Nearby Nature

Summer Daycamps: We had 587 enrollments in 53 camps during the summer of 2024! Our camps provided kids from 3-11 years old with hands-on outdoor experiences focused on a variety of nature and conservation-themed topics -- from bugs to bikes rivers to rocks. All camps took place outdoors in local parks including Alton Baker Park and our Learnscape as well as Mount Pisgah Arboretum and Hendricks Park. This year as in the past we hosted multiple bilingual Spanish-English camps. Over 35 children received scholarships through our Every Child Outside Fund and community partner support total $6,800+. Note that these fund releases which are not reflected in income here supported this program. For the second year we provided small stipends for our teen Outdoor Leaders and college interns and were able to provide 8 teen stipends of $250-$500 and nine intern stipends of $1000. This made assisting with our programs accessible to more young people. More money will need to be raised to support these efforts going forward.

Nature Schooling: In 2024 we continued to offer our Natural Neighbors After School program for K-5th graders three times a week and our Wonder Keepers preschool for 3-5 year olds with options of one-three times a week in Alton Baker Park. These all outdoor nature-science play and adventure based programs served kids throughout the school year. Volunteers and interns contributed 682 hours to these programs in 2024! The value of this time at the 2024 volunteer rate of $34.79 hour is $23,727!

Park Host Residence Learnscape: Nearby Nature serves as Eugenes Alton Baker Park Host. We do park caretaking & education in turn for free use of a city-owned building & its grounds where we maintain a Learnscape Garden and Outdoor Classroom. The Learnscape is used during summer camps family programs Nature School programs Network Charter School classes and school year field trips. Between this program and our Park Restoration programs interns and volunteers shared over 1,000 hours of their time with us in 2024!

Program Support and Outreach: In 2024 this included production of an eNewsletter website maintenance & content creation volunteer recruitment & support general program outreach & support educational article writing for Oregon Family Magazine professional development and community coalition development & participation.

No School Days: Nearby Nature held 12 No School Days in 2024 for 170 kids! All events took place outdoors in local parks including Alton Baker and Hendricks. These programs provided educational and entertaining nature activities for kids when local schools were out of session. Volunteers contributed 104 hours of their time to these programs. The value of this service at the 2024 rate of $34.79 per hour is $3,618!

Alton Baker Park Nature Walks: Nearby Nature conducted field trips for 1,144 kids in 2024. Seventeen volunteers contributed 326 hours of their time to lead walks for these programs. At the 2024 rate of $34.79 an hour that time has a value of $11,342!

Park Restoration and Caretaking: Nearby Nature recruits community individuals as well as groups to do work parties and caretaking projects in Alton Baker Park. We also have a TAG Team Taskforce Against Graffiti that maintains a lovely stencil mural that we created in 2018 on the Frohnmayer Footbridge. In 2024 we hosted several community park clean-ups as well as worked with student interns on a regular basis throughout the year. See Park Host-Learnscape for hours shared.

Special and Community Events Green Start Play Days Nature Quests School Visits Community Science and Other Youth Program: In 2024 we hosted 10 Green Start Play Days preschool family events that happen throughout the year and are a key way for families with young children to connect with our work. Many Green Start children end up enrolling in our preschool! In 2024 we also hosted two family Nature Quests on weekends and shared nature-themed activities at multiple community festivals. Our annual Haunted Hike drew 381 people in 2024 and 50+ volunteers donated 173 hours to events fun costumed critter walk crafts and games. At the volunteer rate of $34.79 per hour the value of this time was $5,584!