Collins Outdoor School Site
3001 SE Oxbow Parkway
Gresham, OR 97080
(971) 930-7457
Fax (503) 257-1592
Outdoor School site phones are only in operation during the Outdoor School session (mid-September to early November in fall; mid-March to early June in spring).
Letters to students should include the student’s name and school.
From Portland, proceed East on I-84 and take exit 17 toward Marine Drive/Troutdale. Use the Right two lanes to turn on to NW Graham Rd. Turn left on to E Columbia River Highway / Historic Columbia River Hwy, then take the next right on to Buxton Road.
After 3 miles, Buxton Road will merge left into SE Division Street. Follow Division for 3 miles until the Oxbow Drive fork and make a slight right onto SE Oxbow Drive (following the sign for Oxbow Park). In 2 miles, turn left onto SE Hosner Rd / SE Oxbow Parkway. The road will twist a little until a slight right turn onto SE Oxbow Park Rd (into Oxbow Park). The turn to Collins is a left at the YMCA Camp Collins sign.
DINING HALL
The dining hall at Collins is centrally located, with the cabin buildings close by. Trails and unpaved roads access most field study areas.
Students, high school Student Leaders, Staff, and Teachers eat family style in the spacious dining hall. Hot, varied, and nutritious meals are prepared by our professional kitchen staff, and students are assigned to help set the tables, deliver and serve the food during the meal, and clean up after the meal on a rotating basis. The dining hall serves as a central hub of activity throughout the day.
CABINS AND RESTROOMS
Most cabins have a private single-stall half-bath.
All students and Student Leaders sleep on bunk beds with mattresses. Students and Student Leaders should bring a sleeping bag (or blankets) and pillow for their stay.
In addition to the restrooms inside the cabins, a main restroom facility with multiple stalls is centrally located in each cabin area. Single-occupancy restrooms can also be found in the Health House and Rusty's Rec Lodge.
Information about these options will be shared at the orientation at the beginning of each week, and students will learn which staff members can help them access what they need. Students and Student Leaders will be given the information about private changing areas during the orientation process as well.
Changing times for students and Student Leaders will be offered and planned for, on a cabin by cabin basis, under the leadership of the Program Leaders. The Angelos/Sandy River site has two cabins with a separate space for changing privacy in them.
OUTDOOR SCHOOL NURSE
There is a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day while your student is at Outdoor School. The nurse takes care of injuries and illnesses as they arise, and also has commonly-forgotten items (like sleeping bags, jackets, and toothbrushes) available to lend. The nurse is available to discreetly clean soiled sleeping bags as needed throughout the week. If you have specific health care or dietary concerns, please contact the Outdoor School Program Nurse, Tom Eby: teby@mesd.k12.or.us
OTHER FEATURES
Rain or shine, the entire Collins community gathers in the evening for a campfire program at the outdoor campfire facility or Rusty's Rec Lodge. Class groups, cabin groups, Student Leaders, and staff perform skits and enjoy songs, and it is many students' favorite part of Outdoor School.
Each afternoon, students participate in recreation, consisting of games, hikes, arts & crafts, archery, or other non-academic activities. These activities are led by staff members or classroom teachers and consist of a mixture of students from each participating class.
Field study at Outdoor School — when students learn science — occurs throughout the site. The Collins site is located along the Sandy River adjacent to Oxbow Regional Park, and features lush forests.
From the Chinook Nation's Website: "The modern Chinook Indian Nation consists of the Clatsop and Kathlamet of what is now Oregon and the Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum and Willapa of Washington State. Our five historically important Tribes have existed since time immemorial in our aboriginal territory at the mouth of the Columbia River. It is here that our Chinook families welcomed Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean and helped them survive the winter of 1805 and 1806."
The MESD Outdoor School program rents YMCA Camp Collins in the Spring of each school year. YMCA Camp Collins offers summer camp programs and rental facilities for private events. The Outdoor School program began using the YMCA Camp Collins property in 1971.
