Conservation Partnerships
Community Outreach

Our Program. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the importance of working with partners in the community through building relationships that will help conserve fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats. Our outreach program serves to link the work of the USFWS to the community and help connect people to nature by providing opportunities for citizens to take part in protecting our natural resources.

Connecting People with Nature. Our goal is to get people to go outdoors and experience for themselves the joys of nature. It can be found in the parks, forests, beaches, and mountains of our beautiful region, and it's as nearby as your own neighborhood and your own backyard.

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POLLINATOR WEEK IS JUNE 17-23, 2013!

Discover the bees, hummingbirds, bats, butterflies, moths, and others on this poster. BeeSmart™ tools are available to help you S.H.A.R.E. your own pollinator discoveries. The Wonder of Discovery – Pollinators All Around 2013 poster debuts pollinator scenes artist- Carolyn Vibbert.

It's an app!

The Bee Smart™ Pollinator Gardener is your comprehensive guide to selecting plants for pollinators specific to your area.

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Neighborhood Nature Clubs are coming to a neighborhood near you!

4-H teams up with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Oregon Zoo and brings NATURE CLUBS to the Portland Metro area.

Click here to find out more and see how you can get involved.

We are offering two free Leader Training Workshops in April in Portland. You can sign up here!

Or you can call 503-916-6074 for information.

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Follow our new blog to see some what others are doing and discovering:

The new blog, Faces of Nature, is hosted and narrated by USFWS Summer Intern Meghan Kearney. Enjoy beautiful photos of Oregon's landscape and read stories of the many ways that people are connecting with nature.

Join Connecting People with Nature on Facebook:

Become part of the Connecting People with Nature community on Facebook. Check in with us to learn about getting out!

Get the national perspective on USFWS' Connecting People with Nature.
Let's Go Outside!

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Green Schools

Are You Ready?

Photo - Kids climbing tree (USFWS).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Education to help your school be recognized for being green with the Green Ribbon Award program. The Department recently announced the pilot U.S. Green Ribbon School award program honoring schools that have taken steps to green their campuses including their buildings and grounds. By participating in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Schoolyard Habitat Program, not only will you be creating homes for wildlife and educational spaces for students you will also be eligible to apply for the Green Ribbon School award.

Our Schoolyard Habitat program helps schools Initiate, Create and Incorporate wildlife habitat projects that are also used as outdoor classrooms. Teachers are able to enhance standard curriculum that align with federal and state education goals and mandates, while improving students skills in core subjects such as science, math, reading, and language arts.

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Community Partnerships. We share our technical expertise and educational resources with local groups and organizations by serving on steering committees and outreach teams. The following are some of the community organizations with which we collaborate:

The Intertwine

City of Portland Parks & Recreation

Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds

OWEB (Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board)

The Oregon Zoo

Pacific Rivers Council - Salmon Safe

Johnson Creek Watershed Council

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Educational Resources

We Share One Place: Endangered Species of Oregon

In response to numerous requests from educators looking for resources on endangered species, we have produced a booklet titled: We Share One Place: Endangered Species of Oregon. The material is geared to grades 4 through 7.

Though a wealth of information on the topic exists, we determined what was lacking was a comprehensive piece focused on the species in our own backyard. To round out the content, we included an "outdoor science adventure" component which we believe will help students relate more personally to the subject.

The booklets are free of charge. If you are interested in receiving a set of the booklets to use in your classroom, please contact Nancy Pollot at 503-231-6179 or via email.

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2013 Festival of the Birds at Sellwood Park and Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge.

The festival took place on May 11, 2013. To view festival details, click here.
For news of next year's bird festival, check back later in the year.