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 affiliate and local schools to bring nature to the classroom. Our EcoSchools U.S. 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.
EcoSchools U.S.
After over a decade of growth, EcoSchools U.S. has engaged over 6,000 schools in environmental education through hands-on nature-based experiences. In Oregon, we collaborate with Oregon Green Schools to support and recognize school achievements together.
With a certification program for elementary through secondary schools, EcoSchools U.S. nurtures environmental learning and climate action. Our award-winning, curriculum-linked framework supports school communities as they assess, track, benchmark, and celebrate environmental excellence.
EcoSchools U.S. is home to:
- A free K-12 program for project- and place-based environmental learning.
- A framework based on three overarching themes: Climate Change, Wildlife and Biodiversity, Healthy and Resilient Communities. These represent our priorities to address real and present threats to wildlife and people and center equitable nature-based solutions connected with global Sustainable Development Goals.
- An Action Card Library with over 35 cross-cutting action cards that consist of a variety of fun and educational projects, campaigns, research, and challenges that help schools assess and improve their environmental practices. Topics vary, from Active and Sustainable Transport and Single-Use Plastics to Water Quality Testing and Restoring Biodiversity Balance in the Schoolyard! There’s even an opportunity to ‘Create Your Own’ unique and innovative action cards.
- Certification levels of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Green Flag with schools earning a digital certification seal to display.
- A certification platform that displays metrics reflecting a school’s impact over time.
- Student-based action teams composed of dedicated environmental champions.
- Certification Benefits and School Resources.
Oregon Connection: Be sure to check out the Fish Stewards action card (created by NWF staff in Oregon) which is connected to the Fish Eggs to Fry and EcoSchools Salmon Stewards program.
Join the EcoSchools movement and register today.
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 EcoSchools U.S.: 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.
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 EcoSchools U.S. 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 4,200 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.
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.
