Education Update Winter 2025
Lifelong Learning: A Foundation for Our Future
by Julie Lowe
UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) identifies lifelong learning as a human right and calls it the foundation of a “learning society.” Lifelong learning is the idea that education isn’t a stage of life, but rather a way of life. It recognizes [...]
Education Update Fall 2025
Growing Stewardship in the Umpqu
Exciting News! In partnership with the Oregon State University Extension office, Umpqua Watersheds will design and facilitate the field course for the Master Naturalists program in Southern Oregon. We’re pleased to announce this brand-new initiative, which will enable Umpqua Watersheds to take a hands-on, integral role in shaping [...]
Education Update Summer 2025
Environmental Conservation & Education
As spring arrives in the Pacific Northwest, wildlife begin seasonal migrations that are essential to their life cycles. For the Northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora), this means an annual journey from upland forests to wetlands and breeding ponds. After the breeding season, they make the same arduous journey back to [...]
Education Update Spring 2025
Education Committee Article- Spring & Summer Program Updates
As we welcome the changing seasons, we are excited to share several upcoming programs and opportunities designed to engage and inspire our youth in nature, education, and community service. We also have some great volunteer opportunities and updates on schools receiving educational programming. [...]
AmeriCorps Update & Education Winter 2024
There’s nothing more transformative than getting kids out of the classroom and into the natural world. Hands-on, in-the-field experiences allow them to connect with the environment in ways that lectures and textbooks can’t replicate. From flipping logs to reveal salamanders, to searching for bugs, snails, and small crustaceans in the stream bed, to discovering a [...]
Education Committee Update
…by Cindy Haws
The Education Committee has had an incredible spring, with increased outreach and education opportunities for a variety of K-12 students, even reaching outside of our traditional geographical area. The inclusion of the stream table and water table in our training has been particularly well-received, offering teachers practical, hands-on tools to enhance [...]
Education Update
by Cindy Haws
Winter and Wetlands: Who Would Think They Go Together? Oh yeah, chest waders and chilly water….AND The BEAVER
This quarter, education activities have trained students, educators, and citizen volunteers to complete monitoring surveys, count and identify native amphibian egg masses in wetlands. Native lentic water-dependent amphibians have been seriously impacted by invasive [...]
Education Update-Winter 2023
By Cindy Haws
The education program highlight for this quarter had to be tending a booth at the international State of the Beaver Conference on November 13, 14, and 15th. This biannual effort planned and implemented by the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership Beaver Advocacy Committee brought over 200 professionals, including many agency staff, tribes, [...]
Education Update-Fall 2023
UW Education committee and volunteers have been very busy this quarter having connected with 606 youth, 15 teachers/youth program instructors, and 44 adults. Totaling up the year so far we connected with 600+ youth, 50 adults and worked with 11+ teachers and program instructors. I would like to thank Jessica Saxton [...]
Education update
by Janice Reid
Umpqua Watersheds recently teamed up with Umpqua Community College and Umpqua Natural Leadership Science Hub to participate in a conference on Stream Amphibians and turtles of Southwest Oregon on Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13. Responding to an invitation from renowned herpetologists R. Bruce Bury, Ph.D., and Gwen Bury, [...]
EDUCATION UPDATE
……By Cindy Haws
As the new Education Chair at Umpqua Watersheds, I have started in high gear. Over a decade ago, I was Executive Director and president. Since leaving the leadership of Umpqua Watersheds, I started an educational group for youth called UNLSH (Umpqua Natural Leadership Science Hub). UNLSH’s mission is to provide hands-on learning [...]
AMERICORPS AND EDUCATION UPDATE
By Jessica Saxton
It’s been about four months since I joined the United Communities AmeriCorps, serving with Umpqua Watersheds as the Environmental Education and Outreach Leader. During this time, I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to all sorts of fun and important activities, such as helping with the annual Umpqua Brew Fest and helping [...]
Education Update
Exciting New Radio Show Coming Soon!
We will be partnering with Stone Soup Leadership Institute and Green Teacher to produce a podcast featuring the inspiring stories of young change-makers from around the world. Stay tuned for more information! If you would like to offer financial support for this collaboration, please contact our Executive Director [...]
Learning in the Umpqua
LEARNING IN THE UMPQUA WATERSHED
By Ryan Kincaid
Thank you to everyone who helped make our second annual Learning in the Umpqua Watershed (training for local educators) a success. Fourteen teachers and homeschooling parents participated in this year’s training, and we had presenters from various communities in Oregon, as well as a couple from California [...]
Teaching Teachers and Connecting Kids with the Environment
Last year, we held our first training event for local educators, which we called “Learning in the Umpqua Watershed: Engaging K-12 Students through Nature Connections & STEAM Activities.” This is now an annual event, and this year it will take place over three days (April 13th – 15th), allowing us to focus our attention on [...]
Education Update Dec 2021
Lots of Learning in 2021
Director of Education & Outreach ~ Ryan Kincaid
2021 saw lots of change and growth in terms of Umpqua Watersheds’ educational programs! With COVID still going strong, we created new opportunities for youths and adults to learn about local environmental issues. Here are a few highlights from the [...]
Update from the Education Committee
Wrapping Up & Continuing On…..
The past couple of months have been a whirlwind as I completed my AmeriCorps term of service and stepped into my new role as the Director of Education and Outreach! I have enjoyed being a part of Umpqua Watersheds for the past year and am so grateful to be able [...]
Archie Creek Fire Recovery Project position opening
Archie Creek Post-Fire Recovery Project
Umpqua Watersheds is a lead partner in a collaborative project with Phoenix Charter School and Umpqua Community College to promote shared stewardship of public lands impacted by the Archie Creek Fire, providing service-learning opportunities for local students and community volunteers by increasing outreach, education, and engagement related to riparian habitat [...]
Umpqua Watersheds President Ken Carloni will be on a panel discussion about wildlfires.
Wildfires in 2020: What set the stage for this historic event and what can we expect in the future?
The fires that broke out and spread across nearly 1 million acres of western Oregon this month are terrifying and devastating. We know from forest research and history that western Oregon’s forest ecosystems naturally burn. But [...]
Edutourism
EDUCATION REPORT: Is the Time Right for a UW Edutourism Initiative?
The following two short-term activities are listed in Umpqua Watersheds’ strategic plan for our Education program:
“Conduct feasibility study re: infrastructure necessary for Educational Ecotourism.”
“Acquire a vehicle(s) for field trips and ecotourism in the Umpqua [...]