About
River Bend Outdoor Education Site STEM Lessons includes hands-on activities such as a Nature Hike where students learn about native and invasive plant species and wildlife on the Parkway and their impact on natural environments. Students take part in Macro Aquatic Invertebrates in the River, observing invertebrates in the American River using petri dishes, drawing the organisms they find, and recording their observations in science notebooks before discussing how these organisms are part of a larger ecosystem. The program also includes Water Ferry Engineering Design, where teams of two or three build small rafts from natural materials and test them on a stream table with gram weights, and a Living vs. Non-Living Identification and Scavenger Hunt, where students identify living organisms and non-living things using a scavenger hunt worksheet focused on species found on the Parkway.
• Ages: 9–12 years old
• Schedule: These lessons are taught over the course of four hours.
• Price: Each four hour session costs $1500. The Foundation raises over $100,000 each year to provide the funding necessary to cover the entire cost of the program for Title 1 schools and subsidize the program for other schools, and a $25 donation gives one student the opportunity to participate.
The American River Parkway Foundation is a Sacramento nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to lead and inspire the community to conserve and nurture the American River Parkway as a unique, accessible resource for everyone to enjoy. Since 2015, over 6,600 children from 76 Sacramento area schools have attended the STEM lessons and been exposed to the American River Parkway, with 31% of those children identified as English learners and 81% as socio-economically disadvantaged, and 66% of students in Sacramento County attending Title 1 schools. At every session, approximately 60 students are placed into three groups of twenty students per group plus chaperones or volunteers, and these lessons meet Next Generation Science Standards. Field trips at the River Bend Outdoor Education Site have been paused at this time, and the program’s goal is to serve an additional 4000 students through the program.
The River Bend Outdoor Education Site was purchased by Sacramento County in 2008 from Camp Fire, and in 2015 the Parkway Foundation began working with the Sacramento County Office of Education to bring children in grades 4–7 to the site for STEM lessons. The site was rebuilt by the American River Parkway Foundation, Rotary District 5180, Save Mart and the community, and over $750,000 of improvements have been made, including shade structures, a new amphitheater, removal of fire hazards, creation of pathways and new tables, accessible access, and removal of invasive plants. For the past 10 years, a small group of SMUD employees has participated in a 12-month development program called Building Leadership Talent (BLT), which partners with a local nonprofit to support a community project, and BLT 10 selected the River Bend Outdoor Education Site as their 2019–2020 project and raised funds to provide STEM lessons to more students at Sacramento area Title I schools and to improve facilities at the site.
The program is led by the American River Parkway Foundation team, which includes Executive Director Dianna Poggetto, Office Manager Tom Hannon, Development Manager Julia Cassill, Natural Resources Manager Anthony Julien, Education Manager Jackie Hadley, Community Engagement Volunteer Manager Jules Baez, and Marketing Manager Kayla Webb.
Last updated June 25, 2026.
• Ages: 9–12 years old
• Schedule: These lessons are taught over the course of four hours.
• Price: Each four hour session costs $1500. The Foundation raises over $100,000 each year to provide the funding necessary to cover the entire cost of the program for Title 1 schools and subsidize the program for other schools, and a $25 donation gives one student the opportunity to participate.
The American River Parkway Foundation is a Sacramento nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to lead and inspire the community to conserve and nurture the American River Parkway as a unique, accessible resource for everyone to enjoy. Since 2015, over 6,600 children from 76 Sacramento area schools have attended the STEM lessons and been exposed to the American River Parkway, with 31% of those children identified as English learners and 81% as socio-economically disadvantaged, and 66% of students in Sacramento County attending Title 1 schools. At every session, approximately 60 students are placed into three groups of twenty students per group plus chaperones or volunteers, and these lessons meet Next Generation Science Standards. Field trips at the River Bend Outdoor Education Site have been paused at this time, and the program’s goal is to serve an additional 4000 students through the program.
The River Bend Outdoor Education Site was purchased by Sacramento County in 2008 from Camp Fire, and in 2015 the Parkway Foundation began working with the Sacramento County Office of Education to bring children in grades 4–7 to the site for STEM lessons. The site was rebuilt by the American River Parkway Foundation, Rotary District 5180, Save Mart and the community, and over $750,000 of improvements have been made, including shade structures, a new amphitheater, removal of fire hazards, creation of pathways and new tables, accessible access, and removal of invasive plants. For the past 10 years, a small group of SMUD employees has participated in a 12-month development program called Building Leadership Talent (BLT), which partners with a local nonprofit to support a community project, and BLT 10 selected the River Bend Outdoor Education Site as their 2019–2020 project and raised funds to provide STEM lessons to more students at Sacramento area Title I schools and to improve facilities at the site.
The program is led by the American River Parkway Foundation team, which includes Executive Director Dianna Poggetto, Office Manager Tom Hannon, Development Manager Julia Cassill, Natural Resources Manager Anthony Julien, Education Manager Jackie Hadley, Community Engagement Volunteer Manager Jules Baez, and Marketing Manager Kayla Webb.
Last updated June 25, 2026.
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