Program History

Rhoda, a Wildlife Resource Specialist, employs a fool-proof method of keeping students' attention.
History by Decade
Before 1966
Early Events Contributing to the Formation of Outdoor School
Outdoor School undoubtedly had its inception as school camping, which may have begun in the 1860's when the private Gunnery School for Boys in Washington, Connecticut took the entire student body for two weeks of camping, fishing, hiking, and working outdoors.
The earliest public school camping venture was probably in Dubuque, Iowa in 1912, but school camping programs were noted in Los Angeles and in Atlanta, Georgia in the mid 20's. In the 30's Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Ellensburg, Washington schools experimented with school camping on a day-camp basis. In Michigan, the Ann Arbor and Cadillac public schools acquired property, built buildings and operated day, field trip and summer sessions. It was not until 1940, though, that the first year-round camp went into operation in Michigan on the assumption that school / camping should be a part of the school curriculum. In 1946, the Michigan Department of Public Instruction, Dept. of Conservation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation engaged in a joint venture of school camping and outdoor education when they built Clear Lake Camp near Battle Creek. From this time on, what had been known as school camping there became known as the resident outdoor school. Also in 1946, San Diego organized the City-County Camp Commission to operate church-owned Camp Cuyamaca, the first year-round outdoor education program in California. Tyler, Texas was among the early school system to construct a facility for year round school camping, beginning in 1949. Since then many states followed the patterns which had been set and, in the 50's, developed pilot projects to explore the outdoor school concept. Among these was Oregon.
Dr. Irene Hollenbeck of Southern Oregon College conducted the first pilot project in outdoor education through school camping in Oregon. A camp with the unlikely name "Dead Indian Soda Springs", was the site and in April of 1957, 23 fifth and sixth grade children spent 5 days living and learning in the out-of-doors. Resource people from the US Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service and Oregon Game Commission assisted with what was then known locally as Conservation Education.
Concurrently other educators in Oregon were becoming interested in school camping and could see the opportunities for integrating the regular school curriculum into an outdoor experience through "Conservation" education- in a state that relied so heavily on natural resources for its economy.
A second pilot project got underway in the spring of 1958 when Miss Margaret Milliken of Oregon State University and Austin Hamer of the Oregon Game Commission approached Superintendent Cecil Sly of Crook County School with a proposal for a week-long outdoor school project for Prineville sixth graders. The week of May 12-16 was selected and privately-owned Camp Tamarack near Sisters, Oregon was chosen as the site. Again, Forest Service, Soil Conservation and Game Commission personnel were used as resource staff for nature and conservation subjects. This was the first pilot project in outdoor education to receive approval to use State curriculum improvement funds. The project was to act as an observation post for many visiting school administrators as well as the production site for a film titled "Mrs. McCormacks Outdoor Classroom", as a promotional tool.
Even before the Prineville project was completed, plans for a second pilot project were being made. The Salem School District became interested in having a program for their educationally advanced students in the intermediate grades. Miss Milliken and Mr. Hamer were again approached to conduct the project, set for October 14-19, 1958, again at Camp Tamarack. Fifty-five 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, educationally-advanced students participated. Resource agency people were again used as conservation instructors in teaching the wise use of such resources as soil, water, grasses, shrubs and trees, and fish and wildlife.
With the example set by these early projects in Oregon, as well as others nationwide, outdoor education became recognized as do-able and the perfect medium for integrating regular school curriculum into an outdoor social living experience, as well as teaching natural science in the most appropriate environment - in the outdoors. Experimentation with pilot outdoor school projects soon ensued in other Oregon school districts, they turned to Miss Margaret Milliken of OSU and Miss Marian Perry of U of 0, who were now teaching spring classes in camping education. Their students acted as counselors for these projects with credit gained for their participation. Austin Hamer of the Oregon Game Commission, Bob Brown of the soil conservation and Earnie McDonald of the US Forest Service were often cooperators, as were many other government natural-resource agency personnel. A pattern for future outdoor schools was being established.
REGIONAL OUTDOOR EDUCATION
The present Multnomah Outdoor School program probably gained its inception early in 1963 when a group of science educators, governmental resource agency people, city and administrators and industry representatives from the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area met to discuss a common concern. There had been a growing number of requests from local school teachers wanting help in teaching "conservation" to their students and who wanted to learn to use the outdoors as a classroom. A small number of these requests had been handled by information-education specialists from local resource agencies, but these people were few in number and their time limited. A committee was formed to work on the problem.
The committee's first effort was the development of a two mile, self-guided, nature trail in Portland's 3,650 acre Forest Park. A guidebook was devised to help teachers describe natural points of interest as they led their classes along the course. The trail became known as the Portland Area Resource Education Tour and later the P.A.R.E.T. trail. The project was an immediate success with some 5,000 students and their teachers eventually using the trail. The committee also became knows as the P.A.R.E.T. committee. But, the trail was only a token solution to local conservation education needs. The P.A.R.E.T. committee decided a full-scale Outdoor Education program was needed, and they explored those Outdoor Education programs that had run intermittently since 1957 in Oregon. They found that the format for a week-long, resident, coed Outdoor School for sixth grade students had been
evolving in Oregon and provided a starting point.
1966–1969
- Spring 1966 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
- Fall 1966 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
- Spring 1967 — ODS History
- Fall 1967 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
- Spring 1968 — ODS History
- Fall 1968 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
- Spring 1969 — ODS History
- Fall 1969 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
Spring 1966 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
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Coltonfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 ![]() from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971 |
Fall 1966 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
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Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971 |
Spring 1967 — ODS History
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Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 In the winter of 1966-67 a great deal of promotional work was done by the central staff as well as by the P.A.R.E.T. Committee. The P.A.R.E.T. Committee renamed itself the Oregon Outdoor Education Council in the hopes of assuming a larger role in the promotion of Outdoor Education in Oregon. A color brochure on the Regional Outdoor Education program was developed and the Portland and Oregon Chapters of the Izaak Walton League of America were successfully approached for $742 to cover printing costs. Assistance was also sought from the Northwest Regional Educational Research Laboratory to produce a 16mm film promoting the project. $1,000 was gleaned from the budget to help with filming costs. |
Fall 1967 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
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Colton, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 By June 1967, it became apparent that enough contract service was being requested that Regional Outdoor Education could operate two Outdoor Schools in the fall. The Hillsboro School District in Washington County led the field by requesting that all their sixth graders take part. The larger Beaverton School District, in the same county, asked that 1/4 of their sixth grade classes be included. from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971 The Regional Outdoor Education project was again renewed by the U.S.O.E. at the same level, for 1967-68. |
Spring 1968 — ODS History
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Coltonfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Upon completion of the fall school, work began immediately on plans to insure the survival of the program after Federal funding terminated on June 30, 1968. The most feasible course appeared to be to continue the program as a service of the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District. |
Fall 1968 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
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Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Under the now, direct, leadership of the Multnomah Education Service District, the Outdoor School , program took its first county-financed solo flight. The staff was provided an undeniable challenge with the opportunity to treble the program size over the previous, Federally-sponsored, spring operation. One additional central staff person, Rudy "Digger" Bohm (an early and an accomplished participant in Regional Outdoor Education) was hired and a third Outdoor School site negotiated and prepared. Canby Grove Camp, near Canby, Oregon was developed and equipped as the new site. from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971 In the 1968-69 school year the program doubled in size with 4,857 students participating, 1,952 of them from the Hillsboro, Beaverton and Oak Grove Districts and from Sherman County. In addition to Trout Creek and Colton, Canby Grove Camp was added in the fall and Camp Adams the following spring to handle the increase. Mr. Rudy Bohm was added to the Outdoor Education staff as an Outdoor Education Specialist on a nine-month contract. Bohm had joined the program as a part-time employee in its first session and has been a constant contributor |
Spring 1969 — ODS History
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AdamS, Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Meanwhile, Multnomah lED Outdoor School was planning for four Outdoor Schools in the spring of 1969. An additional site at Camp Adams, near Colton, Oregon was negotiated and prepared and the task of recruiting and training a total of 75 part-time, paid staff, 112 teachers and 500 Junior Counselors was undertaken. |
Fall 1969 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
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ADAMS, Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 OUTCOMES OF THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM IN WHICH RESULTS EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971 The 1969-70 participation excluded contract schools but rose to 5,943 students from 229 classes in Multnomah County. This was approximately two-thirds of the available sixth graders; Mr. Martin Kuns,long time participant in the program joined the staff as a nine month Outdoor Education Specialist. |
1970–1979
- Spring 1970 — ODS History
- Fall 1970 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
- Spring 1971 — MCIED Bulletin (downloadable)
- Fall 1971
- Spring 1972
- Fall 1972
- Spring 1973
- Fall 1973 — ODS History
- Spring 1974
- Fall 1974
- Spring 1975
- Fall 1975
- Spring 1976
- Fall 1976
- Spring 1977
- Fall 1977
- Spring 1978
- Fall 1978
- Spring 1979 — Sites Map
- Fall 1979
Spring 1970 — ODS History
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AdamS, Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Once Multnomah Outdoor Education moved into an entirely "Resolution" financed agenda, the task was then to expand staff, facilities, supply and sites to accommodate increasing numbers. A successful format had been established and full participation of all 6th grader students was the goal. |
Fall 1970 — ODS History, MCIED Bulletin
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AdamS, Canby Grove, Colton, Nate Creek, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 In 1970/71 expansion continued to accommodate every sixth grade class in the county. By this time, however, the county 6th grade population had somewhat declined and only 8, 000 students were available. By now five outdoor school sites were leased each fall and spring, each running for 6 or 7 weeks, twice a year, depending on available classes. from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971 In this current school year another Outdoor School site, Nate Creek Camp, was added in the fall and now Camp Collins brings the total to six. By May 28 every sixth grade student in the 14 school districts in Multnomah County will have had the opportunity to attend a week at Outdoor School with his class and teacher. |
Spring 1971 — MCIED Bulletin (downloadable)
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AdamS, Canby Grove, Collins, Colton, Nate Creek, Trout Creek![]()
![]() WARREN GILFILLAN, DIRECTOR OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION ''Mr. Gil" as he is known at Outdoor School, grew up in Seattle, Washington, but backpacked the trails of the Cascades and Olympics as a "country" kid during his youth. After service with the Army Air Corps during World War II he graduated from Washington State University in Wildlife Management, and worked for a time with both Washington and California Game Departments.
![]() BOB BURGESS, COORDINATOR OF INSTRUCTION OUTDOOR EDUCATION
![]() "DIGGER"
![]() "MR. SPIKE"
![]() JUNIOR COUNSELORS VITAL LINKS IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION
![]() Collins - New Outdoor School Site
![]() JUNIOR COUNSELORS NOW BUSED TO OUTDOOR SCHOOL |
Fall 1971
Spring 1972
Fall 1972
Spring 1973
Fall 1973 — ODS History
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Sitesfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Multnomah Outdoor Education also developed two other adjuncts to environmental learning. During the mid-1970's, the Youth Conservation Corps was federally financed to provide summertime, outdoor, work-experience for America's teen-age youth. Multnomah Outdoor Education, with its reservoir of trained, outdoor instructors, embraced the program and conducted seven YCC summer programs for the Bureau of land Management and the US Forest Service. Because a high percentage of the Youth Conservation Corps experience was dedicated to environmental learning, the Outdoor School staff was eminently suited to this excellent youth program. Keeping Outdoor School staff in the area was an important advantage to administrators. |
Spring 1974
Fall 1974
Spring 1975
Fall 1975
Spring 1976
Fall 1976
Spring 1977
Fall 1977
Spring 1978
Fall 1978
Spring 1979 — Sites Map
Fall 1979
1980–1989
- Spring 1980
- Fall 1980 — ODS History
- Spring 1981
- Fall 1981
- Spring 1982
- Fall 1982 — Governor McCall and the 100,000th 6th grader
- Spring 1983
- Fall 1983 — Sites Map
- Spring 1984
- Fall 1984
- Spring 1985 — Sites Map
- Fall 1985 — Sites Map
- Spring 1986
- Fall 1986 — Sites Map
- Spring 1987
- Fall 1987
- Spring 1988
- Fall 1988
- Spring 1989 — Consortium Map
- Fall 1989
Spring 1980
Fall 1980 — ODS History
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Sitesfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Starting in the fall of 1980, Multnomah Outdoor Education created and conducted a local environmental program, utilizing a "floating" outdoor classroom that traveled from Hayden Island on the Columbia River to the falls at Oregon City. Some fifty 8th graders, pre-exposed to local history through prepared classroom guides and filmstrips, boarded a boat for a half-day excursion. A trained educator / guide pointed out the sites of ancient Indian camps and modem industrial developments—from the water view—the best way to see Portland's industry. The program was financed initially by Multnomah Education Service District seed money, but was overwhelmingly funded by river-edge industries and the Port of Portland. Due to the financial recession of the early 1980s the program died for lack of funding. Titled the Willamette Harbor Tour, the project accommodated over 5, 000 metropolitan 8th graders. |
Spring 1981
Fall 1981
Spring 1982
Fall 1982 — Governor McCall and the 100,000th 6th grader
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Sites![]() from Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 In the fall of 1982 a benchmark was reached when the 100,000th 6th grader arrived at the Howard Outdoor School site. An impressive ceremony was held for former and current Outdoor School participants. The high-lite of the occasion was the enthusiastic participation of former Governor Tom McCall, the Northwest's leading environmental advocate. It was to be his last public appearance and he died of cancer shortly after. Outdoor School was honored. |
Spring 1983
Fall 1983 — Sites Map
Spring 1984
Fall 1984
Spring 1985 — Sites Map
Fall 1985 — Sites Map
Spring 1986
Fall 1986 — Sites Map
Spring 1987
Fall 1987
Spring 1988
Fall 1988
Spring 1989 — Consortium Map
Fall 1989
1990–1999
- Spring 1990 — Sites Map
- Fall 1990
- Spring 1991
- Fall 1991 — Sites Map
- Spring 1992
- Fall 1992
- Spring 1993
- Fall 1993
- Spring 1994
- Fall 1994
- Spring 1995
- Fall 1995
- Spring 1996 — ODS History
- Fall 1996
- Spring 1997
- Fall 1997
- Spring 1998
- Fall 1998
- Spring 1999
- Fall 1999
Spring 1990 — Sites Map
Fall 1990
Spring 1991
Fall 1991 — Sites Map
Spring 1992
Fall 1992
Spring 1993
Fall 1993
Spring 1994
Fall 1994
Spring 1995
Fall 1995
Spring 1996 — ODS History
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Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creekfrom Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996 Over the years Multnomah Outdoor Education has leased 13 different youth camps for the Outdoor School experience. Beside the lower cost, leasing accommodates the fluctuating levels of available 6th grade students. Camps used have been Colton, Collins, Trout Creek, Howard, Canby Grove, Adams, Nate Creek, Crestview, Sports Acres, Eagle Fern, Arrah Wanna, Trestle Glen, and Sandy River. |
Fall 1996
Spring 1997
Fall 1997
Spring 1998
Fall 1998
Spring 1999
Fall 1999
2000–2010
- Spring 2000
- Fall 2000
- Spring 2001
- Fall 2001
- Spring 2002
- Fall 2002
- Spring 2003
- Fall 2003
- Spring 2004 — SL Scholarships
- Fall 2004 — Wood Cookie Newsletter
- Spring 2005
- Fall 2005
- Spring 2006 — PTT Program Begins
- Fall 2006
- Spring 2007
- Fall 2007
- Spring 2008
- Fall 2008
- Spring 2009 — French American Program Photo
- Fall 2009
Spring 2000
Fall 2000
Spring 2001
Fall 2001
Spring 2002
Fall 2002
Spring 2003
Fall 2003
Spring 2004 — SL Scholarships
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Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy RiverOutdoor School Student Leader Scholarships Announced Parents, students, and Outdoor School staff gathered together on June 10 to celebrate the 2004 Student Leader Scholarship Award winners. Just under $10,000 in scholarships was awarded to 10 student leaders for their outstanding service.
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Fall 2004 — Wood Cookie Newsletter
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Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy RiverThe Wood Cookie • Volume 6, Number 1 • Summer 2004 |
Spring 2005
Fall 2005
Spring 2006 — PTT Program Begins
Fall 2006
Spring 2007
Fall 2007
Spring 2008
Fall 2008
Spring 2009 — French American Program Photo
Fall 2009
2010–2019
- Spring 2010
- Fall 2010
- Spring 2011
- Fall 2011
- Spring 2012
- Fall 2012 — Oregon Field Guide video
- Spring 2013
- Fall 2013
- Spring 2014
- Fall 2014 — Portland Tribune Article
- Spring 2015
- Fall 2015 — Oregon Forest Resources Institute enrichment
- Spring 2016 — 50th Anniversary, PTT, SL Scholarship
- Fall 2016 — Measure 99 Passes, Return to Namanu, KATU video
- Spring 2017
- Fall 2017
- Spring 2018
- Fall 2018
- Spring 2019
- Fall 2019
Spring 2010
Fall 2010
Spring 2011
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
Fall 2012 — Oregon Field Guide video
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Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Sandy RiverOregon Field Guide Episode: Outdoor School Aired: 11/15/2012
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Spring 2013
Fall 2013
Spring 2014
Fall 2014 — Portland Tribune Article
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Arrah Wanna, Howard, Sandy RiverPortland Tribune Article
![]() Photo Credit: PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: JONATHAN HOUSE - Camp Howard Outdoor School supervisor Andrea 'Coho' Hussey shows visitors Martin Kuns and Wally Cole what's changed and what's stayed the same from earlier times.
To the roomful of sixth-graders, Mr. Gil was just another grown-up, a guest at the table who got the extra chocolate chip cookie at the end of the meal. As per tradition, they all called one another by their Outdoor School names, which people choose for themselves and proudly wear on a “wood cookie” necklace while at camp.
![]() Photo Credit: PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: JONATHAN HOUSE - Kim Silva, executive director of Friends of Outdoor School, walks the grounds of Camp Howard with Outdoor School founder Warren Gilfillan, better known as Mr. Gil.
Three generations of Oregonians have now experienced the rite of passage that is Outdoor School, created as a weeklong environmental learning experience in the field. For many Oregon youth, it has been a formative experience, the first time they get up close with nature.
Seeking statewide funding
![]() Photo Credit: PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: JONATHAN HOUSE - Mr. Gil, second from right, stands with fellow Outdoor School pioneers Bob Name Tag Mann (left), Jim Duster Gorter, Wally Wapiti Cole, and Martin Spike Kuns.
“We believe there’s a lot more interest statewide” than a few years ago, says Kim Silva, executive director of Friends of Outdoor School, which works to support students in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties.
The program wouldn’t be what it is today without Mr. Gil’s vision, Prince says. “He has an unbelievable amount of energy and creativity. ... When I look at the 1967 movie, I see kids doing the same stuff today. Wow, that’s endurance. ... He had such a positive outlook on youth.”
![]() Photo Credit: PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: JONATHAN HOUSE - Outdoor School students get ready to go to their next activity.
Mr. Gil traveled with them both until last year, to places such as Nepal, Tibet, China and Europe, but says he’s “too old” for that now.
“Outdoor School is where I learned to teach,” says Byron-Law, who teaches chemistry, AP chemistry and the natural history of Oregon at Sandy High School. “It’s where I first saw how much a young person can transform in a nurturing, stimulating environment.” |
Spring 2015
Fall 2015 — Oregon Forest Resources Institute enrichment
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Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Cascade, Howard![]() Oregon Forest Resources Institute - Field Instructor enrichment field trip, along with staff from Northwest Regional Outdoor Science School |
Spring 2016 — 50th Anniversary, PTT, SL Scholarship
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Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Kiwanis, Kuratli50th Anniversary celebration for current and former staff and their families, held on March 5th, 2016 at the Angelos Outdoor School site. ![]()
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Wheels on a Big Rig
Magic Penny
Stairway to Bubblegum
Friday Song
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Passages Through Time 2016 ![]() Flux, Urchin, Weasel, Falco, Trout, Hatchet, Ladybug, Twilight, Glucose, Karma 2016 Student Leader Scholarship Winners Hedgehog Flurry Aloe Vera Toasty Lumos Jasper Rialto |
Fall 2016 — Measure 99 Passes, Return to Namanu, KATU video
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Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, NamanuOregon Measure 99, Outdoor School Lottery Fund Initiative (2016) The Outdoor School Lottery Fund Initiative, also known as Measure 99, was on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute. It was approved. Outdoor School for All captured stories from past participants about why Outdoor School was important for them and for future Oregonians. Videos below are from Outdoor School for All. |
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Outdoor School returns to the Namanu site! |
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Video features slide show of nature, staff, and buildings from throughout Namanu's Outdoor School history. Text shown in video: An old site comes back again. A fearless leader and his dedicated team will make the magic happen. This fall, get ready for six weeks of science. The Return to Namanu.
KATU: Kara Mack takes us out to Outdoor School to celebrate Living Rootopia. |
Spring 2017
Fall 2017
Spring 2018
Fall 2018
Spring 2019
Fall 2019
2020–2029
- Spring 2020 — Global Pandemic
- Fall 2020 — Outdoor School Anywhere
- Spring 2021 — Outdoor School Anywhere
- Fall 2021 — ODS lessons on school grounds, HipCamp Article
- Spring 2022 — field trips to sites
- Fall 2022 — back to overnight experience, Westwind site opens
- Spring 2023
- Fall 2023
- Spring 2024
- Fall 2024
- Spring 2025 — Voices of Roosevelt article
- Fall 2025 — statewide budget cuts reduce days on site
- Spring 2026
- Fall 2026
- Spring 2027
- Fall 2027
- Spring 2028
- Fall 2028
- Spring 2029
- Fall 2029
Spring 2020 — Global Pandemic
Fall 2020 — Outdoor School Anywhere
No Outdoor School sites in operationPandemic, continued. Outdoor School staff provided online lessons and curriculum, a week at a time, to all 6th grade classes, as well as to the 7th graders who missed their opportunity the previous spring. This version of Outdoor School was dubbed "Outdoor School Anywhere," and each student received a science kit full of equipment and supplies to engage in the online lessons. Students were given homework assignments that required them to find outside spaces near their homes to complete the lessons between online sessions with staff. |
Spring 2021 — Outdoor School Anywhere
Fall 2021 — ODS lessons on school grounds, HipCamp Article
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No Outdoor School sites in operationPandemic, continued. Just before the Outdoor School season was set to begin, school districts eliminated the possibility of off-site field trips. To give every student a chance to be at an Outdoor School site in the spring, the program served every student in the fall, but at their own school. Students were taken to an outside space either directly on their school grounds or within a few blocks walking distance to engage in outdoor learning with Staff and Student Leaders.
Article by Hannah Steinkopf-Frank of Hipcamp Inside the Program that Sends Thousands of Middle Schoolers into the Woods![]() All photos by Hannah Steinkopf-Frank On an autumn afternoon, about 80 sixth graders took a break from class at a Portland, Oregon park. With cedar and redwoods towering overhead, the middle schoolers drew lichen samples in observation notebooks and played games like “predator vs prey,” in which those acting as “prey” found hiding spots from one “predator” student. Their instructors were also students, high schoolers donning woodchip badges with names like Crush, Pineapple, and Bex. (Teenagers go by nature-related nicknames and many Outdoor School staff also have these pseudonyms, included throughout this article.) While this environmental education program looked different because of the pandemic—students wore face masks and it was only a few hours versus a multi-day excursion—they were continuing a decades-old Oregon tradition known as Outdoor School. ![]() Outdoor School began in 1957 as an opportunity for public school students to spend time in nature. A first connection to the environmentOutdoor School began in 1957 as an opportunity for fifth- and sixth-grade public school students to spend time in nature, conducting field studies and learning to be stewards of the environment while living in cabins with high school students serving as counselors. For many Oregon students, it’s their first experience connecting to the land. It might sound like a large-scale summer camp or a utopian byproduct of Oregon’s hippie culture, but Outdoor School (ODS) has tangible benefits: A study of high school leaders found it improved their relationships with nature as well as their confidence, interest in STEM fields, and desire to pursue volunteering. And while climate change is dramatically changing how we live, many cite the impact of Outdoor School on lifelong decisions to be more sustainable and advocate for the environment. (photo missing) Some 67% of Oregon voters opted to use money from the Oregon Lottery to fund Outdoor School for every one of the state’s 50,000 fifth and sixth graders. Funding outdoor experiencesWhile outdoor education opportunities are offered at many United States private schools, these experiences are rarely available—for free—to public school students. Two pioneering educators, Dr. Irene Hollenbeck and Margaret Milliken, led the first outdoor school pilot programs in the 1950s, working with Southern Oregon University and Oregon State University, respectively, to pilot the potential of this educational opportunity through a research lens. Programs continued to grow in the 1960s and beyond, particularly supported by the Portland area. And although ODS programs have struggled financially due to school budget cuts affecting extracurricular activities, a 2016 ballot measure saved the day. The measure set aside money from the Oregon Lottery to provide ODS for every one of Oregon’s 50,000 fifth and sixth graders. In a state where urban dwellers often spar with rural communities, the fact that the measure passed with over 67% of the vote proved how Oregonians value outdoor education, says Dan Prince, the associate director of the nonprofit Friends of Outdoor School. “There’s a real concern—that’s not just on the part of Boomers—about the dominance of screen time in young people’s lives,” Prince says. “The idea of this incredible, joyful, impactful experience separate from that [virtual] experience, that was in real life, resonated with a lot of people.” ![]() While outdoor education opportunities are offered at many United States private schools, these experiences are rarely available—for free—to public school students. Expansion and adaptation in a changing worldThe ballot measure led to ODS programs expanding across the state, where administrators have freedom to adapt learning to student needs and the local environment—whether it be the Pacific Coast or the high desert. One such new camp is Rogue Outdoor School in southern Oregon, a biodiverse region where oak woodlands connect to old-growth riparian forests. Program Director Bethany “Wren” OK-Carr, a former middle school science teacher with a long history attending and working for ODS, was inspired by the power of ODS to help students guide their learning and center themselves in their bioregion: “When you can connect specific students to specific local natural history, human history, Indigenous history, we’re able to use that opportunity to expand on curiosity that’s naturally there.”
Filling this curriculum gap is a common spark for many ODS programs. While on a hike in 2013, Charlie “Peanut” Anderson stumbled upon Camp Tamarack, a campsite in the Deschutes National Forest that had been untouched for many years. Anderson helped the site begin offering Outdoor School the next year, and by 2015, 35 central Oregon schools were attending, using a curriculum based on the Better Environmental Education, Teaching, Learning & Expertise Sharing (BEETLES) model. As part of this, Camp Tamarack incorporates social and emotional learning to help students adjust to new environments and build trust through community-building activities. In particular, Assistant Director Melissa “Cedar” Mazzuca says they’ve shifted from the “all-power environmental science educator” to encouraging students to make observations and explore on their own, which has improved students’ success during lessons. The camp also addresses how climate change is impacting students’ lives; given increasingly devastating West Coast wildfires, Camp Tamarack and other ODS programs now teach fire ecology.
For urban students, the focus is primarily on helping them realize they don’t need to venture far to explore their surrounding ecosystems. The largest ODS supports some 7,000 students annually in Multnomah County and the surrounding region, which covers Portland and its suburbs. Prince, who travels around Oregon visiting ODS programs through his work with Friends of Outdoor School, also notes a larger shift within environmental education to center Indigenous voices and promote racial and gender equality. A central component is broadening STEM and the outdoors to be more culturally diverse, he says, recognizing that all young people experience some form of nature, whether it be through cooking, gardening, fishing, or hunting. ![]() There’s a focus on helping urban students realize they don’t need to venture far to explore surrounding ecosystems. “If you’re coming from an urban environment and you’re going to a camp at the beach or up in the mountains and spending a week there, it can feel like all that stuff is super cool but it’s not relevant to your neighborhood,” Prince says. “We’re trying to really break that down a little bit and recognize that these processes—like predation and competition and photosynthesis and nutrient cycling—are happening everywhere.” Prince says this fits within a broader understanding of environmental justice that recognizes the close-to-home occurrence of human-caused environmental destruction and empowers students to make changes. And this ODS model of environmental education is gaining national traction, with similar initiatives like the Science Adventure School through West Virginia University and Teach ME Outside in Maine. “We could pin our hopes on big multinational legislation to stop carbon and we could wait for that,” he says. “But the stuff that’s exciting is what I’m reading about the ways that people are transforming the ways that they’re operating in the world.” ![]() This article’s author served as an ODS high school counselor herself. “My time as ‘Au’ (the atomic symbol for gold) dramatically shaped my time in high school.” Outdoor School experiences, years onI myself served as an ODS high school counselor in the 2010s at a site on the Sandy River that followed a common ODS model: Students from multiple schools mixed together and learned four field subjects—soil, plants, animals, and water—while bonding over campfire songs and shared meals in the mess hall. My time as “Au” (the atomic symbol for gold) felt detached from my life as a burned out, straight-A student. I longed for the week when I would be responsible for a cabin of middle school girls, playing my guitar around the campfire and convincing them that dirt was actually cool. At the end of each session, I revealed my real name, gave away my “beads” (counselors make charms that are attached with safety pins to students’ woodchip lanyards) and sang off the middle schoolers as they drove away in yellow school buses. When I think back, ODS dramatically shaped my time in high school, giving me the skills and confidence to be a leader, and I’m far from alone in this. Annecy “Plum” Crabtree, 19, didn’t have the best experience as a sixth grader at ODS, given homesickness and bad weather. But she also thought she’d have a better time as a leader and ended up serving six times in high school to help students struggling away from home and see herself grow as a person. Sporting a red jacket outfitted with ODS patches, she now serves as a program lead, working with Portland-area middle schoolers. Crabtree, who wants to be a child psychologist, has noticed how the pandemic has affected students’ social anxiety, and how ODS is helping: “People think of Outdoor School as just science outside, but so much of our focus—especially this season because these kids have been inside for so long—is getting them to be comfortable with each other again and building those new relationships.”
In the Portland park, 15-year-old student leader “Crush” (whose name isn’t being used because of her age) begins a session by asking students their preferred pronouns. It’s one of the many subtle but important shifts ODS has made over its long history. Crush enjoys connecting with sixth graders in the same way she did when attending ODS herself. She wants to be a ranger at Zion National Park one day, inspired by her love of the outdoors that ODS encouraged. (photo missing) Annecy “Plum” Crabtree, 19, has served as an Outdoor School leader six times.
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Spring 2022 — field trips to sites
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Angelos, Canby Grove (at Collins), Howard (at Collins), Kuratli, Namanu, and the roving "River Team"Pandemic, continued. Every student who was served in the fall now had the opportunity to travel to an Outdoor School site to complete their "week" of Outdoor School. Students spend the whole day, two days in a row at the site, working with the same team they did at their school in the fall. |
Fall 2022 — back to overnight experience, Westwind site opens
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Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, WestwindWestwind site opens!
COVID-19 cohorting practices still in place Among the COVID-19 considerations still in place: schools are cohorted at sites — wherever possible, each site is populated by students from a single school rather than mixing classes from across the region. |
Spring 2023
Fall 2023
Spring 2024
Fall 2024
Spring 2025 — Voices of Roosevelt article
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Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, WestwindOutdoor School is So Infrom Voices of Roosevelt • Ella (ODS Student Leader) • February 14, 2025 ![]()
Every sixth grader in Oregon should go to outdoor school. The local service for Multnomah County is the MESD (Multnomah Education Service District) although there are a variety of programs across the state. One of the unique opportunities of several programs across the state is that they utilize high school volunteers to take the most student forward role. Outdoor school, while it is somewhat akin to normal school, it is significantly more science focused. Outdoor school in Oregon started in the 1960’s but the history of outdoor education goes back further than that. The earliest public school camping program was in Iowa in 1912, between then and the 1950’s there were a variety of outdoor programs around the country that all ended up laying the groundwork for the current outdoor school program in Oregon. The first outdoor school program in Oregon that resembles current day outdoor school was in 1957 run by Dr. Irene Hollenbeck. This trip, much like current day MESD Outdoor School, took fifth and sixth graders on a five day trip with assistance from resource people from the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, the Forest Service, and Oregon Game Commission. There were then a few other trial programs, with a large-scale outdoor school program becoming implemented in 1966, serving 500 students in the first year. One thing that was not present in the first few sessions of outdoor school, that is now a vital aspect of the program, is the Student Leaders. Student Leaders have a variety of roles at outdoor school, from leading cabins, building community, and teaching field study. Student Leaders are the most student-facing role on site. Each Student Leader has their own favorite part of the program, some Student Leaders love to sing the songs, some have a passion for teaching science, and some love building community. When asking a four time Student Leader, Orianna Reid, what they love about the program she said that she loves to “build rapport” and “the amount of learning they allow you to do. “As an outdoor school leader you are given a wide variety of opportunities for you to grow and change as a leader. When looking at the broader picture, outdoor school is really about science. While field study is nearly completely taught by Student Leaders, you are not left completely in the dark and field study can be one of the best times for your personal growth. Field study has four different sections, and each Student Leader gets to choose one while the sixth graders rotate through all of them. Your four options to choose from are soil, water, plants, and animals. During each field study the sixth graders delve into an aspect of the environment, allowing them to have a comprehensive view of their environment by the end of the week. During each field study, while you are helping to deepen the sixth graders’ connection to the place, you deepen your own understanding and connection to the natural world. Personally, I find field study to be my favorite part of the program, I love teaching and developing the curriculum. Outdoor School has become an institution in Oregon, with generations of Oregonians participating, and in 2016 Measure 99 passed allowing for districts to use statewide lottery funds to fund outdoor school for every student. Although the value for sixth graders is indisputable, the value for Student Leaders can be more hidden. A program leader, and temporary site supervisor, Cozy, states that the value is in “seeing yourself in a new light unburdened by most of the pressures of home or indoor school.”. This value is incredibly understated and not something that a lot of Student Leaders recognize until they try a week. If you think there is even a possibility you could want to be a Student Leader you should definitely try it out! Staff say that people who are willing to try new things should try Outdoor School and that “You do not need to be the most outgoing or scientific person to find joy at ODS.”. Not only is it an opportunity for everyone but also if you are looking for an option for credit recovery that is only a week long outdoor school offers half an elective credit per week for up to two weeks a year so keep an eye out for posters around the school! |
Fall 2025 — statewide budget cuts reduce days on site
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Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, WestwindStatewide budget cuts reduce the Outdoor School program from 6 days to 4. From Friends of Outdoor School: In 2016, Oregon voters overwhelmingly dedicated 4% of Lottery funds via Measure 99 to work toward sending every Oregon student to a week of Outdoor School. Over $51.5 million was provided to school districts during the 2023-2025 biennium to support student attendance at Outdoor School. OSU Extension worked with the Legislature in 2024 to spend down the COVID-era carryover for programming, freeing 2023-2025 allocated resources for urgent state needs while achieving voter-intended funding levels. Providing only $43.2 million to school districts for the 2025-2027 biennium is a cut to Outdoor School funding, and 20% below what voters approved. Increasingly, Oregon students are attending Outdoor School, and requests for funding from 2025 to 2027 are expected to surpass the 4% allocation intended by voters.
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