Education

Field Trips Small Group Programs Summer Programs

We accept credit cards over the phone.  Payment for all workshops or classes can be sent to:
The Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens
438 Coleman Ave.
San Jose, CA 95110

For more information please contact our Education Department at education@grpg.org or 408-298-7657.

Adventures in the Park For Kids

Programs will be held at the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens Visitor & Education Center, located at 438 Coleman Avenue. Reservations are required. For more information, or to reserve a spot for any of the programs below, contact us at education@grpg.org or 408-298-7657.

Crafting Natural Gifts!
Friday, December 12
3:30 to 5:00 pm
$10/members, $15/non-members
Ages: 5-10
With the giving season just around the corner why not create an artistic masterpiece for your mom, dad, grandparents or even a special friend. Take a nature walk and find items that will make beautiful cards, placemats, wrapping paper or bird feeders. Decorate your home and yard with natural ornaments and provide food for the birds as well. It’s time to let your creativity shine and let nature be your inspiration! This is a great way to slow down the hectic holiday season and help kids connect to nature.

Insect - igations!
Friday, January 13th
3:30 to 5:00 pm
$10/members, $15/non-members
Ages: 5-10
Don’t have to look hard to find masters of camouflage, crazy secret weapons and devious tricks of survival! Join Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens as we explore the world of Insects; these mostly tiny, short-lived, arthropods who outnumber all other fellow creatures on earth! We’ll do an experiment to find out how water striders move on top of the water, play a game and take a walk down to the river to find insects we can see under the microscope. Become a budding entomologist and check out some wild and wacky bugs from far and wide. Can you say Isopods?

Batty for Bats!
Friday, February 6th
3:30 to 5:00 pm
$10/members, $15/non-members
Ages: 5-10
The Bat Lady is coming to the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens!  This is a special opportunity to learn about the only flying mammal, one we rarely see because it is up and awake when we are sleeping! We’ll learn amazing facts about bats, what they eat, how they hang onto their mothers when they are young and what happens when the weather starts getting cold.  Up close you’ll be able to see special adaptations they have, one of the reasons bats have been around for 50 million years. Imagine! If your fingers were like bats, they would be longer than your legs!

Programs For Adults

All events will be held at the new Guadalupe River Park & Gardens Visitor & Education Center, located at 438 Coleman Avenue. Space is limited, so reserve your spot early by contacting us at education@grpg.org or 408-298-7657 or by sending a check to: Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, 438 Coleman Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110. Visa and MasterCard are also accepted via phone or mail. For more information please call 408-298-7657.

Annual Holiday Wreath Workshop!
Saturday, December 13
10:00-12:00pm
1:30 to 3:30 pm
$15/members, $20/non-members
This annual workshop is so popular; we’ve added an additional time slot. Get ready for the holidays the old-fashioned way by making your own wreath to adorn your front door!  Master Gardener Milli Wright and friends will show us how to look through our gardens and parks to find unusual items that can be incorporated into the wreaths. After a basic design lesson, you will be ready to create a personal gift for your home. All basic materials will be provided, but if you have some special greenery, lights or ornaments that you would like to incorporate onto your wreath, feel free to bring them along.

Dormant Fruit Tree Pruning
Saturday, January 24th  
9:30 to11:30am
$10/members, $15/non-members
Winter is the perfect time to sign up for a pruning workshop in the Historic Orchard with Sean McGrail, Landscaper. Learn how to prune fruit trees with demonstrations and then get to practice what you’ve learned and support the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens by actually pruning different varieties of fruit trees. The Historic Orchard is a 3.3-acre site planted in 1994 to showcase the varieties of fruit trees that once made the Santa Clara Valley famous as "The Valley of Heart's Delight". It is located in Guadalupe Gardens just south of Taylor Street and adjacent to the River Park trails. The orchard contains over 250 fruit trees, including cherries, apricots, prunes, apples, and more. It is maintained by dedicated volunteers.

Successful Backyard Birdhouses!
Saturday, February 7th
10:00 to 12:00 pm
$10/members, $15/non-members
Have you ever put up a birdhouse and never had birds move in and start housekeeping? Do you wonder why some people always seem to have baby birds in their yards? Where and how you mount the bird boxes and which boxes attract your local birds, is critical to your success. Join Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens  and Mike Azevedo, County Coordinator for Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society’s Cavity Nester Recovery Program to get the clues to attracting birds to nest boxes in your neighborhood. Mike will show you the local birds that use nest boxes, how to tell which birds live on your block and where those birds like their nest boxes to be placed. Learn how to help restore the cavity nesting bird population that has been declining with the Audubon Society’s program to put up and monitor nest boxes at parks, cemeteries and other open spaces.

Spring Walking Series
Saturday, March 14th  (8 weeks)
8:30 to 9:30am
$40/members, $50/non-members
Burst out of winter with a new walking series! Join Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens for their eight week Spring walking Series. Step by step, you’ll be healthier as a result of this class that leads you through the paved trails along the Guadalupe River. Come check out the changes along the trails. Learn proper stretches, toning exercises and wellness tips as you meet others who enjoy exercising outdoors along the way.  Varied fitness levels will be offered. Led by fitness instructot:

Kristin Strellis
Kristin has a degree in Exercise Science and is certified by the American Council on Exercise as a Personal Trainer. She has received training by SCW fitness education as a Moms In Motion Trainer, Kids In Motion Trainer and Yoga Instructor. She is CPR, AED and First Aid certified. Kristin enjoys bringing exercise to the outdoors. Join her as she incorporates fun and education into her classes which challenge both the mind and body.

Watch for upcoming adult programs:
A Beginning Birding Class this winter
Growing vegetables from seed coming in February