An update on our education program...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on many of us in how we normally operate, both personally and professionally. Like no other, our education community had to adapt immediately to the virus while still meeting the community needs of our students and learning objectives.
Prior to the state shutdown, our Education Coordinator organized 8 field trips and 14 classroom presentations with 438 students in the Mapleton, Siuslaw, and Triangle Lake schools. Since that time, our schools have adapted to new distance learning objectives laid out by the Oregon Department of Education and are still determining if they are able to provide classroom education under state restrictions, distance learning, or a hybrid of the two.
We are in communication with our associated school’s staff and will be assessing how we can support them in both the short and long term as we all move forward. The timeline of the effect that this pandemic will have on our schools is still unknown. The schools’ priorities will be on core education curriculum, which may mean that our program will take a back seat for the time being. Our long term goal in support of our organizational mission is to continue to build and provide robust environmental education programming with our local schools and in our communities.
In the short term, we will be exploring options for facilitating watershed exploration and learning in ways that address current COVID-related safety needs. We welcome thoughts and ideas from you as we explore new education programming ideas!
We are inspired by the resiliency and the commitment of our entire community ensuring that each child’s educational and also their nutritional needs are met. The stories coming from our staff, volunteers, and community members are heroic and heartwarming. We are proud to be a partner in such meaningful work. We are also inspired by our many grantors who have been flexible working with us in these uncertain times. Thank you so much to our members, funders, and our business community partners for investing in our organization and serving as such a valuable partner in this endeavor. We will keep all of you informed as we know more about the impact on this program, and opportunities to engage in new ways.
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