Your cart is currently empty!
NatureConnect Education Programs
NatureHoods
Connecting young students to the natural world
The NatureHoods Education Program is an outdoor program for Kindergarten-2nd grade students in Central Oregon. The goal of the program is to build observation and questioning skills in students, and foster a connection and appreciation for the natural world. The program is offered in schoolyards or nearby parks, and includes three or four 1-hour lessons. All activities align with Next Generation Science Standards. Below are the grade level themes.
To learn more and schedule a program, contact naturehoods@natureconnectco.org.
2025-2026 NatureHoods Education Program Information
We prioritize Title I and rural schools for our NatureHoods Education Program. Thanks to support from the Roundhouse Foundation and the BottleDrop Fund, there is no fee for Title I and rural schools to participate. We have limited availability for schools that don’t meet these qualifications and provide the program based on a sliding scale fee.
Kindergarten: “Bear” Necessities: How Plants and Animals Use Their Surroundings to Survive
NGSS Standards K-LS1-1 and K-ESS3-1
Students explore observational skills and participate in hands-on activities to learn about what plants and animals need to survive from their surroundings. Lessons focus on building understanding of the living and nonliving parts of the natural world, Central Oregon Habitats, Conifer Tree Life Cycles, and nature’s number one engineer; Beaver!
1st Grade: Fur and Feather: How Animals Use Their Structure to Survive and Grow
NGSS Standard 1-LS1-1
Students will practice using their observational senses to learn how animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. Students participate in a variety of investigations, games, and nature journaling activities focused on bird and mammal adaptations for survival and predator/prey relationships.
2nd Grade: Plants and Pollinators: Spreading the Seeds of the Diversity of Life
NGSS Standards 2-LS4-1 and 2-LS2-2
Students explore the relationship between plants and pollinators. Students engage in hands-on activities that mimic pollination and seed dispersal, discovering the necessity for the diversity of life in our Central Oregon habitats. Students work to share their understanding by conducting investigations, analyzing data, and nature journaling.
New! Nature Journaling Program:
“I notice, I wonder, I am reminded of…”
3rd grade, with ability to option to adapt program for 2nd-5th grades
NGSS Standards 3-LS1-1, CCSS RI.3.3, MP.4
Students will be introduced to the basics of nature journaling over 2-6 sessions held both indoors and outdoors, on school grounds. Nature journaling activities will build self-management, agency, and curiosity. Students will engage with asking questions, noticing patterns, and communicating information about the natural world through words, illustrations, and numbers. They will practice applying the mathematical understanding of scale, quantity, and proportion. Students will explore basic scientific drawing skills and techniques. All materials included. Session scheduling can be spread out throughout the school year or condensed into one semester. Follow up support will be provided to promote routine practice throughout the school year.
To learn more and schedule a program, contact naturehoods@natureconnectco.org.
Forest Days: Winter Wonders at Skyliner Lodge
The following lessons are specially designed to support Kindergarten Forest Days at Skyliner Lodge. These programs are only available in winter months (December-February). Choose from the lessons below to best match the goals for field trip. Generally, our visits are 2-3 hours, and we can adapt programs to fit into a station rotation model, or whatever best meets your needs.
Forest Day Lessons
NGSS Standards K-LS1-1 and K-ESS3-1
Feathers in the Forest
Students will be introduced to a few of the resident bird species found in the forest during the winter months at Skyliner Lodge. Through games and exploration they will gain an awareness of bird behavior and adaptations that help them survive.
The Subnivian Zone
Through hands-on activities, stories, and song students will learn about the Subnivean Zone habitat that only exists during the winter months of the High Alpine Mountain habitats.Students will work together to create a model of a shelter within the subnivean zone using a parachute. They will explore the animals that use this habitat for survival during the cold harsh winters of Central Oregon and create their own snowy stories using animal track models.
Wildlife Winter Survival in Central Oregon
Through song, games, and hands-on explorations, students will learn how local wildlife survive the long Central Oregon winters. Students will review what animals need to survive from their surroundings and explore examples of Hibernations, Adaptations, and Migration.
Connecting with Conifers
Using hands-on investigation, group challenges, song and creative movement students will be introduced to what a conifer is, some of the species surrounding Skyliner Lodge, and the life cycle of Ponderosa Pine.
Snowshoe Hare Hike
Using our class set of youth snowshoes, students will go on a guided hike from Skyliner Lodge exploring the surrounding area and the special features of Snowshoe Hare and how they are able to survive.
To learn more and schedule a program, contact naturehoods@natureconnectco.org.
Programs are available on a sliding scale, and free for Title I schools.
Tracks Through Time
4th grade, Free!
NGSS Standard 4-LS1-1, Tribal History, Shared History
A two part program including a 1-hour in class lesson around learning through oral teachings followed by an all day field trip connecting students with the ecological teachings found within the oral teachings. The ecological focus centers around the adaptations and natural histories of Mule Deer and Antelope and encompasses the high desert grasslands habitat. Students will discover conservation efforts for both Mule Deer and Antelope of Central Oregon.
This program includes direct instruction, small group hands-on exploration, topic centered games, and independent learning activities – all designed to connect students to place, community, and self. Some skills practiced include: map reading, graph reading, comparing and contrasting, summarizing, and making meaning from informational text.
To learn more and schedule a program, contact naturehoods@natureconnectco.org.