ARNHA/EYNC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TERMS AND CONDITIONS
(Updated 8/04/2025)Our goals are that your field trip or classroom experience is enjoyable, safe, and of the highest quality. With these important goals in mind, we have set up procedures that will help maintain your group’s safety, will ensure your students gain the maximum benefit from their visit, and lessen our impact on the Nature Study Area trails (program dependent). Please read the following as some policies may have changed. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Scheduling Coordinator, at scheduling@sacnaturecenter.net.
Reservations: All reservations are on a “first-come, first-served” basis and processed via Roverd. Advance registration is required. Reservations (and payments) are confirmed when you receive a confirmation email from Roverd with your registration details. If you need any assistance with booking your program, please contact the scheduling coordinator.
Group Size: School programs are designed for one class per program, with a maximum of 35 students. Nature in Your Classroom programs cover 1 – 5 adults (depending on the program) including the teacher, parent helpers, and aides.
Field trips to the Nature Center (or other Parkway location) cover up to 35 students and 4-8 adult chaperones, including teachers and aides.
Small group programs (Hike with a Naturalist and Hike with a Naturalist +) are limited to a maximum of 18 participants.
Young at Heart programs are designed for 40 people.
If your group is above these limits, please contact the scheduling coordinator to discuss potential accommodation.
Payments: To book a program on Roverd, you will need to either pay, up-front, the deposit or the full amount via credit card. If you are unable to pay any amount via credit card, please contact the scheduling coordinator at scheduling@sacnaturecenter.net for assistance. We can accept checks; to do so, EYNC staff will need to manually book your program(s). Any program(s) without full payment or deposit received by the agreed deadline (up to one month) will result in the cancellation of the reservation. Upon request, we can rebook the reservation, though we cannot guarantee the requested date(s) will still be available. We will do our best to find alternative dates based on our availability. The remaining balance is due two (2) weeks prior to your program date.
If your school is located more than 30 miles roundtrip from the Nature Center, there will be a mileage fee to cover the extra travel time/costs.
Rescheduling: We understand that sometimes changes might need to occur after you reserve a program. One change order per reservation will be accommodated at no cost two weeks prior to the scheduled date of service. Additional changes may result in an administrative fee and/or cancellation of the reservation. Unless an emergency or act of nature, programs will not be rescheduled less than two weeks prior to reservation date.
Cancellations: We require notice of cancellation at least 14 days prior to the first program date on your reservation. Some extenuating circumstances can be resolved with a reschedule.
Supervision: Attending adults are responsible for supervision and must remain with the students/residents at all times.
Weather: Programs are delivered rain or shine. In the event of any unsafe conditions (e.g. hazardous weather, park closures, fallen trees), EYNC Staff will not be able to provide your program as scheduled. If this happens, EYNC will reach out via the provided number on the reservation and reschedule your program with no extra charge.
Animal Ambassador Availability: The Effie Yeaw Nature Center offers a variety of programs involving live animals. Depending on the program, the number of animals brought to a program may range from 1 – 3. We cannot guarantee specific or multiple animals for your program, as animals' needs and care are assessed daily to ensure their well-being.
Unscheduled Groups: Because of the sensitive ecosystem here at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Ancil Hoffman Park, we encourage larger groups without scheduled reservations to be mindful that they will be sharing the space with paid field trip participants, there may be congested areas especially inside the Natural History Museum, and there may be occupancy limitations to capacity in certain areas like the trails (recommended 20 maximum) per the American River Parkway Plan 2008 Editions. Please call the Effie Yeaw Nature Center to inquire our program schedule for that day.
The Effie Yeaw Nature Center on-site programs may include wading in a pond or river and hiking on unpaved, uneven trails, as indicated in the program description. All natural
areas may contain hazardous plants, animals, geographic features as well as possible allergens from some of our cultural programming demonstrations (e.g. smoke, fish, and nuts).
Please ensure all participants have closed-toe shoes.
COVID-19 policies: We closely follow local, state, and CDC COVID-19 health guidelines and will keep our community posted on any changes to COVID-19 protocols and recommendations.
Intellectual Property: Recording of any Effie Yeaw Nature Center produced PowerPoint presentations is prohibited. We appreciate photographs and videos of your students, chaperones, and teachers enjoying their field trip or classroom experience. If your school has its students cleared for photo release, we would be grateful to have a copy to share them on official Effie Yeaw Nature Center social media platforms and for marketing purposes. If you are interested in any of the materials presented during your program, please contact us.
The Effie Yeaw Nature Center, American River Natural History Association (ARNHA) and the County of Sacramento, their officers and employees and any cosponsor of the activity, are held harmless from and against all liability for accident or injury to participants arising out of participation in this program.
Young at Heart
Awaken your inner child and love for the natural world as a Naturalist shares a variety of animal biofacts and have a personal meeting with a couple of our animal ambassadors. There is also an option to have your group visit the Nature Center for a guided hike and animal ambassador meeting.
This is a 1-hour program at your facility (or at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center upon request).
This program can accommodate up to 40 adults (including staff) and on weekdays.
