Canoe with Slough School
Slough School paddles are for:
Partner teachers & classrooms! Just like classroom lessons and field trips, our paddles are for schools in the following districts, prioritizing Title I schools:
AND: Organizations that serve youth!
Are you a nonprofit program that serves Title I school students? Let’s talk.
Who?
Age: Grades 5th & up
Group size: We are able to bring full classes of about 25 students out on the water per paddle.
Adult support: Your class needs to bring one adult for every 6 students coming out to paddle.
What?
Life jackets: We provide each participant with a fitted life jacket that they will wear the WHOLE time we are on the water.
Paddles: We provide paddles to everyone and show each person how to hold them and use them effectively.
Boats: We will be in boats we call “bimarans,” which are two 12-foot canoes strapped together with boards. These boats are very stable and can each seat 8 people. Each boat will be captained by a CSWC adult and chaperoned by an adult from your school community.
Where?
We launch from the following sites:
Kelley Point Park (the end of the Columbia Slough, right before it meets the Willamette River)
Whitaker Ponds (the Middle Slough, this location has a floating dock)
Portland Water Bureau Groundwater Pump Station (the Upper Slough, this location also has a floating dock)
When?
Duration: Each paddle takes about 2 hours from arrival to departure.
Season: Each year during the weeks around Memorial Day, we partner with City of Portland’s Clean Rivers Education program to provide free paddles to our partner teachers & classrooms. Late spring is a beautiful time to paddle the Slough! We like to paddle any time, especially spring and fall - but if you schedule it and it rains, it’s up to you! The least fun time to paddle is… Summer. It is too hot and aquatic vegetation makes it hard to get around.
Why?
These paddles give students a chance to see the waterways, habitats, plants, soils and relationships we have learned about in the classroom all year. Many students and their families have no idea that anyone can come paddle this waterway and see birds and aquatic wildlife up close. We try to make these paddles as safe and accessible as possible so that students have a positive experience doing something new that they might have been scared to try before!
“My students can’t swim”
That’s ok! No one should swim in the Slough except for animals. The Slough is a very slow, shallow body of water with almost no current. Our bimaran boats are very difficult to tip over. Everyone stays seated in the boats during the entire paddle and wears a life jacket. Risk is the chance that something bad could happen - but we do as much as we can to reduce risk!
First Aid / CPR
CSWC Staff are certified in First Aid and CPR and each bimaran will have a first aid kit on board. If you have any concerns about safety on the water, please feel free to ask and we will make a plan so everyone feels prepared.
You can share this slideshow with anyone you want! It is in English and Spanish and addresses several common questions.
Students from Verde’s Club Aves return from a paddle with CSWC’s Max Samuelson and Henrietta, Fall 2022
Student Paddle Waivers // View and Download:
PPS Teachers: Your district Risk Management office will require us to complete a contract that can be found here https://www.pps.net/Page/1397 under Frequently Used Contract Templates / Personal Services. This looks hard but it is doable! We can do it together!
