Tour Two: EdenAcres Nature School, Portland Play Project, and Jean's Farm
This tour has reached capacity and is no longer accepting registrations. If you would like to be added to the waitlist for either tour, please contact the Natural Start Alliance at [email protected].
Tour Two will include three programs, and a stop for lunch and a short guided hike at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. Programs we'll visit include a home-based program in a residential area, a program that operates entirely outdoors, and an urban educational farm within Portland city limits. 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: EdenAcres Nature School
Stop Two: Portland Play Project
Lunch and Hike: Tryon Creek State Natural Area for Lunch and Hike
Stop Three: Jean's Farm
4:30 pm: Return to Hotel
Get to Know the Site Tour Programs
Portland Play Project
Portland Play Project is a Reggio-inspired, play-based, and ecologically focused preschool in NE Portland, serving children ages 2.75-5. The program fosters a collaborative community that embraces inclusivity, nurtures each child’s innate sense of curiosity and wonder, and provides children with social and emotional tools to become kind, empathic, and compassionate people. The program operates 90% outdoors.
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.
Jean's Farm
Jean's Farm is an urban homestead educational farm within the city limits of Portland, OR. For over a decade, this land has been dedicated to nature-based and hands-on learning for all ages spanning preschool to adults. A mix of wild and cultivated spaces, Jean’s Farm is a site that has been established based on regenerative permaculture principles focused on supporting education. The site features gardens, orchards, forests, natural water features, wildlife, livestock, an outdoor kitchen, and a yurt classroom, each element contributing to a teaching environment that brings learning to life.