Youth Education Committee
Inspiring K-12 youth to protect and enjoy birds, wildlife and our shared environment.
Contact us at: youthprograms@eastsideaudubon.org
Eastside Audubon’s Youth Education Committee works with K-12th grade youth in a variety of settings including schools, parks, camps, and festivals. Read on to find out more, including how to join us as participant or volunteer!
Volunteer With Us
Photo by Mick Thompson
The Youth Education Committee is a diverse group of volunteers. What unites us is a strong belief that children who connect to nature at an early age become lifelong stewards of the environment. Through our volunteer work, we inspire youth to make this connection, to become lifelong learners of nature and to live lives dedicated to making the world a better place for all of us.
We have a place for any interested volunteers, no matter your schedule or birding background.
Help students with easy and fun bird-related projects and crafts at science nights or community events.
Assist a committee member with a classroom presentation.
Take children (always with their adults!) on a walk to discover birds, surrounding nature and any fun facts you want to share.
Deliver a Bird Discovery Box to your child’s – or your neighbor’s – school.
Join a family-focused, conservation work-party.
These are just a few of the many ways you can volunteer to make a difference! We promise training and support, lots of fun and the reward of giving back to youth in our community. Please help us expand our programming!
School Science Fairs
Do you have a Science or Conservation fair coming up at school? Youth Education Committee volunteers can provide an interactive booth focused on birds, conservation and our shared needs. Our booths can include:
hands-on bird specimens (birds, beaks, nests, etc.)
scientific bird facts
youth friendly conservation how-to demonstrations and hand-outs
birding tool demos (field guides, binoculars, community science apps)
and much more.
We will work with you to provide the materials, activities and volunteers that best meet your needs. Email us to learn more or schedule a science fair visit.
Hands-on Classroom Workshops
Would you like an interactive session in your classroom? Youth Education Committee volunteers used to offer several bird and conservation-related workshops. Sessions included short presentations followed by hands-on indoor and/or outdoor activities to deepen learning. As we update our curriculum, we would like to hear your interest and needs. For priority consideration as we start scheduling, please contact us to share your information.
DIY Bird Discovery Boxes
Do you need specimens, educational materials, prepared activities and more to support your K-12 unit on Birds or Conservation? Consider borrowing one of our Bird Discovery Boxes!
Bird Discovery Boxes include lesson plans written by the Vancouver Audubon Society and all of the materials (specimens, fiction and non-fiction books, field guides, binoculars, field guides, magnifying glasses, CD of songs, etc.) necessary to teach the lesson plans.
Youth & Family Birding Nature Walks
Are you interested in sharing your passion for birds and nature? We are looking for volunteers to train as youth bird walk leaders. Family chaperones are a strict requirement for safety, so you will never be alone with a group of youth! Family walks are more leisurely, stopping to explore any natural object that captures the fancy of our participants — young and old.
Community Fairs & Events
Do you organize or know about an Eastside community event that includes youth and fits our Audubon mission? If it showcases birds, other nature and conservation of our shared environment, we are interested in joining. Please let us know!
Resources for Teachers and Parents
We are working to update a list of the best places on the Eastside to see birds, fun activities for children, websites on birds and books for children and adults. In the meantime as we update, you can download the 2015 resource list.