All Students are Welcome

Plan a Visit Today

The Oakland Nature Preserve welcomes students of all ages to visit our beautiful 128-acre nature preserve and environmental education center. We are open 365 days a year from 8am until sunset.

Give your classes an experience and not just a field trip

Nature stimulates the imagination. It inspires creativity and brings happiness to those who take time to examine the creatures around us. We believe that people of all ages need to have a respect and connection to the natural world. A life without a curiosity and admiration for the beauty of nature is an impoverished life. It is our mission to awaken an appreciation for just how beautiful Florida is in everyone who visits our preserve.

In nature, there are endless lessons to be learned

In House School Programs

Please email our Director of Education if you are interested in bringing a class to our center. Please include the following information in your email message:

- Perspective Number of students attending
- Their general age/grade
- Preferred date or date range of the visit
- Affiliation (School or Institute Visiting)

We require a fee of $3.00 for each person in the group. Teachers  are admitted for free.

A typical field trip lasts approximately three-four hours. This includes a hike down the boardwalk to Lake Apopka, a short lecture on our history in the visitor center and an animal demonstration.

Traveling Lesson Program

In this day and age of budget cuts, hiring freezes and FCAT testing- less and less time is being allocated for a quality education in science. We at the Oakland Nature Preserve want to educate the students of Central Florida regardless of whether or not they can find the time and funding or bus drivers to come to ONP.

If you would like our Director of Education to prepare a lesson on an environmental topic pertinent to your lessons please contact us! Call or send an email and we can plan a visit to your classroom to bring our educational programs to you.

Sunshine State Standards & ONP

The Oakland Nature Preserve is aware of the standards, benchmarks and access points used by the Florida Public School System. Our programs are designed to justify a visit to our preserve because we present the information students are required to learn at each grade level in such a way that it has a greater impact then if presented in the classroom. A visit to the Oakland Nature Preserve will provide your classes with the information teachers are required to teach and students are required to learn.

Public Programs

The Oakland Nature Preserve is open 365 days a year! Our boardwalk, nature trails and visitor center are free and open from 8am- Sundown.

Most of our public programs at the Oakland Nature Preserve are free but some do require a participation fee. We encourage you to browse our list of public programs and keep checking back often because we are adding new programs all the time.

We hope you decide to become a member of the Oakland Nature Preserve and join us for many of our public programs. The Oakland Nature Preserve is a 501 (C) 3, non-profit organization and we depend on membership dues and donations to keep our doors open 365 days a year. Please see our membership section for more information.

The Nature of Our Nature Lecture Series

Price- Free
Date- Monthly (The 1^st Thursday of every month)
Time- 7pm-8pm with Q&A session to follow
Location- Lecture Hall
Target Age Group- All Ages Welcome
Contact- Director of Education, 407-905-0054

The Oakland Nature Preserve is proud to offer our Monthly lecture series on the 1^st Thursday of every month at 7pm. Each lecture will have a different topic presented by our Director of Education and Biologist in Residence, Clayton Louis Ferrara. Topics include Florida natural history, biology, conservation, zoology, ecology and current topics in science news. Please check the Calendar section of our website to learn about up-coming topics and lecture schedule. Complementary hot tea will be served at each lecture.

Take a HIKE!- with the Oakland Nature Preserve

Price: Free
When: 3rd Saturday of EVERY Month
Time: 2:00pm
Where: Meet in Visitor Center

Join our Director of Education and Biologist in Residence for a spirited hike around our preserve. Learn about the animals, plants, habitats and ongoing restoration at ONP. Lean about the history of ONP and the history of Florida. Lean how to tell a seepage spring from a sinkhole and a pine flat-woods from an Oak hammock. Lean about the birds, the bees and everything in-between. The Group assembles in the visitor center before hitting the trails at 2pm. Perfect for students and children interested in the environment. We will also have a live animal discussion featuring some of our animals. Bring your cameras and Binoculars.

The Central Florida Insect Enthusiasts

Price- Free
Date- Monthly (1^st Saturday of every month)
Time- 10am-11am Meeting and 11am-12pm Collection Safari
Location- Natural/Cultural History Museum
Target Age Group- All Ages Welcome
Contact- Director of Education, 407-905-0054

The Central Florida Insect Enthusiasts hold their meetings on the 1st Saturday of every month at the Oakland Nature Preserve from 10am-11am. Join us and hear a free lecture presentation on a new insect each meeting before we go on safari to collect insects and build a collection of all the insects of West Orange County! Butterfly nets, collections jars and field guides are provided for use. Please wear outdoor attire.

Garden of WEEDIN’ Group

Price- Free
Date- EVERY Wednesday of Every Month
Time- 8:00am-12pm
Location-Meet in ONP Parking Lot

If you like playing in the dirt, join other like minded folks each Wednesday morning. Jackie Rolly, a member of the Tarflower Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society, leads this group and is very happy to train you to recognize the native good guys and invasive-exotic bad guys. You will quickly learn the difference between Mulhly grass and Natal grass- saving the good and pulling the bad. Wear Comfortable clothing you don’t mind getting dirty, a hat and gloves. We are often working in full-sun areas, so sunscreen, and a water bottle (there are water fountains available for refills) are also recommended. We have a sufficient number of tools available, but if you have a favorite gardening tool of your own, please feel free to bring it. All are welcome. If you have questions, contact us at Volunteers@OaklandNaturePreserve.org or call 407-905-0054.

The Central Florida Turtle & Tortoise Club Monthly Meeting

Price: Free
Date: 3rd Tuesday of EVERY Month
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Location: The ONP Visitor Center

Nothing on earth is quite like a turtle. Join the local Turtle and Tortoise club of Central Florida for their meetings and lectures on turtles. Learn about turtle care and turtle biology. Visit TurtleAndTortoiseClubOfFlorida.com  for more info (Turtles are Welcome to attend).

After School Science Club (K-8)

The Oakland Nature Preserve is offering a new after school science club for young, budding scientists! Students can meet other like-minded students and learn about science and nature with our Director of Education and Ms. Jessica Masser-Schurig of the Oakland Avenue Charter School. Students will learn about nature, make crafts and nets, collect plankton and insects, use binoculars to identify birds, plant plants, dig up fossils, make molds of animal tracks, assemble skeletons and earn our Jr. Scientist certificate!

There is a $15.00 enrollment fee per semester and after that all the classes are free. Come to as many or as few as you like during the school semester. Call 407-905-0054 for more details. Classes begin on April Eighth and the first semester ends on July 29th, 2010. Offered every Thursday of the Week from 4:00 PM- 5:30 PM.

 We encourage you to sign up quickly because space is limited to 30 students per semester at this time. We except students age K-8. Please call 407-905-0054 for more details.

Note: This is designed as a drop-off program however; parents are welcome to stay for our programming. We do not release students for pick up to adults other then those dropping off with out written consent.