Oregon Education Programs

The National Wildlife Federation’s Oregon office is located in Sandy, OR (just outside of Portland). Here in the Beaver State, we work closely with our state affiliates and local schools to bring nature to the classroom. Our Eco-Schools USA resources and salmon education programming connects students with the outdoors and wildlife through hands-on experience and place-based learning. We also engage people and communities in providing habitat for wildlife in backyards, gardens, and other community places through our Garden For Wildlife movement.

Eco-Schools USA

Eco-Schools USA is the nation's largest and most comprehensive green school program combining environment-based learning with hands-on experiences. Its seven-step framework provides a roadmap that guides PreK-12 schools in empowering today's students for a more sustainable tomorrow. In Oregon, we collaborate with Oregon Green Schools and have over 380 schools participating. The Eco-Schools USA program is designed in a way that:

• Improves academic performance, especially in science and math
• Leads to financial savings for schools
• Decreases the school’s carbon footprint through practical solutions that reduce energy and water consumption
• Reduces school waste and conserves natural resources
• Encourages student environmental awareness and stewardship and increases parental involvement
• Helps students and teachers develop stronger relationships with their communities

Visit the National Wildlife Federation's Education Resources and Kids and Families (and Ranger Rick!) materials.

Salmon Stewards

In Oregon, the National Wildlife Federation collaborates with our state affiliate the Association of Northwest Steelheaders on Fish Eggs to Fry, a program of Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, connected with the Eco-Schools USA: Salmon Stewards initiative. Through Fish Eggs to Fry students foster salmon eggs in school aquariums before releasing them into local waterways. As the eggs hatch and the fish grow, the classroom is transformed into an observation and learning laboratory where students become budding Salmon Stewards of the future.

Learn more about the Fish Eggs to Fry and Salmon Stewards program here.

For more information about the Steelheader's signature youth education events, please visit: Hooked on Family Fishing.

Monarch Conservation

Mayors and other city and tribal leaders across the West are pledging to protect the iconic and imperiled western monarch butterfly by taking the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. These cities and towns, both large and small, urban and rural, commit to implementing actions that create habitat for monarchs and other pollinators while educating and engaging community members in the process.

View the Mayors' Monarch Pledge and learn more here.

Schoolyard Habitats are another great way to provide habitat for monarchs and other pollinators and local wildlife. The National Wildlife Federation’s Monarch Mission PK-12 Curriculum complements its Eco-Schools USA and Schoolyard Habitat programs. These lessons and activities can be used as a resource to guide youth engagement in nature while creating gardens that support western monarch recovery and provide opportunities for observations.

Garden for Wildlife

Our Certified Wildlife Habitat® program engages people in creating wildlife-friendly habitat by providing the basic elements that all wildlife need. If you love gardening and connecting with people in your community, the National Wildlife Federation can help you certify your community as a certified Community Wildlife Habitat™ through our Garden for Wildlife™ movement. A Community Wildlife Habitat™ is a community that provides habitat for wildlife throughout the community—in backyards, on school grounds, and in public areas such as parks, places of worship and businesses. 

Oregon has over 4,100 Certified Wildlife Habitats® and over 200 Schoolyard Habitats. Benton County (Corvallis) is recognized as the only Community Wildlife Habitat™ in the state. In Oregon, the National Wildlife Federation has teamed up with the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, recognizing that healthy habitats equal healthy watersheds for fish. Sustainable gardening practices are more important than ever as what happens in the backyard eventually flows downstream. From migrating salmon to monarchs, stream corridors play a vital role in a majority of life cycles.

Find more information, visit the Northwest Steelheaders Garden for Wildlife page.

Meet Our AmeriCorps Member!

Born in England and raised between Florida and Chicago, Grace found stability and comfort in non-human creatures while growing up. After several years working at a domestic animal non-profit in Los Angeles, she became interested in how humans relate to the natural world more broadly. She sees nature, like art, as a unifying force that transcends language with the power to heal and unite. Grace holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Wheaton College and a graduate certificate in Wildlife Management from Oregon State University. She speaks Russian and enjoys yoga, drawing, and singing. Grace looks forward to fostering community engagement in wildlife conservation through the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Fish Eggs to Fry, Hooked on Family Fishing Day, and Garden for Wildlife initiative. She will also support NWF's Eco-Schools USA and Schoolyard Habitats during her service term.
To contact our current AmeriCorps Member please email: ORHabitat@nwf.org.

Photo courtesy of Al Harith Al Mahrooqi.

For more information about the National Wildlife Federation’s Oregon Education Programs, please contact Morgan Parks at ParksM@nwf.org, follow us on Facebook @NWFOregon, and check out our Oregon blog stories.