Willow Creek Forest School is TLC Farm's outdoor, place-based kindgarten for children 3-5 years old.
Now Enrolling for the 2019/20 school year and for our Nature Immersion Summer Camps: June 18th-21st and July 16th-19th, 2019. Each week is open to 3-7 year olds and goes from 9:30am to 2:30pm. Visit WillowCreekForestSchool.org for more information and to register.
Give your child the gift of nature immersion!
At Willow Creek Forest School, children enjoy a consistent daily rhythm in which they can allow their imaginations to blossom and be immersed in the magic of the forest, while learning to be good stewards to the land and each other. The flow of the day includes: crafts, homesteading skills, plant medicine-making, snack time provided by the school (including bread baked in the cob oven!), circle time, plenty of time in the forest and special festival days – all guided by songs and stories inspired by the changing seasons on the land.
School runs for 9 months, Tuesday-Thursday from 9:30am-1:30pm, with an option to add aftercare each day until 3:00pm. Visit WillowCreekForestSchool.org for more information and to enroll.
About Teacher Isobel: Isobel has been working with children in various settings for 12 years, and has been living on the land at TLC Farm for five years. For the past two years, she worked with Mother Earth School while dreaming about starting her own program. She loves sharing this magical land with children!
“Teacher Isobel is truly focused on your child(ren) in nature immersion. Isobel is a warm, generous teacher with a lot of stories, wild crafting, and nature immersion experience in Tryon. Your child deserves a nature immersion experience at least once in her/his life!” – Heather Saunders, parent
Economic and Ecological Crises
Coming up October 2 through 4 in downtown Portland, join hundreds of the most committed and creative organizers and activists from around the Northwest and the world, as we conspire to engage the twin crises of our time with strategic passion and holistic nerve! TLC Farm is a sponsor of this event, and we invite you to join us. See more at the EcoNvergence website!
See EcoNvergence website.
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Native educator and herbalist, Judy BlueHorse Skelton, shares traditional uses of native plants for food, medicine, craft and ceremony to nourish, heal, and regenerate personal, family and community well-being.
With TLC Farm and Tryon Creek Forest as our classroom, we’ll explore the gifts each season offers and learn how to integrate ancient knowledge and contemporary nutritional/lifestyle research into our daily lives. This is the third in a four-part seasonal series, but each class is also a stand-alone experience.
Drawing from the Medicine Wheel and indigenous gathering cycles and calendars, participants will develop a seasonal living plan that resonates with the rhythms of our region.
This seasonal workshop will focus on the coming of Spring, including:
Plant walks to identify and meet our Plant relations;
Medicine-making activities focused on spring tonic greens, including nettles & chickweed; and
Permaculture approaches to herbal gardening.
Sliding scale, $30 -$50, for the 3-hour workshop, with a $10 deposit.. Herbal tea will be served, and bring your own snack/lunch as needed. To register please email workshops@tryonfarm.org or call (503)245-3847.
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Tryon Life Community Farm Hands-on Youth Sustainability Program Program Administrator and Volunteer Coordinator Job Description Application Deadline: Sept. 15th Responsibilities Include: - Outreach for and promotion of TLC Farm's Youth Education Program, including updating outreach materials and distributing to schools and youth programs - Scheduling field trips, via phone & internet - Recruiting, training and scheduling volunteer teachers (training materials already exist) - Maintaining & updating education program supplies and curriculum - Some fundraising for the expansion and continuation of projects. Note: this is not primarily a teaching position. The coordinator will only teach classes when other volunteers cannot be scheduled. October– June, with December and January off 10-15 hours a week, $15 an hour. Hours are flexible, with mandatory meetings every other Wednesday niaght from 7-9. Ideal applicants will have a background in sustainability education with significant experience with volunteer training and management. Applicants should also have experience in self-motivated work environments, must be very organized and be good communicators. Please send a cover letter and resume with three references, preferably with two that can speak to the applicant's previous experience in education and volunteer coordination. Send your application materials to apply@tryonfarm.org. Please visit www.tryonfarm.org or call 503-245-3847 for more information about the positions and programs. About TLC Farm's Hands-on Sustainability Program TLC Farm is a very unique educational site: 5 acres of farmland surrounded by the 700 acre forest of Tryon Creek State Park, with a residential farm community that tends chickens, goats, sheep & bees and upkeeps the land. The entire farm and forest are the classrooms for field trips, and TLC Farm's educational programs are almost entirely taught outdoors, except in inclement weather when we use our historic barn as classroom space. TLC Farm staff and trained volunteers lead field trips from schools and youth organizations, providing creative, hands-on educational experiences for students. Not only are participants in the field, each trip involves hands-on projects. Activity themes are flexible based on the group’s interest and need, and fall into these categories: 1.Farm Tour: a general overview of demonstration projects at TLC Farm including natural building, gardening, water and waste management, habitat restoration, and community. development. 2.Natural Building: building with cob, a traditional structural material of clay, sand, straw, and water. 3.Ecological gardening: includes activities on soil, food systems, medicinal plants, and permaculture, along with hands-on gardening tasks. 4.Watershed Restoration & Ecology: includes a variety of restoration techniques, plant identification & uses, the water cycle, and human influences on watersheds. 5.Art & Craft of Sustainable Living: including activities on making food and other environmental arts & crafts.
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Feedback and participation welcome! Please send bug reports to web@tryonfarm.org