River Bend Outdoor Education Program

About the Program

The River Bend Outdoor Education site is a 10-acre outdoor park along the shores of the American River. It was purchased by Sacramento County in 2008 from Camp Fire - a national inclusive youth development organization. With the support of the American River Parkway Foundation, Rotary District 5180, Save Mart and the community, this site has been rebuilt as an area for the community.

Since 2015, the Parkway Foundation has partnered with the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) and leveraged the dynamic landscape to provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) lessons to students in grades 4-7.

There are 3 main goals of the program:

To promote stewardship of natural spaces by increasing awareness and appreciation for the outdoors.
Provide NGSS aligned experiences that aim to advance environmental literacy.
Support the social-emotional health and well-being of students by providing engaging outdoor experiences.

What to Expect

See below for a sample schedule*:

9:30 - 9:40 am Students arrive at River Bend site and head to amphitheater

9:45 - 10:00 am Meet at amphitheater for program welcome, introduction

Break into hiking groups and depart for lessons

10:05 - 10:35 (30 mins) Rotation 1

10:40 - 11:15 (35 mins) Rotation 2 and snack/water break

11:20 - 11:50 (30 mins) Rotation 3

11:55 - 12:15 pm Meet at amphitheater for program wrap-up

12:15 - 12:45 pm Teacher supervised lunch on site (optional)

12:50 - 1:00 pm Board bus and depart for school

*please note the adjusted program time to better align with start times for schools.