SCHOOLS

School Programs

Owls Hill Nature Sanctuary provides a variety of environmental education programs for students and teachers. Student experience unique programs that include a guided hike through a variety of habitats. Students also visit our non-releasable owls, learn about their species and why they call Owl's Hill home.


Virtual field trip offerings also available.



No more dates available for Spring 2024

Scheduling Now for Summer & 2024-25 School Year


With nature as the classroom, our goal is provide students with a greater awareness for and deeper understanding of nature and its relevance in our lives. All programs align with state standards.

 

Field Trip programming is available Tuesday - Friday only.
Minimum 20 students. Current maximum: 80 students (depending on volunteer trail guide availability). 

 

Health and Safety Protocols: Click here for our most recent update.

 

SCHOOL YEAR PRICING (includes admission and program) : **Note: Full payment is required to book your program.**
Programs are approximately 60 minutes (including guided nature hike).

 

  • Title 1 Schools: Students (and additional adults and siblings 5+ years of age) are $8 each IF prepaid to the school. 
  • Additional adults and siblings 5+ years of age not included in group payment are $9 each the day of the field trip.
  • All Other Schools: Students (and additional adults and siblings 5+ years of age) are $11 each IF prepaid to the school. 
  • Additional adults and siblings 5+ years of age not included in group payment are $12 each the day of the field trip.
  • Additional material or lab fee may apply to some programs.
  • Class Teacher and one adult chaperone per class are FREE.
  • Title 1 Schools: You may be eligible for a fee subsidy through the Jennifer Russell Anderson Explorer Fund.
  • No siblings under 5 years of age, please. 


SUMMER FIELD TRIPS (June - August)  are available on a limited basis. Programming is available Tuesdays & Thursdays only.

Minimum 20 students, maximum 40 students (subject to trail guide availability).


SUMMER PRICING (includes admission and program)**Note: Full payment is required to book your program.**
Programs are approximately 60 minutes (including guided nature hike).


  • Students (and additional adults and siblings 5+ years of age) are $11.00 each IF prepaid to the school / community organization. 
  • Additional material or lab fee may apply to some programs.
  • Two adult leaders per 20 students are FREE.
  • Additional adults and siblings 5+ years of age not included in group payment are $12 each the day of the field trip.
  • Title 1 Schools: You may be eligible for a fee subsidy through the Jennifer Russell Anderson Explorer Fund.


VIRTUAL PROGRAMS:  Click here for more information.

 


PICNIC LUNCH: The Orchard is available to school groups, free of charge, who bring a picnic lunch. Picnic time is 30 minutes. The Orchard area includes picnic tables. We are a pack-in/pack out facility. Schools are required to carry-out all trash; Owl’s Hill does not provide trash service.  During inclement weather, indoor space for a picnic lunch is not available. Not available June - August.

 

CONFIRMATION : Teacher will receive a Field Trip Hold Confirmation, along with an Invoice and Teacher's Pre-Visit Packet, by email when your field trip is on our Hold Calendar. If you do not receive a hold confirmation email; the trip is not tentatively scheduled.  Failure to make full payment or provide a school purchase order for the full amount within 10 days of the Field Trip Confirmation email date may result in the loss of your preferred date and time.

 

PAYMENT AND REFUND POLICY :

 

  • Full payment is required to secure your program date.
  • We accept credit cards, purchase orders (tax-exempt schools only) or checks.  No refunds will be issued.
  • Programs take place rain or shine.
  • We will make every possible attempt to reschedule trips cancelled due to severe weather resulting in District school closures or delayed openings. 

 

Rescheduled field trips must occur before May 31.

 

QUESTIONS? Call us at 615-370-4672 or email fieldtrips@owlshill.org

 

All prices subject to change without notice.

 


 

Request A Field Trip

Field Trip Programs (** virtual option available)

  • Living Things

    All Seasons

    Observe the differences between living and non-living things. Students will explore the forest and learn about the life cycles of plants and animals.


    State Standards: K.LS1.1, K.LS1.2, 1.LS1.1, 1.LS1.2, 1.LS1.3, 1.LS2.2, 1.LS2.3

    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd


  • Discover Nature

    All Seasons


    Exploratory hike that utilizes sensory experiences and observation while visiting the orchards, cedar forests, mixed deciduous forests, and aquatic habitats around the sanctuary.


    State Standards: K.LS.1.3, K.ETS1.1

    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd


  • Animals in Winter

    January, February, & March

    Observe cold weather adaptations of native plants and animals and compare cold weather strategies like hibernation and migration.


    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

  • Butterflies, Butterflies

    September - October; April - May

    An introduction to the life cycles of butterflies.  Learn to identify common butterflies of Middle Tennessee and take an exploratory hike to find caterpillars and their parents.


    State Standards: K.ETS1.1, K.LS3.1, 2.LS1.1, 2.LS1.2, 2.LS1.3, 2.LS2.1, 2.LS2.2, 2.LS3.1, 2.ESS1.1, 3.LS1.1, 3.LS4.1, 4.LS2.5

    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

  • Feathered Friends **

    All Seasons

    Learn about the characteristics, habitats, adaptations and migrations of birds.


    State Standards: K.ETS1.2, K.LS3.1, 2.LS1.1, 2.LS1.2, 2.LS2.1, 2.LS2.2, 2LS3.1, 3.LS1.1, 3.LS4.2, 4.LS2.5 

    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th


  • Reptile & Amphibian Discovery **

    All Seasons

    Learn the differences between reptiles and amphibians. Participants will meet a reptile and an amphibian to learn about characteristics, diet, eggs, and adaptations.


    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K through 12th

  • Meet An Owl **

    September - May (NOT available June - August)

    Meet our non-releasable education owls and discover the varied habitats and adaptations of native owls. 


    Owl Pellet Dissection activity option CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE  (in lieu of the guided hike) - additional material fee. 

    Why is this unavailable? Most commercially available owl pellets are collected near wild owl roosts in the western U.S. Due to recent fires and extreme weather, many of these areas are inaccesible to collectors and we are not currently able to find a supplier for owl pellets.


    State Standards: K.ETS1.2, K.LS3.1, 2.LS1.2, 2.LS1.3, 2.LS3.1, 3.LS1.1, 3.LS4.1, 4.LS2.5

    Appropriate for Grades: Pre-K through 12th

  • Indigenous People

    All Seasons

    Step through an anthropological window of the past to discover how inhabitants of Middle Tennessee and the Americas lived.  Natural trail signs will guide students to a storyteller that focuses on American Indian lifestyle.  


    State Standards: SSP.01, SSP.05, K.02, K.04, 1.03, 1.04, 1.06, 2.01, 2.02, SSP.01, SSP.05, 3.19, 5.27, 5.28

    Appropriate for Grades: 2nd through 4th


    Additional $6 / student material fee


  • Outdoor Survival

    All Seasons

    Learn how to prepare for a trip into the woods.  Practice building a survival shelter and go for a hike with a compass as your guide. 

    Appropriate for grades: 2nd through 12th

  • Food Webs **

    All Seasons

    The balance of nature.  When you figure out the food chain in an ecosystem, you can see how the animals, plants, and their habitat are connected. 


    State Standards: 2.LS2.1, 4.LS2.1, 4.LS2.2, 4.LS2.3

    Appropriate for Grades: 2nd through 12th

  • Forest Ecology

    All Seasons

    Explore the different stages of succession in the forest habitat and learn to identify common Tennessee trees through observation of bark, twigs, and leaves. We will hike through the forest habitats of Owl’s Hill to observe the relationship between plants and animals in the forest ecosystem.


    Appropriate for Grades: 3rd through 12th

  • Fossil Study

    September – November; March - May

    An introduction to fossil investigation using field guides and simple observation techniques.  Learn about the fossils of Middle Tennessee and go on an exploratory hike to find fossils around the sanctuary.


    State Standards: 4.LS4.1, 5.LS4.1

    Appropriate for Grades: 3rd through 12th

    Please note: Limit 2 classes per program


  • Interpretive Habitat Hike

    All Seasons

    Exploratory hike that utilizes sensory experiences and observation while visiting the orchards, cedar forests, mixed deciduous forests, and aquatic habitats around the sanctuary.


    Appropriate for Grades: 3rd through 12th

  • Predators Part of the Picture **

    All Seasons

    This program promotes the understanding of predators, the adaptations for catching prey and why predators help maintain the delicate balance of nature.


    State Standards: 4.LS2.2, 4.LS2.3, 5.LS4.2

    Appropriate for Grades: 3rd through 12th

  • Comparative Anatomy of Mammals

    All Season

    Students will compare and contrast the anatomy of different mammalian orders with use of teeth, skulls and pelts.


    Appropriate for Grades: 9th through 12th


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