Nature Education

Neighborhood Nature | Nature Activities | Ways to Explore Nature, Parks & Trails | Our Favorite Nature Education Links

Discover plants and nature in your neighborhood or local parks. Share your discoveries and post your photos on social media -- tag @thprd when you do! Facebook - Nature & Trails | Instagram | Twitter

THPRD Native Plant Highlights with Ranger Kyle

Native Plant Highlights:

• Red-Flowering Currant
• Western Serviceberry
• Tall Oregon Grape
  • Oregon-grape print and color page for kids
  • How to Identify Oregon Grape (Video)
• Common Camas
• Solomon’s Seal
• Trillium
• Oregon Sunshine
  • Portland Nursery: Oregon Sunshine
• Lupine
• Red Columbine

Where can I find native plants for my garden?

• Echo Valley Natives
• Farmington Gardens
• Plant Native

Native Plant Resources and Workshops:

• Backyard Tree Identification Guide
• Backyard Habitat Certification Program
• East Multnomah County Soil and Water Conservation District
• National Audubon Society
• City of Portland: Native Plants of the Willamette Valley
• Metro: Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards
• Pacific Northwest Wildflowers
• Audubon Plants for Birds

Preschool:

• Nature Collage Activity
• Preschool Nature Counting
• The Imagination Tree Preschool Counting Activities
• Leaf Rubbing
• Coloring Sheets:
  • Flicker
  • Owl
  • Hummingbird

Preschool Stories in the Forest with Shawna Hartung

• Part One: Heading Out, Sun and Wind, Bugs and Slugs
• Part Two: Beachcombing, Rainy Days, Pond Dipping
  
  • Oregon Discovery: Beachcombing
• Part Three: Trees and Leaves, All About Flowers, Animal Tracking
  
• Part Four: In the Clouds, Star Gazing, Moon Watching

About Usborne Books

Must-Read Nature Books for Preschool Kids and Beyond:

• Kid's Nature Books List
• 40 Must Have Books for Preschoolers
• 100 Must Read Nature Books for Kids of All Ages

Family:

THPRD Nature Bingo

THPRD Tree Journal

*NEW*THPRD Winter Nature Findings

• NEW FAWN Nature Kits
• NEW Top Ten Rainy Day Hikes on THPRD Trails (PDF)
• NEW Get Kids Outside During COVID-19
• Skeletons and Camouflage
  • Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife: Bats
  • Batty for Bats
• Leave No Trace
• Tree Quest
• Nature and Mindfulness
• Nature & Mindfulness Sensory Awareness Activity (PDF)
• Project Learning Tree Activities for Families
• Bee Book
• Bee and Pollinator Activities
• Family Game: Park Ranger
• Pollinator Sidewalk Obstacle Course
• Animal Crossing Scavenger Hunt
• Flower Dissection
• Sit Spots
• Nature Art and Writing
• Walking with Wonder
• Nature Word Search
• Animal Evidence Scavenger Hunt
• Flying Friends Scavenger Hunt

Adults:

• Nature and Mindfulness
• Nature & Mindfulness Sensory Awareness Activity
• NEW Must Read Nature Books
• NEW Virtual Naturalist Book Club

• THPRD Trails Maps
• Find a Park or Trail
• Oregon Field Guide
• Forest Bats of the Pacific Northwest
• Cooper Mountain Wildflowers
• How to Identify Pacific Northwest Conifers (Video)
• Top 10 THPRD Parks to Discover Conifers
• How to Identify Trailing Blackberry (Video)
• How to Identify Poison Oak (Video)
• Top THPRD Parks to Explore Spring Wildflowers
• Top 10 THPRD Parks for Native Plants
• Top THPRD Parks for Mammals
• Top THPRD Parks for Amphibians
• Top THPRD Parks for Reptiles
• Top 10 THPRD Parks for Bird-watching
• Top 10 Birds to Listen For
• Solve Oregon

• NEW Nature-based Mindfulness for Kids
• NEW Child Mind Institute
• NEW Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: Salamanders and Newts
• NEWThe Nature Conservancy: Virtual Field Trips
• Natural Start Alliance
• Project Learning Tree Recommended Children's Books
• The Wandering Herpetologist
• North Cascades Institute's "Mountain School at Home" project
• Oregon State University Outdoor School Educational Resources for Stay Home, Stay Safe
• Growing up WILD
• Project Learning Tree: Activities to do at home
• Sharing Nature
• Children & Nature Network
• Nature Explore Families Club Kit
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
• ODFW - Wildlife Viewing, Birds