Naturalist Training Program

SKU:
$600.00
$600.00
Unavailable
per item
The Naturalist Training Program is a series of 8 classes, running spring through fall, designed to give you a wide variety of skills to make you feel at home in the natural world.

While each class emphasizes a different topic, class discussions will cover a wide range of subjects each day. Which animals and plants show themselves also helps determine the content of each day's lesson. Classes build on each other, covering more advanced topics as the season progresses.

TOPICS Covered

​​​The program is designed to develop your skills in wildlife tracking, botany, ecology, navigation and map reading, wilderness survival skills, and reading the landscape. We want to get you outside, looking at the landscape, learning how to interpret what you see, and - most importantly - developing a sense of belonging in nature. Click each header for an overview of the topics covered.
TRACKING AND WILD LIFE 
  • Track Identification: Identify clear and subtle tracks, from large mammals to small rodents and birds.
  • Gaits, Track Patterns, and Interpretation: Identify different gaits and trail patterns and learn what they can tell you about an animal's activity.
  • Sign Tracking: Identify the myriad of evidence that animals leave behind besides their tracks.
  • Mammal behavior and ecology: Learn what mammals are found in the area, their taxonomy, general habitat, diet, and lifestyle.
  • Amphibians and reptiles: Learn the common amphibians and reptiles of this region.
BOTANY 
  • Plant identification: Learn to identify the trees and important plants of the area and learn the nomenclature and taxonomy that will help you identify new species in the future.
  • Wild plant foraging: Learn common edible plants and how to forage both safely and ethically.
  • Indicator species: Learn what plants can tell you about the environment.
ECOLOGY "THE BIG PICTURE"
  • Habitat: Understand the concept of a habitat and be able to recognize the common habitats types in the Cascades and greater Portland area.
  • Elevation gradients: Recognize the different forest zones in the Cascades and understand how elevation, rainfall, and temperature affect what trees, shrubs, and wildlife live there.
  • Forest ecology: Understand the concepts of forest succession and shade tolerance, see common insects and diseases and how they affect the forest, see the role of fire, and learn to interpret the history of a stand.
Tools to be Out in Nature
  • Navigation: Learn to use a map and compass, and how to navigate off-trail using terrain features to guide your way.
  • Wilderness safety: Learn what your priorities are in a survival situation, how to build a fire, and the common hazards of being in the forest.

Program Schedule

Classes help monthly on Saturday from April to November.
DATE 
SUBJECT
LOCATION
April
Introduction to Animal Tracking and Plant Identification
Sauvies Island
May
Bird Language, Plant Identification, and Foraging
Oxbow Regional Park
June
Forest Ecology and Navigation
Mt. Hood National Forest,
​Lost Creek Trail 
July
Conifer Identification, Navigation, and Awareness
Mt. Hood National Forest,
​Little John SnoPark
August
Sign Tracking and Animal Behavior
Clear Creek Natural Area
September
Forest Ecology and Navigation
Mt. Hood National Forest,
​Pioneer Bridle Trail
October
Wilderness Survival
Mt. Hood National Forest,
Barlow Pass SnoPark
November
Snow Tracking, Interpreting Gaits and Trail Patterns, Winter Plant Identification
Mt. Hood National Forest, exact location weather dependent