Make a difference in kids’ lives, volunteer with our field trip program this year!
We are gearing up for our school field trip programs and are looking to recruit a few volunteer “Field Trip Guides” to help lead small groups of elementary school students through our nature park. This is a weekday morning volunteer opportunity.
This is a great opportunity for you to make an impact on children’s lives by helping them to connect with nature through our field trip program.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Co-teach our discovery-based field trip program Nature at Your Doorstep.
- Provide interactive hands-on experiences in our science based Discovery Rooms.
- Volunteer Teachers will lead a tour of the nature center and park to a small group (8-12) of early elementary students and their adult chaperones.
- Training is provided.
- Field trips are scheduled weekday mornings. Volunteers are needed for 2-hour time blocks.
- Frequency is flexible, weekly or monthly.
Please see this role description for more details. And view this short video to learn about the impact of the Nature Discovery Center from one of our NAYD School Field Trip Volunteers.
If you feel called to volunteer in this way, please email Anne Eisner, and we will schedule a time to bring you in for an interview and training.
Thank you for partnering with us to make a difference in kids’ lives.
Gretchen is 3 years old. Our first trip to the Nature Discovery Center began at the playground. We meandered through what must have seemed to her like a magical forest right out of a favorite children’s book. The path invited her to explore the wooded area with lizards, frogs, dragonflies, and butterflies. There were quiet places to sit, and we saw birds, as well as the beloved bunnies. The path areas are not manicured or forced into landscaping, but instead they are tenderly tended to allow the plants, trees, and animals to be themselves. Gretchen was encouraged by her environment to touch and examine the wooded area and become part of nature.
atthew is 6 years old. His trip to the Nature Discovery Center coincided with a birthday party that was ending. While the parents gathered and cleaned, Matthew made a new friend and the two boys romped up and down the stairs and played in the ocean room. Two little pirates sailed the seven seas of their imaginations. The same rooms in which Gretchen had quietly opened drawers and looked at books became an adventure playground to the little boys. The house and discovery rooms are built for multiple experiences. 
The Nature Discovery Center is pleased to announce that the final phase of our major capital renovation, the Gateway Project, is complete. The Gateway Project represents a $1.26 million capital initiative to improve the historic Henshaw House (Phase One) and Russ Pitman Park (Phase Two), both of which are managed by the Center.
The public/private capital funding included a $500,000 City of Bellaire bond referendum as well as $760,000 from foundations and private citizens. The Nature Discovery Center is a hub for community gatherings and nature education. And, it now boasts new features such as an outdoor restroom, a revamped pavilion area, pathway lighting, and an outdoor restroom.
The park’s current center path is flood prone and will be replaced with a Porous Pave nature trail made from recycled rubber, saving 750 tires from the landfill. The new center trail will be porous, allowing water to flow through and allowing visitors to enjoy the park after a rain. The new path will feature a gentle curve through the middle of the park, creating a more natural experience and highlighting our mature pecan trees, Pocket Prairie, and other native plants.
