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CBP Feature for November 2026



Turtle Bay Exploration Park is a fun, non-profit 300-acre gathering place featuring the Sundial Bridge, a museum, forestry & wildlife center, arboretum, and botanical gardens. At the gateway to the Sacramento River Trails, Turtle Bay celebrates far Northern California as part of the world we share. The education department at Turtle Bay Exploration Park aims to provide the environment needed to explore the world through science, art, history, and more. They promote life-long learning through fun, hands-on interactions, and enjoyment.










Turtle Bay Educator-led Exploration Classes offer interactive, informational, and inspirational experiences. These classes provide opportunities to practice, build on, and connect with Next Generation Science and other standards. All classes are 45 – 60 minutes long and your group may stay and enjoy the rest of the Park before or after your class. These field trip classes are offered September 2, 2026 through April 30, 2027, on Wednesdays – Fridays; 9:15 am – 12:00 pm. Exploration classes available include Life Cycles, Science Investigations, Exploring Trees, Nature Sketching, Laws of Motion Show, Colorful Coding, Aqua Ecology, Wintu Ways, Engineering Design, and Earth Rocks.
Turtle Bay’s Animal Classes are very popular and available in-person and virtually! Virtual classes are live web programs for students to view in the classroom or at home. Each class is interactive, contains live animals, and is tailored to fit the State Content Standards for each grade listed. All classes are one hour long (40 min & 15 min Q&A) and your group may stay and enjoy the rest of the Park before or after your class. These classes are offered October 9, 2026 – February 12, 2027, on Fridays at 10:00 am. Animal classes offered include Nocturnal Animals, Forest Animals, Animals in Action, and Survival.

Classes in the Gardens are another wonderful way to explore Turtle Bay. Students can explore the plants, trees, and other features of the Botanical Gardens with one of the horticulture specialists. Each class is tailored to support the State Content Standards. All classes are one hour long and your group may stay and enjoy the rest of the Park before or after your class. The Classes in the Gardens are offered September 2, 2026 – October 29, 2026 & February 3, 2027 – April 29, 2027, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 am. Classes in the Gardens offering include Plant Adaptations, All About Seeds, Plant Life Cycles, and Pollination.
The Museum Art Gallery Experience (MAGE) offers students an interactive arts and cultural learning opportunity. This year’s featured exhibition, the West Coast Biennial Juried Art Exhibition, will feature over 40 unique mixed-media artworks submitted by artists all along the west coast including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California! After a tour and discussion of the exhibition, students will get to do a hands-on art activity that relates to one of the common themes in the gallery. Classes are one hour long and your group may stay and enjoy the rest of the Park before or after your class. Available January 29, 2027 – April 16, 2027, on Wednesdays – Fridays; 9:15 AM – 12:00 pm.

Turtle Bay Exploration Park also offers Discovery Camps. These camps are an opportunity for 7-12-year-olds to participate in various science activities, crafts, games, and more! At Turtle Bay, they encourage interactive and hands-on learning that builds on prior knowledge. They encourage campers to try new and different activities and experiments. Sequential days will build off the previous day’s work as they explore science, arts, and the surrounding natural world. Throughout the week, campers will also have opportunities to attend Turtle Bay programs, visit the Parrot Playhouse, enjoy the playgrounds, and explore our exhibitions, gardens, and more. Camps available include Fall & Winter Camp in November and December, Summer Camp, and Extended Care.

There is a program for the little explorers too. Little Explorers aims to provide an exemplary, developmentally appropriate early childhood program for children ages 5 and under and families. They work to create a learning environment that models best practices for high-quality early education experiences for young children and provide opportunities for parents and caregivers to observe and learn. The philosophy is based on constructive theories in which children construct their own knowledge through active learning. This play-based environment encourages children to explore, discover, investigate and create. The curriculum and materials are relevant, meaningful, current and purposeful to encourage children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills.
Sensory Hour at Garden of Lights is an inclusive program for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other sensory processing needs to enjoy the Garden of Lights with their families. From 4pm – 5pm, registrants will get to experience over a million lights with limited capacity and decreased volume. All participants have the option to enjoy hot chocolate and s’mores before gates open to the public at 5pm and are welcome to stay until the Gardens close at 9pm. 
Each year Turtle Bay sees a variety of homeschools, alternative schools, and independent study groups from all over the northern California area. If you belong to one of these groups, take a look at the options available. Additional programs include Family 2nd Saturday, Science Saturday, and Art Lab Saturday.

Turtle Bay’s Lending Library offers classroom kits from various curriculum sources including GEMS (Great Explorations in Math & Science), Project Learning Tree, Growing Up Wild, and more. Lending Library subscribers may check out kits that come fully stocked with materials for a classroom of up to 32 students to implement the lesson plans. Activities are perfect for the classroom, afterschool programs, or camps. Subscriptions are available for a yearly fee of $40. Subscribers may check out an unlimited number of kits.
Check out the Turtle Bay Exploration Park website for more detailed information about all these wonderful educational opportunities in Redding.

News & Events November 2026

1. CA Association for Science Educators Annual Conference: Science in Action



Date: November 6-8, 2026
Location: Sacramento, CA
Description: Registration is still open for the annual California Science Education Conference, the premier event for science educators across California! Hear motivational speakers and gain practical knowledge to be the best science educator, attend high–quality workshops and courses led by educators and experts, network with friends, educators, and supporters throughout California. There will be unique and engaging opportunities to share with and learn from other educators, get timely updates to help with curriculum materials, assessment, and testing, and have fun with the science community during socials and more!

For more information and registration, click HERE.

2. Outdoor Learning School & Store: Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: An Online Course for Educators



Dates: November 4 – December 2, 2026
Location: Online Course
Description: Enroll now for these engaging and insightful online sessions which will unpack the essential elements of Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults. The sessions are facilitated by award-winning and best-selling Indigenous author, Monique Gray Smith, who adapted Robin Wall Kimmerer’s New York Times Best Selling book, Braiding Sweetgrass, for a new generation of readers. Monique will take us on a learning journey, exploring the six sections of the book and the chapters within each of them, including key content for classroom and school use. Monique will be joined by Robin Wall Kimmerer for the final session on December 2! 

Register HERE.

3. Outdoor Learning School & Store: Supporting Risky Play in Schools


Dates: November 10, 2026
Location: Virtual
Description: Join this FREE virtual workshop that will offer clarity on what risky play is and is not, particularly when supervising other people’s children as a professional educator in group learning environments. Drs. Mariana Brussoni and Megan Zeni will offer guidance for creating conditions and building capacity for risky play in schools, which serves to support the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth of children. Bring your questions!

Register HERE.

4. CAELI COE Community of Practice



Date: October 22, 2026
Location: Virtual
Description: The CAELI County Office of Education Community of Practice brings together staff in a variety of roles from County Offices of Education (COEs) across the state. They meet every other month for networking, professional learning, and focused discussions on self-selected topics. 

Register HERE for the COE Community of Practice meeting.

5.  Post Election Playbook: Advocating for Kids, Nature, and Outdoor Learning
Hosted by C&NN, NAAEE, OAK, and Nuestra Tierra



Date: November 18, 2026
Location: Virtual
Description: Elections shift the advocacy landscape — and the weeks that follow are a critical window to build relationships with new decision-makers. Join the Children & Nature Network, NAAEE, OAK (Outdoors Alliance for Kids) and Nuestra Tierra for a post-election briefing built for the children and nature movement. We’ll cover a plain-language analysis of the election results, how and when to reach out to newly elected officials, emerging policy trends, and messaging strategies that resonate with your community. You’ll leave with practical tools and real examples — from outdoor education funding wins to state-level climate literacy policy — to carry your advocacy forward. Featured speakers: David Beard, Megan Fink, Laura Flores, and Julia Hurwit.

Register HERE.

6. Green Schoolyards America Community of Practice for Schoolyard Forests


Date: November 19 2026
Location: Virtual
Description: These free, interactive online meetings feature engaging presentations from school district colleagues, invited guest speakers, and technical experts who share their work on schoolyard forests. We also include time for small group conversations to encourage networking, share best practices, ask questions, and build relationships among schoolyard forest practitioners. This month’s topic: Shade Trees for School Programs (Hawaii).

Register HERE.

CAELI Partner Portal Resources November 2026

1. Ten Strands 2026 Annual Impact Report: Local Ripples, Lasting Change



Description: Across California, students are finding their voices, educators are bringing environmental learning to life, and school leaders are building more sustainable and resilient campuses. Each action may begin locally, but together, these ripples are creating lasting change. Ten Strands invites you to explore what we accomplished together in 2026.

2. Hopeful by Nature Podcast Series


Description: Hopeful by Nature travels the world to find the educators, parents, organizers, and community leaders who are connecting young people to the natural world through outdoor learning in ways that build something real. Each episode is a conversation with someone who refused to wait for permission — and built something anyway. The podcast is hosted by Scott Shepherd, founder of Wildward Institute. Among the wonderful episodes, check out Episodes 17 and 18 with Karen Cowe and Craig Strang on Joyful Persistence and Less Screen Time, More Green Time and Episode 13 with Celeste Royer, Retired Twice: Still passionate about outdoor learning!

3. Green Schoolyards America Policy Brief: CA Students Need Trees at School


Description: Over the last two years, Green Schoolyards America’s research team quantified the extent and distribution of tree canopy on California’s K-12 public school campuses. Their goals were to understand existing conditions, establish a baseline from which to measure change over time, and identify priorities for the California Schoolyard Forest System®. They hope the study’s findings will also provide tools for data-driven decision making to help California’s policymakers in their efforts to protect vulnerable children from extreme heat and impacts of climate change. This report outlines short and long-term policy recommendations for taking action to protect California’s children from extreme heat by increasing tree canopy in K-12 public schools. For additional information about the study, visit the Green Schoolyards America website.

4. Seeds to Solutions: unit materials now available in Spanish


Description: All Seeds to Solutions units now include student worksheets, readings, and other materials in Spanish. After you download a unit, check individual lesson folders for the corresponding student materials in Spanish.

Developed by professional educators and scientists, Audubon Adventures is designed to be integrated easily into any curriculum area: science, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and the creative arts. It has been used in classrooms, home-school settings, after-school programs, camp programs, ESL classes, and more. Since its inception in 1984, more than 7 million students have participated in the program.

5.  Children & Nature Network Feature: It’s science: How time in nature shapes young brains



Description: C&NN contributing writer Susan Pagani talks with Dr. Cathy Jordan about how time outside can act as a natural buffer against toxic stress. Unstructured outdoor moments, like tummy time on uneven ground or playing in mud, lower stress hormones in children and caregivers at the same time, building neural pathways for lifelong emotional resilience. Find out what science has learned in the past few years.


Lauren MacLean is a certified teacher and accomplished author, known for her children’s picture books.