Impact

Over 300 Students reached

16 Unique Lesson Plans

8 Teachers and classrooms

3 Grade Levels

3 Field Trips

Aves Compartidas 2024 logo

Art by Zo Hill Sparks and Mary Vernacchio

With the completion of this program, our team served over 300 students at El Camino del Rio/River Road Elementary through five classroom lessons and a field trip at Mount Pisgah Arboretum. This experience allows students to recognize their place in ecological systems and provides them with the tools to become involved. The goal of this program is to encourage lasting gratitude for nature by highlighting the connection shared bird species in Oregon and Guanajuato. We not only focused on scientific curriculum but also inspired students’ genuine connection and brought awareness of environmental issues, resulting in lifelong appreciation of nature– the cornerstone of stewardship.

Group of students holding hands, circled around the base of a large tree

3rd Grade Field Trip

Third graders hugging a tree during their field trip. Photo by Manuela Mena.

Anneliese and a group of students sat on the trail, working together to build a bird nest out of sticks and moss

4th Grade Field Trip

Anneliese having fourth graders make a bird nest during their field trip. Photo by Katie Lynch.

Group of students sitting and standing on a trail, listening attentively to Ben telling his story

5th Grade Field Trip

Fifth graders listening to Ben's story of the day during their field trip. Photo by Manuela Mena.

A piece of paper with a letter writing format on it. A third grade student wrote to other students in Guanajuato, Mexico. Letter says "Dear Amigos/Amigas, Por la semana pasada estamos apriendiendo sobre las aves vemos muchas stellars jays. Aves son muy enteresante! Pero no me gusta Hawks no mucho. Aves! Hazel Ellis, el ave love. // This past week we learned a lot about birds. We saw a lot of Steller's jays. Birds are so interesting! But, I don't like hawks very much. Birds!

Third grade student's letter to students in Guanajuato, MX. Photo by Ava Maganbosco.

This is a photo of a students habitat drawing, where the image details a birds environment with food, water, shelter, and space.

Third grade student's habitat drawing. Photo by Ava Magnabosco.

Photo of chalk drawing and writing on a blacktop playground. Chalk reads, "Lesley and her assistants are the best"

"Lesley and her assistants are the best"- 3rd Grade Student. Photo by Lesley Valadez.

Community Engagement

Wildflower Festival at Mount Pisgah Arboretum

We volunteered at the Wildflower Festival on May 19th, 2024, leading bilingual guided bird walks while taking advantage of this opportunity to share with people about the Environmental Leadership Program and what Aves Compartidas is about. The Wildflower Festival is a yearly community celebration at Mount Pisgah Arboretum where there is live music, local environmental organizations and nonprofits, vending, nature walks and environmental art displays.

Group of 5 mentors, dressed to go birding, stood behind a table. On the table is a whiteboard with the schedule for guided tours.

Zo, Anneliese, Ben, Manuela and Ava tabling at the Wildflower Festival. Photo by Lakia Buckwald.

Wildflower Festival Bird Walk Flyer.pdf

Festival Flyer made by Zo Hill Sparks and translated by Manuela Mena.

Environmental education in our community!

Mount Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival 2024 Logo

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