EXPERIENCE > YOUTH ACTIVITIES

Young people have some unique opportunities to help save or restore Oregon’s wild places, both on the coast and inland. Whether it is through a school club, classroom activity or just exploring volunteer opportunities, there are plenty of ways you can help our wildlife and the natural world in general. This page will feature some examples of how teens are getting outdoors and making a difference. Click on a conservation project to learn more about it.

Features Related to Conservation Projects:

Building an Underwater Garden: Volunteers with the Oregon Coast Aquarium and from around Newport get muddy and wet to plant marine eelgrass beds in the Yaquina Bay. Known as mitigation, this form of conservation aims to restore vital habitat in one area if it’s been lost in another.

Endangered Oregon: This collection of features deals with both endangered species and threatened species found in the state of Oregon. These can be plants or animals, both terrestrial or marine, found along the coast or in adjacent areas. 

• Counting on Success: The Steller Sea Lion
• Diver and Survivor: The Brown Pelican
• The Gray Wolf Returns
• Hope for an Ancient Fish
• The Northern Spotted Owl and Old Growth Forests
• Saving Stranded Sea Turtles
• The Vanishing Honey Bee

Marine Debris Hunters: One of the biggest challenges facing marine wildlife today is the proliferation of human trash in our ocean and waterways. This feature highlights how staff and youth volunteers with the Oregon Coast Aquarium go “hunting” for debris both on the beach and underwater to protect animals.

Marine Reserves: Sanctuaries for Science: Oceanscape Youth Correspondents head to Otter Rock, one of Oregon's marine reserves, a unique place designed to conserve habitats, protect biodiversity and allow for scientific research.

Ocean Geographic’s Elysium Artists for the Arctic: This Virtual Exploration will transport you to the Arctic, where global climate change is endangering both the native species and precious ecosystems. The project’s diverse artistic interpretation and educational outreach program is designed to inspire arctic conservation for the citizens of the world, especially youth.

On a Mission To Save a Butterfly: A group of teens from Pennsylvania travel to Oregon on a mission to help save a critically endangered butterfly. 

Saving the Silverspot: Youth volunteers with the Oregon Zoo in Portland help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service create new coastal prairie habitat for the threatened Oregon Silverspot Butterfly.

Year of the Vaquita: The Oceanscape Network joins forces with WhaleTimes, Inc. and Southwest Fisheries Research Center / NOAA Fisheries, to raise awareness and offer tools to help the world’s most endangered porpoise and other threatened species.

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