Request for a Nature Program

Request for a Nature Program

Are you interested in a Nature Field Trip or Ladybug Walk with Portland Parks Environmental Education?

Fill out this form to request a program.

Learn more about Ladybug Walks here.

Learn more about Field Trips here.

If you have any questions or need help filling out this application, please email kelly.rosteck@portlandoregon.gov.

We are currently accepting program requests for SUMMER 2025!

Thanks!

Kelly

Today's Date*

2025 Update!

Summer Scheduling is beginning soon! please fill out this form to request dates. Filling out this form will also get you on our email list to be alerted when we begin scheduling for fall.

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Name of your school, organization, or group*

Date

When do you want to have your field trip? Choose your first choice, and a backup.

What dates are available?

All of our available dates are in the drop-down lists below! I update these at least once a day. When you see "tentatively booked" for a date, that means that it has been offered to a teacher, but they have not accepted it yet. It may or may not be available.

Is your group larger than 35 students?

If you have a group larger than 35, we may need to schedule 2 different days or times, depending on staff availability. Or we will need to do rotations and teach half of the students at once. Choose a site with a playground nearby, like Sellwood Park, Gabriel Park, Westmoreland Park, or Mt. Tabor!

First Choice - Date

Unless otherwise noted, we can teach:

up to 35 pre-k through 3rd graders at a time,

or up to 40 4th grade through high school students at at time.

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Second Choice - Date

If your first date is not available, what is another day you could have a program?

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Third Choice - Date

If your first and second choice dates are no longer available, what is another day you could have a program?

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First Choice - Start time

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Duration

How long would you like your program to last?

Most programs for children ages 2-5 last 1 to 1.25 hours.

Programs for children ages 6 to through adult are often 1 hour 45 minutes long but can be longer or shorter depending on the group.

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Topic and Location

Topic

Choose a theme for your program.

Ladybug Walks - perfect for preschools! Children aged 2-6 borrow a ladybug backpack full of tools for exploring nature. Our staff guide the children to discover plants and animals.

Field Trips - perfect for Kindergarten through high school. Practice science and connect to nature through exploration, inquiry, sensory experiences, games, stories, and small-group learning. We offer many different topics, which are listed below.

Travelling Nature Museum - we come to your site with our interactive touch tables and sensory activities.

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Please give us additional information about the topic you selected.

What are you hoping your participants will learn or experience on the field trip? Are you hoping we cover something specific to complement classroom learning? Are you just wanting your students to experience something fun in nature? Please give us any details.

Stewardship

IF AVAILABLE, are you are interested in adding a stewardship component to your field trip? Examples include pulling ivy, planting plants, and improving trails.

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Location

All programs take place in a Portland park or natural area, or your schoolyard. If you aren't sure what to choose, pick "I'm not sure" and we will help you decide.

The most popular natural areas for field trips are Mt. Tabor Park, Kelley Point Park, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Powell Butte Nature Park, Leach Botanical Garden, Gabriel Park, and Marshall Park.

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Transportation

How will your group get to the park?

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Participants

Who is the program for? Who are you bringing?

Age/Grade*

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Number of participants*

Include number of students here only. Do not include adult chaperones.

Number of adult chaperones and teachers

If your program is for children, how many adult chaperones will you bring? Examples: teachers, parent volunteers.

How many classes are you scheduling for?

If this is for more than 1 class, how many people are in each class? Example: We are scheduling for 2 classes. Ms. Smith has 25 students; Mr. Flores has 26 students.

Language

What are the primary languages spoken by your participants?

Our educators are multi-lingual. When requested, we may be able to offer small-group instruction.

Accommodations

(optional but helpful!)

We want everyone to feel welcome and successful on our field trips!

Are there any students with physical disabilities? We will plan the best routes in advance so that everyone can feel included.

Are there any people with cognitive disabilities? What accommodations do they need?

Cost for Program

Programs are charged per participant. Each school or organization should choose the appropriate cost for their situation. Thanks to the 2020 voter-approved Parks Levy, field trips are offered for free or at a reduced rate for schools located in Portland.

$7/participant - Schools and programs located in Portland.

$0/participant - Schools that qualify for federal funds (Title I, Head Start), or organizations that demonstrate financial need)

$10/participant - Schools and programs located outside of Portland; Teachers are limited to one field trip to year.

What is the appropriate cost for your school or organization?

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Are you a Title 1 or federally funded school?*

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Do you need help paying for bus transportation?

We know that paying for busses can be a barrier!

Thanks to the 2020 Portland Parks Options Levy and funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we may be able to reimburse schools or programs for bus costs.

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If you would like us to reduce or eliminate fees, or cover bus costs, please tell us a little about your situation:

Your Contact Information

Primary Contact - Name*

Primary Contact - Email address*

Primary Contact - cell phone*

Alternate Contact - Name & Cell Phone*

Alternate Contact - email address*

School Address and Zip Code*

Important note on fall

Our program has been recommended to be reduced or eliminated from the City of Portland. Our funding is only known through Sept.1 2025, meaning we may or may not have programs next school year.

The package related to this program is called “Budget Decision 23:609: City Nature Programming Reduction / Elimination”

The city is currently taking input from the public. At this moment, there are 2 ways to make your voice heard about the budget

(1) Members of the public can fill out the budget comment form here: https://www.portland.gov/budget/budget-comment-and-testimony and

(2) advocate directly to City Council representatives by emailing or calling them. https://www.portland.gov/council

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