Tour One: Forest Friends, Cedar Tree Learning, Shining Star's Osoberry Forest School, and Down to Earth Forest School
This tour has reached capacity and is no longer accepting registrations. If you would like to be added to the waitlist for this tour, please contact the Natural Start Alliance at [email protected].
Tour One will include three sites that are home to four different programs, and will also stop for lunch at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. The programs we'll visit include a home-based program with access to a park, and several programs that operate entirely outdoors. Lunch, snacks, and transportation are included. More information about individual programs is provided below.
Anticipated Schedule
8:30 am: Meet at Conference Hotel and Depart
Stop One: Forest Friends
Lunch and Hike: Tryon Creek State Natural Area for Hike and Lunch
Stop Two: Down to Earth Forest School
Stop Three: Whitaker Ponds Nature Park: Cedar Tree Learning and Shining Star's Osoberry Forest School
4:30 pm: Return to Hotel
Get to Know the Site Tour Programs
Friends of Tryon Creek
Friends of Tryon Creek is a community-supported nonprofit started in 1970 by a group of dedicated park neighbors to preserve Tryon Canyon. The mission, in partnership with Oregon State Parks, is to inspire every community to identify, cultivate, or reclaim their relationship with nature in this cherished urban forest. Education staff offer a variety of programs, including field trips, nature day camps, the BIPOC-centered Tryon Ecological Adventures Day Camp, and public events, and staff prioritize partnerships with Indigenous Tribes, tribal governments, and inter-tribal organizations. Friends of Tryon Creek will host site tour groups for lunch and will provide an introduction to the organization and the forest with a short guided hike.
Down to Earth Forest School
Down to Earth Forest School is a Pre-K-5th grade program operating one hundred percent outside on a 140-acre forested public park. The school includes 55 children and 12 staff and operates Monday through Thursday 9-2 pm, September-June. Half of each school day, for all the grades, is protected as instructed time in which the children have the freedom to be and do whatever they decide as a class. Teachers will share how they gently weave together a web of learning, autonomy, seasonal celebrations, and cross pollination across age groups all while balancing the mother nature’s elements.
Cedar Tree Learning
Cedar Tree Learning nurtures children, families, and community through connection to nature and PLAY, offering weekly nature immersion, seasonal classes, camps, and workshops in treasured urban natural areas throughout Portland. Children (ages 4-10) gain confidence and independence as they explore their own learning edges and build a sense of self in relation to the natural environment. Cedar Tree Learning also mentors parents and teachers on harnessing the power of nature as a tool for both mental and physical well-being, not just for their students but for themselves as well, with a vision of making nature-based education a reality for every child and teacher, one step at a time.
Shining Star's Osoberry Forest School
Osoberry Forest Kindergarten is Shining Star Waldorf School's outdoor, nature-based kindergarten for ages 4-6 years. The class meets each morning at a spot with beautiful woods and spacious meadows, located a short drive from the main school. The daily rhythm includes nature play and learning in the forest, seasonal songs and stories, outdoor cooking and crafts. Forest Kindergarten meets four days a week, Monday - Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.