Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Education

Students from the Jane Goodall Environmental Magnet School gear up to conduct red-legged frog surveys at Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Photo by Mike Weddle

The refuges on the Oregon coast serve as fascinating and enriching outdoor classrooms. Staff and volunteers from the Oregon Coast NWR Complex collaborate with local teachers and students from surrounding school districts to provide practical and interactive environmental education both in the classroom and on the refuge. Our programs focus on a wide variety of activities ranging from stewardship to the creation of conservation themed art. The refuge estuaries, offshore rocks, and abundant wildlife populations of the coast afford outstanding opportunities for children and adults to get connected with nature.

Please visit our Wildlife page for information about viewing wildlife on your refuges.

Junior Refuge Manager

Become a Junior Refuge Manager! Earn a badge and certificate while you learn about the six National Wildlife Refuges along the Oregon coast. The booklet contains pages about refuge wildlife and habitats in the form of fun puzzles and games.

Download the activity booklets or pick one up at the Newport Office. Fill the booklet out, follow the directions and become a Junior Refuge Manager today.

(Booklets are 3.50 MB)

Junior Duck Stamp Competition entry by Andreea Patru, age 9, Tigard, OR

Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program

Educators and students from kindergarten through high school are encouraged to get involved in the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program. This innovative, curriculum-based program uses art to teach about migratory birds and conservation. The program culminates with an annual art competition offered in each state. Draw, paint, or sketch your own design of North American waterfowl. Oregon residents may submit their entries to the Oregon Coast NWR Complex. The entry deadline each year is March 15. The Best of Show from each state competes in the national competition in Washington, D.C. The national winner's artwork becomes the image for the next year's Junior Duck Stamp.

Educators from the Oregon Coast NWR Complex are available to bring the interactive Junior Duck Stamp curriculum into K-12 classrooms on the coast. Educators lead the hands-on activities that focus on waterfowl anatomy, adaptations, and sketching. Lessons are recommended for both science and art classrooms and they meet Oregon state benchmarks for science.

The 2011 Junior Duck Stamp brochure and entry packet
is available for download as a PDF file (3.2 MB)
(Entry forms are also available in Spanish.)
Contact Pam Johnson for a free printed copy at 541-867-4550

For information on classroom visits
contact Dawn Grafe.

2009 Best of Show by Sarah Kang

Mail your Oregon entries to:
Pam Johnson
US Fish and Wildlife Service
2127 SE Marine Science Drive
Newport, OR 97365

Shorebirds: Migratory Superheroes! Program
(Formerly known as Shorebird Sister Schools)

The Shorebirds: Migratory Superheroes Program allows students from all over the Western Hemisphere to track arctic-nesting shorebirds along their migration routes and share their class field experiences with other students. This USFWS program integrates an interactive curriculum with field experiences, engaging students in science learning. Students build awareness and understanding of how their own community's wetlands are part of the healthy chain of habitats that are needed by migratory birds to survive.

From January to June of each year, educators from the Oregon Coast enroll 4th and 5th grade classrooms in the program. The program consists of five classroom sessions involving shorebird-related activities, discussions, and lessons. The students become young experts on shorebird characteristics, adaptations, habitat, migration, research, feeding, identification, and conservation. During April and May the students attend field trips to local wetlands and study the migrating shorebirds in their habitat. With the aid of live birds, a rich habitat, and the assistance of local birdwatchers, the Shorebirds: Migratory Superheroes curriculum comes to life.