Overview of Our Work

Wild Wanderers 2025 is a place-based program aimed at bringing environmental education and experiences to first and second grade students in Lane County, Oregon. This project is focused on building the foundations of environmental stewardship in young learners, and fostering greater feelings of empathy and connection to the outdoors. Each team facilitated three different classroom lessons and one field trip to Mt. Pisgah Arboretum for their respective grade levels at three elementary schools in Lane County. The entire team also created one parent and community cafe that was held at each school. First graders explored seasonal changes in Oregon white oak savannahs, and second graders learned about biodiversity in Douglas-fir forests.

Land Acknowledgement

The University of Oregon campus as well as the field sites are situated on land that was dispossessed from the indigenous Kalapuyan tribes by the United States government during the years 1851 to 1855. The Kalapuya, made up of around 19 different tribes, occupied lands spanning the Willamette and Umpqua valleys for over 14,000 years before this forceful removal. Wild Wanderers acknowledges that they have practiced and continue to practice highly skilled land management techniques--those of which have allowed for this land to flourish into the beautiful ecosystems we see today. We are extremely grateful for the knowledge and stewardship of the Kalapuya for creating such a diverse environment, and are lucky to have the opportunity to do this work within such a space.

“Kalapuyan Tribal History.” The Quartux Journal, 13 Aug. 2021, ndnhistoryresearch.com/tribal-regions/kalapuyan-ethnohistory/.