and trails

Camp Hope - Located on the Lewis River near Battle Ground, the forested property offers day programs, stewardship and overnight trips

Camp Wa-Ri-Ki - Located on the banks of the Washougal River, programs for both day trips and overnights

CIty of Vancouver’s Water Resources Education Center - Environmental education center, exhibits, K-8 field trips, volunteer opportunities, wetlands, native gardens and Columbia River Trail

Columbia Springs - fish hatchery, trails and environmental education classrooms

Naturescaping Wildlife Botanical Garden - The gardens and gardeners demonstrate and teach gardening concepts that attract birds, butterflies, hummingbirds and other wildlife. Contact for school visits and tours.

TreeSong Nature Awareness & Retreat Center - On the banks of the Washougal River, specialized programs for kids and adults

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Refuges - RIdgefield and Steigerwald Lake Refuges offer trails, interpretive features and guided trips

Join these partners for fields for hands-on learning and stewardship opportunities:

City of Vancouver Parks - Visit one of the many local and community parks and trails, including Volunteer opportunities

Water Resources Education Center – Water and nature focused environmental education programs and stewardship opportunities, including beach clean-ups and caring for our native plant gardens

Clark County Parks - Visit one of our many sites for learning, play or stewardship with the Volunteer program

Clark Public Utilities Stream Team - Trip opportunities for stewardship plantings, potting plants and environmental education

Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership - Trip opportunities vary for hikes around Vancouver Lake to stewardship plantings along our greenways

U.S. Forest Service Gifford Pinchot - Prepare for your trip with lessons on history, culture, nature, science and forests

Washington Trails Association - Hit the trail with support for training, workshops and gear

Watershed Alliance of SW WA - Join stewardship planting at sites around our region, including the Burnt Bridge Creek, ivy removal or litter pick ups

WA Outdoor School for All - WA state approved funding for all 5th & 6th graders. Learn more about overnight trips for students.

Educators visit your classroom to share expertise on a wide range of outdoor topics:

Student Watershed Monitoring Network – Students and teachers learn to monitor water quality and habitat in Clark County streams, lakes, rivers and wetlands using NGSS-aligned curriculum

Clark County Clean Water Program - Learn about stormwater protection, watersheds and environmental protections

Clark County Green Schools - Several resources to support Green Teams, environmental storytelling, composting and school gardens with classroom education, garden resources, and other presentation ideas

Clark Public Utilities - Invite a CPU expert to visit your classroom or campus to talk about environmental stewardship, pollinators or power. Need a native bee expert? Contact them for guest speakers about bees.

Columbia Springs - Salmon in the classroom program and curriculum

Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership - A variety of science lessons, using NGSS concepts about watersheds, the Columbia river, animals in habitat, stewardship/restoration and more

Vancouver Bee Project - Seasonally live honey bees to the classroom to enhance student understanding of the natural world around them and observe the bees, learn about the bee life cycle and importance of bees in our food system. Use this handy Mason Bee House guide to promote these docile bees on your campus.

Our educators have put together lesson kits on a variety of topics to help students learn science:

Clark County Clean Water - The Enviroscape watershed model is an interactive tool for water movement and quality, student activities sheets

Fort Vancouver Regional Library - Discover Washington backpack kits field with field guides, binoculars and adventure gear

Friends of Ridgefield NWR - “Discover Cathlapotle!” Kits to help your class discover the plank house and native culture.

Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership - Kits on watersheds, streams, wildlife and schoolyard scavenger hunts. A science kit is available at the Kelso Library, filled with lessons about wide range of subjects: Beavers, Water quality testing, Bird identification, Animal signs and observations, Food web and STEM career Jenga.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Kits that teach about wildlife and conservation

Vancouver Audubon Society - Kits help teach about birds, habitat and nature. Audubon Adventures for curriculum ideas. Also, you can purchase a Habitat Connection kit to learn about birds and their habitats

WSU Extension Master Gardeners - Learn about soils, gardens, food and insects with interactive kits

Partners can help support the planning, design, installation and programming of school grounds and garden projects:

City of Vancouver Urban Forestry - Learn about tree planting opportunities on school campuses and at community events

Clark Green Schools - A list of resources and events to help schools add more green to school grounds

Watershed Alliance of SW WA - Backyard Habitat Certification program, technical assistance to review site to restore school grounds with native plants and habitats

WSU Extension Master Gardeners - Trained volunteers support curriculum in the classroom and gardens at schools

Plant Lists & Ideas - there are numerous resources to help with plant lists, including Green Schoolyards PNW Plants (including types of gardens), WA Native Plants, and Portland Nursery Native Plants.

LCNN is working to build a network of schools for peer to peer networking and support:

School garden tours - In partnership with WSU Extension Master Gardeners, tour local school gardens for tips and ideas for school gardens

Peer Quarterly Workshops- Join school garden teachers and community for focused meetings to support on-site improvement ideas, curricula and programming

School garden stewardship support - LCNN partners support volunteer stewardship events seasonally to support gardens (post-COVID restrictions)

Student mentoring & internships - Partners work with schools for community service and CTE projects, including volunteering, skills building and project implementation

Green Schoolyards Action Plan for SW WA - The LCNN team and partners, including Children & Nature Network and National League of Cities, wrote an action plan to identify key actions and targets for the community to make our local school campuses greener for learning, play and wellness.

Make a bird watching station - Do you have a great view of natural habitat at your school? Make a bird watching station. Place some binoculars, bird ID posters/field guides, and a log nearby for students to record their findings. You could also start a project with iNaturalist to track your birds over time. Participate in the Cornell Bird citizen science counts, in December, February and migration. Need more assistance, visit the Vancouver Audubon for facts, grants and more information. Want to take your teaching to a new level? Check out the Cornell Ornithology class for teachers and citizen science.

Schoolyard BioBlitz / EcoBlitz
Inventory all of the species that live on and visit your school campus. Typically, BioBlitz events are 24-hours long, whereas EcoBlitz is a short timeframe to capture information based on your available schedule. Including day to day observations, over seasons and years. Compare and contrast observations over time. Build on the relationships of earth, plants and animals on your campus. Use tools such as iNaturalist and Seek to track your observations. For example, Vancouver Public Schools and Evergreen Public Schools data.

Add habitat to your campus
Identify locations on your campus where you can add habitat, including trees, shrubs and flowers to attract native wildlife. LCNN partners have recommendations for the right plants for the right locations.
New trees add shade to cool pavement and provide shelter during outside activities. Shrubs add color and habitat for birds and small mammals to take cover. Flowering plants attract butterflies and beneficial insects.
These all support learning of animals in their habitat and allow students, staff and families to participate in stewardship and a legacy of greenery for their campus for years to come.
Email hello@lowercolumbianaturenetwork.org with your questions.