Program History

Colton

from Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996

When President Johnson's "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" was passed, the committee was quick to seize the opportunity. Application was made under Title III of the act, "New and Innovative Programs in Education," for a local Outdoor School program.

"Regional Outdoor Education" was chosen as the title for the request, with the expectation that Outdoor School would certainly qualify as new and innovative. The "Regional" service area was prescribed as Metropolitan Portland, including Columbia, Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah Counties and the McMinville School District in Yamhill County (McMinnville later withdrew in favor if its own program).

The Multnomah County Intermediate Education District was named as fiscal agent, administrator, and official applicant. Superintendent Errol Reese and Asst. Supt. Marcia Erickson were instrumental in organizing the effort. The original proposal for $43,620.00 was submitted to the U.S. Office of Education in early November 1965. Official written approval for the "Regional Outdoor Education" program was jubilantly received on January 28th, 1966.

A search was immediately instigated to find suitable applicants for the director and assistant positions. On February 23rd, appointment was made of Warren Gilfillan as Outdoor Education Director and shortly after Robert Burgess as instructional Assistant. Gilfillan, a Wildlife Management graduate, was a former professional Boy Scouter, Director of Camping, and Information-Education specialist for the Oregon Fish Commission. Burgess was an elementary teacher out of Harris school in the Eugene school district. In 1964 he took his 6th grade class to a pilot Outdoor School conducted by Miss Miliken at Silver Creek Falls camp and in 1965 conducted his own Outdoor School project for 6th graders from Harris and Spencer's Butte schools at a camp near Mapleton, Oregon. Allowing time for these men to leave their previous positions, the Regional Outdoor School Education office opened officially on March 14, 1966, giving the directors less than a month to organize an office, hire a secretary, locate a suitable Outdoor site, recruit a qualified staff of resource instructors, counselors, medical personnel and cooks, compile and print Outdoor School literature, apportion 20 available class openings among the four participating counties, contact teachers, and, on April and 2, successfully conduct a weekend Teacher's in-service Workshop. Two weeks later on April 17th the first 125 sixth graders arrived at a fully prepared site at Camp Colton, near Colton, Oregon. One month later a highly successful Outdoor School session was completed after having accommodated 500 students.

The outdoor school format developed by Milliken and Hamer was heavily relied on as a guide in this first endeavor. Also, for the first time, the position of "Resource Specialist", formerly a governmental agency employee, was a hired expert with similar credentials; often a retiree from the same agencies. One of the incentives for the Regional Outdoor Education program had thus been achieved, independence from overworked governmental agencies.

from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971

MULTNOMAH OUTDOOR EDUCATION IN RETROSPECT 

On March 14, 1966 the name Regional Outdoor Education was painted on the door at 1441 S.E. 122nd Avenue, a new office a mile south of the Health and Education building on Glisan Street. Thus was born the "Outdoor" branch of Multnomah County Intermediate Education District and one of its most exciting and fastest growing services.

Regional Outdoor Education was conceived by a group of Portland metro area educators, governmental agency people, and industry representatives who had banded together under the name P.A.R.E.T. Committee. Their eponym was derived from the development of their first venture into outdoor instruction, the Portland Area Resource Education Tour (now Forest Park Nature Trail). Former I.E.D. Superintendent Errol Rees and his assistant Marcia Erickson were leaders in the group.

In 1965 the propitious passing of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act gave this evangelistic group the instrument to finance their next dream, a pilot outdoor school project, encompassing the four county metro area. Their proposal was accepted by the U.S.O.E. with the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District named as administrative agency. A search for a staff ended in the choice of Warren C. Gilfillan as Director and Robert A. Burgess as his Instructional Assistant. Because of the experience and ability brought to the task by these two men, and the groundwork laid by pioneer Oregon Outdoor Educators, the first large-scale, long-range outdoor education program in Oregon got quickly underway. By April 1, 1966 Camp Colton had been chosen and equipped as the first Regional Outdoor School site, and a teacher's workshop held there. Two weeks later the first 125 excited sixth graders arrived and by mid May 500 charter youngsters had had the experience of a week in the out-of-doors school with their classes and teachers.

Trout Creek

from Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996
A detailed budget for fiscal year 1966-67 and projections for the ensuing three year period were devised and submitted to U.S.O.E. by the close of the fiscal period on June 30, 1966. An Outdoor School evaluation was implemented and a start made on the revision of literature.

At this point it was discovered that there was a serious misunderstanding between Regional Outdoor Education and the U.S.O.E. over the continuing nature of the program. Because the original proposal was somewhat vague in describing future plans, the U.S.O.E. had assumed it to be a six month terminal project, with June 10, 1966 the closing date.

Instead of the doubling of the program called for in the Application for Continuation Grant, the project found itself with only $16,481 left from the original grant award, none of which could be used after June 30. Immediate steps were taken to clarify the situation and a request was made for funds to continue into the 1966-67 school year. The U.S.O.E. had already committed most of the Oregon Allotment of funds, but was sympathetic to the problem.

On July 19, 1966 tentative approval was given to the Regional Outdoor Education proposal, but no funds were committed. On August 14 a meeting was held in Portland with U.S.O.E. personnel and an amount of approximately $55,000 was tentatively approved for Regional Outdoor Education. On August 15 approval was given to use funds remaining from the original grant and directions were given to submit an addendum budget as of August 31. The new budget was to allow the project to keep its original permanent personnel, but operate at a reduced rate within the now-available funds.

It was decided to extend the image of Regional Outdoor Education over as long a period as possible, and by cutting every corner, operate six weeks in the fall and six weeks in the spring of the 1966-67 school year. On August 24 Regional Outdoor Education submitted a ten-month budget which came very close to meeting all U.S.O.E. requirements. In mid October (the Outdoor School was in session) notification of Grant Award was received approving supplemental funds of $55,854 (the amount budgeted above what was on hand from spring) and extending the closing date of the original grant to June 30, 1967. An anticipatory clause approved expenditures to that date of issue.

This brought the total amount available for the 1966-67 school year to $72,335. This did not allow the intended doubling of the participation, but was a great deal better than the demise of an infant program. The 1966-67 budget would allow only about an 8% exposure to the current crop of sixth graders in the four-county, project area.

The fall, 1966 Regional Outdoor School was conducted at Trout Creek Camp near Troutdale, Oregon. It operated for six weeks, with four classes a week, for a total of 666 students. This was a departure from the spring school, when five classes attended each week, but was more in line with American Camping Association standards, dining hall and housing capacities and practical logistics.

In view of the 6-day, 5-night schedule of the outdoor school program, it had been determined that by breaking the curriculum into four areas of natural "resource" it allowed four full days of learning in each of Soils, Water, Plants and Animals. Sunday arrival provided students an afternoon of settling-in to the outdoor school routine, meeting cabin mates from other school classes, and exploring the new social experience. The four weekdays were spent in the four resource area studies, each class alternating to a new resource each day. Friday was for summary, evaluation and tearful good-byes. The "right" schedule was in place.

from MCIED Education Bulletin, May 1971
During the summer of 1966 Federal money was made available to send eight percent of the sixth graders in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Columbia Counties to Outdoor School in the next school year. With a switch to the Trout Creek site some 1,303 sixth graders from 48 classes participated in fall and spring sessions in the 1966-67 school year.

Trout Creek

from 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.

Subsequent negotiation with the U.S.O.E. concerning the 1967-68 Regional Outdoor Education budget disclosed that, in line with Title III policy, the project would be funded at the same level as 1966-67 and the termination date for Federal funds would be June 10, 1968. Plans for doubling the project size again would have to be dropped or another approach taken. On March 28 application was made to U.S.O.E. for $72,335 enabling a 1967-68 Outdoor School operation of six weeks fall and spring, using one site.

The spring 1967 Regional Outdoor School was conducted for six weeks at Trout Creek Camp and 637 students from 24 classes were accommodated. Film was shot for the promotional movie during the last week.

After the successful completion of the fall, '66 and spring, '67 sessions certain school districts within the four county area showed interest in greater participation for their sixth graders, beyond their allotment. In view of this, Regional Outdoor Education offered a "contract price" of $39 a student for additional attendance. Since the limiting factor of participation was money, this was the amount considered as the actual cost per student; exclusive of the administrative overhead borne by Title III funds. Several school districts added amounts, beyond their 8% share, in their proposed 67-68 budgets in hopes of including Outdoor School for more of their sixth graders.

Colton, Trout Creek

from 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.

Plans for the doubling of the fall program were immediately undertaken, additional staff and two Outdoor School sites were contracted for. Both Camp Colton and Trout Creek Camp were the sites for the fall, 1967 schools which ran for six weeks with a total of 1,318 students attending. Some 648 of these attended by contract agreement.

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.

By the beginning of the 1967-68 school year, enthusiasm for the Outdoor School led several school districts to request contract service from the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District so that a higher percentage of their students could participate. As a result, two Outdoor School sites (Trout Creek and Colton) were leased to accommodate the total of 2,078 students expected. Twenty-eight classes from three other counties were included.

The Federally financed Regional Outdoor Education program was due to terminate on June 30, 1968 so steps were taken to assure its survival. The Multnomah County Intermediate Education District proposed that the resident Outdoor School program be added to its list of services offered the 14 school districts within the county. This proposal was accepted and Multnomah Outdoor Education was born.

With nearly 9,000 sixth grade students in Multnomah County it became obvious that adequate Outdoor School sites and sufficient trained staff could not be made immediately available to serve all of the youngsters. It was decided to start with one-third or 3,000 Multnomah students the first year and expand at that rate for the next two years until all 9,000 could be accommodated. Additionally, in the interest of keeping the Outdoor Education program going in the other counties originally served by the project, the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District offered to accept contract service at the "actual cost" of each student's participation.

Colton

from 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.

Under a unique "Resolution" process in Oregon counties, individual school district boards within a county may sanction a mutually beneficial service to be supplied at the county Intermediate Education District level. In several cases, such as purchasing, data processing, etc. - and Outdoor Education - this proves to be an efficient manner in which to administer such services. At least 2/3 of the school districts must approve the action and those districts must represent at least 50% of the school attendance in the county. In Multnomah County, funds for such services derive from Multnomah County Intermediate Education District property taxes. This expenditure does not appear as part of any individual school district budget, yet the District gains directly.

With nearly 9,000 sixth grade students in Multnomah County it became obvious that adequate Outdoor School sites and sufficient trained staff could not be made available to serve all of the youngsters immediately. There was also doubt whether the districts would approve such a massive plan the first year. As a result, it was decided to start with 1/3 or 3,000 Multnomah students the first year and expand at that rate for the next two years until all could be accommodated. Additionally, in the interest of keeping the Outdoor Education program going in the other counties originally served by the project, the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District charitably offered to accept contract service at the $39 "actual cost" rate.

By March 1, 1968 the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District Outdoor School resolution happily had passed. In addition, the Hillsboro and Beaverton Districts in Washington County, the Oak Grove District in Clackamas County and the Sherman County Intermediate Education District (a new participant) had requested contract service for 2,000 of their youngsters. This created a potential load of 5,000 students for the 1968-69 school year, a dramatic increase in the first year of an entirely, locally-financed operation.

The 1968 spring Regional Outdoor School was conducted at Camp Colton for a period of seven weeks and accommodated 760 student from 28 classes. Three contract classes from Sherman County and one disadvantaged-student contract-class from the Portland core area contributed 86 of this total and accounted for the additional week.

By the end of the Regional Outdoor Education project in June, 1968, a total of 3,881 sixth grade students from 144 classes had participated in a week-long, resident Outdoor School experience. contract service accounting for 734 of these. A total of $171,608 in Title III funds and $25,505 in contract monies from school districts had been spent in two years and four months.

For the first time in the state of Oregon, a large-scale Outdoor Education program was provided which cut across social and economic lines. Sixth graders with origins ranging from the isolated farm to the core-city had met in a climate of equality, with the opportunity to develop a common interest in each other as well as in the natural resources upon which their mutual future would depend.

A significant cadre of educators had been prepared to reach out with the message of natural resource conservation, to more areas and levels than ever before. Nearly 150 sixth grade teachers had been involved in a concentrated, week-long, 16 hour-a-day outdoor training program; effective because it required they learn with their students while under the guidance of a staff of natural resource experts.

An effective Outdoor School format had been developed and proven, which could serve as a guide for Oregon and beyond.

Most important, the continuation of local financing and expansion of the program for the immediate future, had been assured. This reflected an acceptance by parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members which, in the last analysis, was the truest evaluation of the Regional Outdoor Education pilot project.

Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creek

from 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.

After a hectic training period involving some 55 part-time, paid, Outdoor School staff, 72 teachers and over 300 high school age Junior Counselors, the fall session of Outdoor School began at the three locations. After six weeks of particularly wet weather, 1,926 sixth graders had experienced a week of outdoor learning. Some 614 of these derived from outside Multnomah County by contract arrangement.

With the coming of winter and the construction of individual school budgets, concern was again given to the continuation of Multnomah Outdoor Education for the 1969-70 school year. A doubling of the Multnomah County sixth grade participation was budgeted for, at an amount of $252,188. By March 1, 1969 the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District resolution had again been approved, assuring an Outdoor School experience for nearly 6,000 sixth graders in 1969-1970.

In view of this portentous expansion, the Multnomah County Intermediate Education board decided against accepting the ever-larger blocks of contract service requested. Washington County was encouraged and assisted in developing a similar Outdoor Education program through it's Intermediate Education District by resolution. With the advantage of using the proven Regional Outdoor Education format and all it's applicable literature, and with the positive image already achieved through the heavy contract involvement of Hillsboro and Beaverton District students, the outlook was bright. Everyone involved was gratified when the necessary majority of Washington County districts approved the resolution. Every one of 3,000 sixth grade students in Washington County would become involved in their own Outdoor Education program in the 1969-70 school year.

Rather than take the county-based "Resolution" route several school districts in Clackamas and Columbia counties took the course of devising their own Outdoor School programs. Those that developed a strong commitment produced eminently successful programs using largely volunteer staff and ardent parent support. Volunteerism was the key to their strength. Outdoor school was well on its way to universality in the original "Regional Outdoor Education" concept.

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

AdamS, Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creek

from 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.

At the end of the seven-week spring session, 2,931 youngsters had completed a week in the outdoor classroom. Of these, 1,593 attended by Multnomah County resolution and 1,338 by contract service.

In the first year of entirely local sponsorship, Multnomah Outdoor Education (the outgrowth of the Title ill, Regional Outdoor Education pilot project) had directly served a total of 4,857 sixth graders from five counties. Contract attendance amounted to 1,952 students. Some 184 classes and teachers had participated and over 1,000 paid staff and volunteer teachers had been recruited and trained. All of these figures were substantially more than took part in the entire 2 1/4 years of the Regional Outdoor Education pilot project, contract attendance included.

A study of the declining cost-per-student rate is also an indication of the experience and efficiency gained while under the Title III Regional Outdoor Education pilot project. In the first complete year of the project (1966-67), the cost per student came to $55.51. As contract participation broadened the base in numbers of children, the cost dropped to $46.83 per youngster in 1967-68. In the 1968-69 year the cost was approximately $42.57 per student and in 1969-70 about $42.03.

ADAMS, Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creek

from Outdoor School - A History 1966-1996

OUTCOMES OF THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM IN WHICH RESULTS EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
It was to be expected that sixth grade students would have enthusiasm for Outdoor School and with adequate financing and experienced leadership, a good plan could be made to work. However, the results of the Regional Outdoor Education program exceeded expectations in several outstanding ways.

1.          Acceptance of the Outdoor teaching environment
Probably the single greatest change of any type that has affected the local education institution has been it's awareness of Environmental Education. In this day of increasing talk about innovation in educational methods and teaching environment, the Outdoor School appears as a living, breathing demonstration of providing relevancy to learning. Outdoor Education is an exciting departure from the traditional indoor, book-blackboard-lecture type of classroom. In an effort to transmit understanding about such all-encompassing and complex subjects as "Nature" and "Conservation", Outdoor Education spills out into the fields and forests to involve all the senses of highly motivated students. It is practical application of the "learn by doing" precept. The resident outdoor program, by serving an area that contains half of the people in Oregon, has had a profound effect on their environment awareness. Teachers and school administrators who have personally participated in the project have been universally enthusiastic in their praise of the experience. Teachers, thoroughly oriented to teaching inside the four walls of a classroom, have accepted this new outdoor teaching environment as one of the most stimulating developments in the field of education. After completion, only a handful of complaints originated over teachers having to leave the home classroom to spend 24 hours-a day for five days in the out-of-doors learning environment.

Beneficial results obviously far overshadow any physical discomfort. A new and closer relationship between student and teacher is a unique harvest of the outdoor classroom. Teachers feel their effectiveness is greatly increased for the rest of the
school year.

Certainly Regional Outdoor Education was not the only influence on local schools towards accepting Outdoor Education, but it was a major contributor. It offered actual experience for student and teachers rather than educational theory. Multnomah Outdoor Education, the locally-financed outgrowth of Regional Outdoor Education, has since become the largest resident Outdoor Education program in the Northwest, with some 7,000 sixth graders scheduled for participation in each school year.

2.          Creation of a high-school-age Junior Counselor Program
The use of high school students as cabin group counselors has proven to be one of the outstanding and unique features of Multnomah Outdoor School. It has developed as a highly successful and mutually profitable undertaking. These fine young people, mostly former sixth graders at Outdoor School, have learned to accept the responsibility of their task in a truly adult manner. Being the hero-image of the sixth graders, places them in the position of being super-conscious of the example they set for youngsters. Their performance as leaders of children has been outstanding. Their daily contact with sixth graders is greater than with any of the rest of the Outdoor School staff, and they seem to establish a rapport with students that is unique to their age group. At the Outdoor School, high-schoolers usually have their first real opportunity to apply what they have been merely talking about in school. They learn firsthand about character development, responsibility, discipline, leadership, and influencing others. Most have said that this counseling responsibility was the greatest learning experience of their lives. Many Junior Counselors have related that if this is education, they want to take a serious look at teaching as a profession. That high school administrators have realized the worth of the Junior Counseling experience for their students is attested by their continued eager willingness to supply high school students as counselors. Many alumnus Junior Counselors have moved up to Senior Counselor positions at the Outdoor School as they graduated from high school. Carefully selected on the basis of past performance, these young men and women have performed notably in the more responsible positions of Resource Specialist and even Site Supervisor. Instrumental in the development of this outstanding, youth-leadership program for high-school students was Miss Diane Milleman, a participating 6th grade teacher. By her exceptional ability to influence and train high-schoolers, she distinguished herself and eventually became a central staff member for Outdoor School.

​3.          Cabin Group Living
Thanks to the early programs of Outdoor Education in Oregon, a format developed which involved small cabin-group living units, under the guidance of high school Junior Counselors. Visits to other Outdoor Schools nationwide revealed that most featured dormitory living with up to 50 students housed in one building, a far cry from the 8 to 10 students standard in Multnomah Outdoor School. This cabin grouping gives the Junior Counselor the best opportunity to develop close rapport with their wards, and many developed close friendships lasting for years after. Cabin esprit-de-corps developed as the week progressed and became a basis for cabin group competition on closing days and at campfires.

4.          Short-term Operation
The restriction of the Regional Outdoor Education resident program to fall and spring operation has proven a blessing in disguise. A study of Northwestern Oregon weather shows that 80% of the local rainfall comes between November 1, and April 1, some 15% during September - October and April - May, and 5% during June, July and August. Allowing time for teacher and counselor outdoor workshops, this restricts fall and spring Outdoor School operation to a maximum of no more than seven weeks a session. At present, summer school vacation times and site availability disallow summertime operation. Contrarily, however, due to the 16-hours-a day nature of Outdoor School, the factor of staff fatigue becomes an important consideration. It has been found that a six or seven week period is about the limit of staff energy and enthusiasm when measured by Multnomah Outdoor School standards. Comparison of Multnomah Outdoor Education staff performances with those of Outdoor Schools where weather allows full-school year operation, leaves little doubt that longer term operation seriously affects staff performance.

5.          Hired Resource Specialists
One of the original concerns of the creators of the Regional Outdoor Education was the shortage of qualified natural resource specialists who could be called upon to teach at workshops and Outdoor School. It had previously been the habit of the few resident Outdoor School projects in the state to ask for governmental natural resource agency specialists as instructors. Obviously, their number was limited and their time largely taken up with their own duties. Aside from the initial pilot session in the spring of 1966, Regional Outdoor Education has recruited, hired and trained its own staff of resource specialists from the open market. The principal, early source was from the ranks of retired but still active resource agency people. The obvious major problem has been finding technically proficient people who, at the same time, could reach sixth graders in the outdoors at the child level. That this direction was proven successful is corroborated by the very success of the Multnomah Outdoor Education instructional program. Teachers are always offered the option to organize and direct the outdoor instruction of their classes themselves. This is a task that is rarely accepted when teachers realize that teaching in the boundary-less outdoors, with excited, exploring students is difficult, by themselves. Teachers feel uninformed as to the physical phenomena offered on the site and seldom have the depth of background in every subject matter covered at Outdoor School. They soon realize that a college-trained, experienced expert in the subject field of the day, backed by a Senior counselor and several Junior counselors (all trained by the expert) can best distribute and monitor the knowledge to be attained. A high teacher-student ratio gives every student a chance to learn the handful of all-important concepts about their environment that can be understood by children. That the "Resource Specialist" approach to outdoor learning is embraced by participating teachers is proven by years of universal acceptance. Teachers feel they can work individually with needful students, monitor the progress of the class and learn themselves - all at the same time. No loss!

​6.          Ecological Field Study Plot
The use of the specifically assigned "ecological field study plot" as an Outdoor Classroom for each class has proven a superior extension of the "home " classroom. Assuming that understanding the idea of ecology as among the most important of nature concepts, the use of a single piece of land on which students can study all realms of natural resource has proven a wise development. Rather than taking a field trip to a place removed to study one facet of Nature and another excursion to study another, students come to realize that all elements of Nature exist side by side, right on their own piece of land. As a result "ecology" becomes more understandable. Resource specialists can develop to the fullest the physical phenomena found there and guide students to "discover" these.

7.          Camp Leasing
The outstanding cooperation of youth-camp owners whose camps have been leased for Outdoor Schools is but one demonstration of the value of this approach to acquiring Outdoor School facilities. Camp owners have offered special rates and have continued to improve and " winterize" facilities, to better accommodate their Outdoor School tenants. Owners realize that summer camp facilities are better "in-use" rather than lying dormant nine months of the year, and that the Outdoor School uses the site when no other group would. Nor does Outdoor School use preclude weekend use by owner groups. There is not one private or public youth camp in the northwest which does not operate at a deficit. Outdoor School lease fees assist every owner to overcome some of this deficit operation. For Outdoor School to own its own facilities, when presently limited in operation, would be to place the Outdoor School in the role of deficit operator. When one considers the tremendous capital development and maintenance costs involved in camp ownership, leasing is good business and a two-way street for owner and Outdoor School user alike.

Previous fears expressed by youth serving agencies over the possible conflict between Outdoor Education and their own programs have been virtually eliminated by this open display of cooperation. Rather, youth camping organizations have found their own summer camp enrollment increased by Outdoor School youngsters who have been introduced to the pleasures of outdoor life.

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.

Happily, as a result of the impetus provided by the Regional program and contract help from Multnomah County, Washington County Intermediate Education District was able in 1969-70 to initiate their own resident Outdoor Education program for 3,000 sixth graders annually. Clackamas County is following close behind with a full time Outdoor Education Director employed.

AdamS, Canby Grove, Colton, Trout Creek

from 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.

In the 68/69 school year one third, or approximately 3, 000 Multnomah County 6th graders, attended, plus 1,500 contract students. In 69/70, with the decision to accommodate 2/3 of Multnomah 6th graders, the contract service was dropped and plans expanded to receive 6,000 students at Outdoor School.

AdamS, Canby Grove, Colton, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

from 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.

Always conscious of the need for improving the living and teaching facilities at Outdoor School, all the youth camps within a 50 mile radius were constantly reviewed and priority given to their adaptability to the Outdoor School format. Many, seeing the mutual advantage in improving facilities to accommodate both their camping programs and the opportunities for Outdoor School leasing, did much to add to and rebuild their camps. This has been a great advantage to Outdoor School. The ability to lease camps rather than undertake the tremendous cost of buying land and developing sites has proven to be a vastly superior direction.

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.

AdamS, Canby Grove, Collins, Colton, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

That Multnomah County Outdoor Education (nee Regional) is one of the few Outdoor Education programs that has survived the end of E.S.E.A. financing, is a tribute to the quality of the program and the hard work and dedication of the Multnomah County staff. Superintendent Thomas J. Sommerville's leadership of the I.E.D. since July, 1969, has been instrumental in strengthening the position of Outdoor Education as a viable education method. High on the list of commendations too, are the 14 school districts, their parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members, who have allowed the continuation and expansion of the program. In the last analysis this is the truest evaluation.

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.

Coming to Portland in 1953 he worked professionally as a District Scout Executive in the Portland Area Council, and directed their Conservation program. In 1958 Gil was named Director of Camping for. the Scout Council and administered their five summer and six weekend camps. In 1963 he left Scouting to become information-education officer for the Oregon Fish Commission and engaged in conservation teaching in schools as a part of his responsibilities.

In 1966 Gilfillan was appointed Director of Outdoor Education for the Regional Outdoor Education project, a Title III, E.S.E.A. program, for which the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District was fiscal agent. He remained as Director of the Multnomah Outdoor Education program when the I.ED. assumed full sponsorship in the summer of 1968, after Federal money ended.

Gilfillan received his M.S. in Recreation from the University of Oregon in December 1969.

BOB BURGESS, COORDINATOR OF INSTRUCTION OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Bob Burgess, an Oregonian since age six, graduated from the University of Oregon in education and taught sixth grade in his home town of Eugene for eight years. During that time he took his class to an experimental Outdoor School at Camp Silver Creek in 1964. In 1965 he directed an Outdoor School for two elementary schools in Eugene and was "bitten by the bug." In the spring of 1966 he was appointed as Instructional Assistant to the emerging Regional Outdoor Education program.

​''Mr. Bob," now Coordinator of Instruction for Multnomah Outdoor Education divides his time between Outdoor School curriculum and the recruitment and training of the 1 ,000 plus Junior Counselors needed each year.

Burgess is a Korean veteran and living in the Rockwood District. Whitewater-running in a McKenzie river boat is a hobby of his.

"DIGGER"

Rudolph Bohm, Jr., is hardly known by his true name - but rather as "Digger," his Outdoor School moniker. Digger has an extraordinary background in the natural sciences, both from his college training and from his extensive work in teaching teachers and children in the out-of-doors. As a very competent Oregon historian he combines his natural and historical talents for a unique ''Social Science Approach" to the teaching of Natural Resource Conservation. Bohm was a Senior Counselor with the Outdoor School during its first session in the spring of 1966 and has been an enthusiastic staff member in every session since. He became a 9-month contracted "Nature Specialist" with Multnomah Outdoor Education in the 1969-70 school year. Digger is a naturalist's naturalist.

"MR. SPIKE"

Martin Kuns, or ''Mr. Spike" at Outdoor School, discussing a developing leaf bud with a curious sixth grader at Collins Outdoor School.

Kuns has been an enthusiastic staff member at Outdoor School since the fall of 1966 when he was first hired as a Senior Counselor. Since then he has been a Resource Specialist in Animal Life (Spike is a wildlife student from Oregon State University) and a Site Supervisor at the Trout Creek, Colton and Collins Outdoor School sites. Kuns now carries the title of Outdoor Education Specialist and is a 9-month contracted employee with the Multnomah County Intermediate Education District program.

JUNIOR COUNSELORS VITAL LINKS IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION

​To truly evaluate Outdoor School we must look at the experience as seen through the eyes of a Junior Counselor. These juniors and seniors in high school volunteer for this experience with sixth grade students and must have the approval of their teachers, counselors, and parents to take part in the program. After initial selection through the various metro high schools, they attend two training sessions in town and spend one weekend in preparation for their counseling experience. They soon learn that Outdoor School is not a week of being "sprung" from school, but hard, serious work.

During the week they are in residence at an Outdoor School site they assume the responsibility for a cabin group of boys or girls, each an exciting individual. They also have an opportunity to help sixth graders learn about natural resources and conservation by becoming members of a teaching team. As they are not experienced teachers, they learn they must rely on their unique abilities to communicate with sixth graders in an enthusiastic manner.

During this current school year approximately 1500 of these outstanding young people are being involved as Junior Counselors. This experience is unique in their high school career and constitutes their finest opportunity to learn self reliance, responsibility, leadership, and character training. It is interesting to note that this year many of the Junior Counselors are students who participated in the program as sixth graders.

That Junior Counselors are such a vital part of the program has prompted a staff member to remark, ''We have never had a bad week of Outdoor School with good Junior Counselors and never a good week with poor ones." These high school students are, for the most part, a truly dedicated group of young people. The only reward they get for this very unique experience is when, at the end of a week, a sixth grade boy or girl says or thinks, "When I get into high school, I want to be just like my Junior Counselor."

Collins - New Outdoor School Site

Camp Collins is the newest site of the six now needed to handle the nearly 9,000 Multnomah County sixth graders attending Outdoor School annually. Collins, owned by the Portland Y.M.C.A. lies on 120 acres of heavily forested land on a big bend of the Sandy River east of Gresham. Oxbow Park, next door, with its 1 ,000 acres of similarly forested land, helps make this area an ideal location for the nature study presented at Outdoor School.

Collins has been recently endowed with a spacious new dining hall, mainly through funds supplied from the Collins family foundation—long time supporters and originators of the camp. Recently completed are new staff and teacher quarters in the old lodge, along with a separate, modern lavatory building for staff. Student cabins are completely insulated and equipped with fan blown electric heaters, hardly a place for roughing it!

With its excellent location and renewed facilities, Collins Outdoor School site is one of the best.

JUNIOR COUNSELORS NOW BUSED TO OUTDOOR SCHOOL

How does one go about transporting over 125 high-school-age Junior Counselors and all their personal belongings to six different Outdoor School sites weekly? With the growth of Multnomah Outdoor Education a new problem had developed. While the program was still growing, Junior Counselors were transported in the cars of Outdoor School staff members, each of whom had to hold expensive and high-liability insurance coverage. Mileage reimbursement was made to them. The coordination of pickup points and times was a monumental job, however, and the additional hours a drain on much-needed staff free time on weekends.

This school year it was decided a more feasible and economical system was needed. The answer was to contract with a commercial transportation company and to establish routes throughout Multnomah County to serve the most counselors. Now, three buses pickup students at 12 high schools in Multnomah County and rendezvous at the Multnomah County I.E.D. parking lot. There, on Sunday afternoons, there is a dramatic "reshuffling" of high schoolers as they load and board one of four buses assigned their Outdoor School site. One bus each goes to Canby Grove and Colton Outdoor Schools, while the "in-line" camps of Collins - Trout Creek and Adams - Nate Creek each require a bus. On Friday afternoon a similar frantic scene is enacted, only in reverse.

The new transportation program provides a potentially safer service and assures prompt arrival at the Outdoor School site in time for vital training of counselors. As the Multnomah Outdoor Education matures, many such positive steps are taken to provide better service for participants and their school districts. The School Bus Service Company of Gresham was the successful bidder for the busing contract.

Download MCIED Education Bulletin from May 1971 (PDF)

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

from 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.

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

Adams, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Trout Creek

AdamS, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

Adams, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek, Trout Creek

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek

Adams, Collins, Howard, Nate Creek, Sports Acres

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Howard, Trestle Glen

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Howard, Sports Acres

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Colton, Howard

from 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.

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Colton, Howard

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Colton, Howard

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Colton, Howard

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Colton, Howard

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.

“All of us pray that outdoor schools won’t suddenly become environmental frills, especially in light of tax limitation efforts. It is really worthwhile to have this kind of sense, understanding and appreciation in your blood so that the causes so meaningful to Oregon have knowledgeable advocates. Don’t you doubt Oregon’s heritage. With the balanced view of the economy and the environment that you have gained as a result of this school, you know that this balance is vital to making Oregon the livability state of all the Union. Outdoor School has swept me off my feet—the concept, the success, and what it means down the line in terms of a viable, healthy, wonderful, green Oregon.”

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Colton, Howard

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard

Adams, Arrah wanna, Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard

Arrah Wanna, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sports Acres, Trout Creek

Arrah Wanna, Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, HOward, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Crestview, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Crestview, Eagle Fern, Howard, Trestle Glen, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

from 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.

As Multnomah Outdoor School reaches its 30th anniversary the cumulative number of participating 6th graders has reached over 180,000. The program has sustained due to its value to youth and the support of parents, teachers, administrators, and the taxpayers of Multnomah County. It is one of the very few remaining Outdoor Education programs originating under Title III of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965. It is a leader in the field nationwide and a tribute to the diligent work of the thousands of Outdoor School staff who work so intensely, so devotedly, and under such rugged conditions for so many long hours. They exude the SPIRIT of Outdoor School- It shows!

The results? A generation of school students who will be better informed on natural resources and their wise use, than any local group before them. In the future, a generation of voters who will be better equipped to make important and meaningful decisions when conflicts in human and natural resources arise. In the work years ahead, a generation of adults who realize a better living in a world that requires ever-increasing vigilance over dwindling natural resources. In a lifetime ahead, a population that will gain an increased pleasure from the out-of-doors because they will better understand the wonderful inner workings of Nature.

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Sandy River, Trout Creek

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Collins, Eagle Fern, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Collins, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Collins, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River, Scouter's Mountain

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Outdoor 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.

"Outdoor School would not be possible without the inspiring work of these young adults," said Suzanne "Puffin" Marter, Outdoor School Coordinator.  "They provide comfort and direction to impressionable sixth grade students while finding the same in themselves."

Student Leaders are a rare combination of doctor, lawyer, sociologist, and teacher. They are competent child psychologists with their sophomore textbooks as proof. They are strict disciplinarians with twinkles in their eyes. They must be skilled referees, baby-sitters, teachers, friends, and advisors. The Outdoor School Student Leader is a humorist in a time of crisis, an arbitrator in a time of conflict and a leader in a time of confusion. They are idols with their heads in a cloud of campfire smoke and their feet in the mud.

Each week Student Leaders combine the responsibilities of leading a cabin of eight to ten students with those of actively participating in a field study team for one of four areas of study. Over 1,500 student leaders provided at least one week of service during the 2003 - 2004 Outdoor School session. In order to be considered, students must be at least a sophomore, have passing grades, and have good attendance.

The scholarships are available to high school students who have served as a student leader at least three times. Each applicant is required to submit copies of their student leader evaluations, two letters of recommendation, and a written essay indicating how they intend to apply the experience to their future plans. Top candidates were then interviewed by the scholarship committee.

Excerpt from submitted essay
When I first began participating in the Outdoor School program I was a shy, nervous, and unconfident sophomore. I couldn't identify any personal strengths or abilities. By the end of my first week I came away with knowledge of myself that I might never have gained... I know that my future would be missing something if I didn't become involved in the betterment and developmental process of young people. I am ready to embark on the next phase of my life. Outdoor School provided me with the most important thing during my high school years and for the future, to always make sure that my life has room for those that need me. - Halley "Piper" Wonder

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

The Wood Cookie • Volume 6, Number 1 • Summer 2004
Download PDF • Download Word

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

New Programs

The Passages Through Time program begins at the Adams / Nate Creek site.

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Milk Creek, Namanu, Sandy River

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kiwanis, Namanu, Nate Creek, Sandy River

French American Program staff and Student Leaders, spring 2009

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Nate Creek, Sandy River

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Adams, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Nate Creek, Sandy River

Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Nate Creek, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Namanu, Sandy River

Oregon Field Guide Episode: Outdoor School

Aired: 11/15/2012
Outdoor School has been a rite of passage for sixth graders in the Portland metro area since the mid-1960s. Recently, we spent a week at Camp Namanu outside Sandy with a group of students. We interview founder Warren “Gil” Gilfillan, and see film of students, educators and Mr. Gilfilan from the first Outdoor School in 1966.

Adams / Milk Creek, Adams / Nate Creek, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Nate Creek, Sandy River

Arrah Wanna, Howard, Sandy River

Portland Tribune Article
Oldtimers return to Outdoor School
Created on Thursday, 13 November 2014 01:00 | Written by Jennifer Anderson

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 they finished their meal of taco stew, the 92-year-old stood to introduce himself. 

“I’m Mr. Gil, and I was the first director of Outdoor School, back in 1966,” he said with his hand raised, his voice booming. The children whooped and hollered. 

Warren Gilfillan, known to everyone for the past 48 years simply as “Mr. Gil,” is a living legend, the founding father of outdoor education in Oregon. 

“Thank you,” he said to the hundreds of students and adult leaders at Camp Howard one clear morning last month. 

Spry as a 40-year-old, the nonagenarian made a rare visit to the Outdoor School site between Corbett and Sandy, east of Portland, to visit with campers and reunite with a handful of other Outdoor School pioneers.

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. 

Mr. Gil met with Wally “Wapiti” Cole, Marty “Spike” Kuns, Jim “Duster” Gorter, and Bob “Name Tag” Mann, all retired Outdoor School administrators from around the region during past decades. 

“I went by this name until I was 50,” Kuns said. “It still has the same magical effect.” 

They chuckled at stories from the good old days, and marveled at how most things at camp appeared unchanged from their time.  

The food is basically the same, but “back then we didn’t have drink options,” Mann noticed. There was no pitcher of water on each table. They just drank milk. 

​“I’d come home from camp with a bad case of heartburn,” Mann said. “I didn’t realize I was lactose intolerant.”

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.

Short schedule

Yet more than half of the students who participate nowadays do so for a condensed version of three days, rather than a full week, because of their school districts’ unstable funding. 

It’s primarily the private schools — such as Holy Cross and Portland Jewish Academy — and small districts like Riverdale that send their students for a full week. Those schools, or their parents, can afford to buy a full week for their youth.

Portland Public Schools and other districts have had a rocky time trying to piece together funding since 2011. Centennial School District had to bow out altogether. 

“In Portland, immediately we had schools and parents calling us and saying ‘Can we raise money so our kids can go for a full week?’ ” says Outdoor School coordinator Dan “Teal” Prince. “But we really supported PPS’ decision to maintain an equitable participation; everybody’s going to go at the same level.” 

Funding has stabilized in the past two years, but Prince says he’s always seen this period as a bridge to the long-term big picture, wherein supporters find a way to sustain the Outdoor School’s legacy for generations to come. 

“A solution is finding a solution to allow everybody to go,” he says. “It’s such a cool way to get kids engaged with nature, so much of what makes Oregon Oregon.”

Seeking statewide funding 

Advocates, including Mr. Gil, have been lamenting this reality for years, and kicked off a new statewide effort this fall to allow every middle schooler in Oregon to attend Outdoor School for a full week. 

​That would about double the number of students participating, from the 26,000 Portland-area students currently attending.

The movement is called Outdoor School For All, organized by a group of advocates called the Oregon Outdoor Education Coalition, a partnership between Friends of Outdoor School, the Gray Family Foundation, Metropolitan Group, and other parents, educators and supporters.

“All our kids need it and deserve (a full week),” says former Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder, who’s been leading efforts to fund Outdoor School since 2006. “We are building a structure.” 

A bill sponsored by then-Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, died in the Oregon Legislature two years ago, but now organizers hope there’ll be a much broader grassroots effort to change the political discussion, Burkholder says. 

Another bill is being readied to go before lawmakers in the 2015 legislative session.

The coalition will use funds from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute to conduct statewide outreach through early next year. Supporters will ask people what it would mean to their community ​to restore or expand Outdoor School.

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 cost of sending all sixth-graders in the Portland area to Outdoor School for one week, she says, is about $6 million. 

Silva says the Friends group has an aggressive long-term goal of raising $1 million per year through philanthropy, which would cover one day. 

Metro funds could cover a second day, she says. Silva’s hoping to fill in the gap for the other four days. 

“It could be a school district funds part of it, parents fund it, other types of partnerships,” she says. “We’ve been exploring that at a regional level.” 

Longevity through nature

While the Friends group hits up its donor base and the coalition lobbies the Legislature, advocates are gearing up for 2016, Outdoor School’s 50th anniversary. 

Prince has some 16-millimeter films of the early days he’d like to show around town, featuring none other than Mr. Gil, as a young man with Buddy Holly glasses, looking very much the same as he does today. 

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.” 

Mr. Gil grew up in Seattle, earning a degree in wildlife management, then working for the Oregon Fishery Commission. He next served as director of camping for the Boy Scouts of America, which inspired many of Outdoor School’s traditions — everything from the wood cookies and family-style meals to the repeat-after-me cheers and silly skits that build routine and camaraderie for Outdoor School campers. 

Ironically, Mr. Gil never got to send his son to Outdoor School in its first year, 1966, despite the fact that he was in sixth grade. 

“It would’ve been nepotism,” Mr. Gil says, so he chose other schools to participate. 

Five-hundred students from Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Columbia counties participated in that first spring session. 

His daughter did get to go, eight years later. 

​Mr. Gil’s son now owns a pyrotechnics business and his daughter, Jule Gilfillan, is an Oregon Field Guide producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting. 

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. 

He has a couple of grandkids and a great grandchild and lives in Wilsonville half the year while wintering in the Southern California desert. 

The secret to a healthy, long life? 

Living in the outdoors, he says.

“I’ve been a hunter and a fisher all my life. … That, and I quit smoking … at age 12.” 

Ode to Outdoor School

There have been many efforts to raise funds for Outdoor School over the years. 

Rachel “Radish” Byron-Law, a science teacher who was inspired by her Outdoor School experience as a camper, volunteer and staff leader, has taken one of the more creative approaches. 

The 30-year-old Portland singer and her band, Arbielle, wrote a song about Outdoor School called “Sandy River.” Band members hope downloads of the song will raise money to restore Outdoor School to a full week for students in Multnomah County.

“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.”

Byron-Law says she wrote the song out of her intense feelings for the program, as an alumna and past leader. 

“It was heartbreaking to watch ODS crumble from a thriving, historically rich, full-week program to a three-day field trip,” she says. 

“We didn’t just lose breadth and depth of academic content. We lost that ‘magical’ time part-way through a week that is the heart and soul of the program. ... That is what makes the rest of the field studies amazing, the tree-planting ceremony so special, and the end of a week so sad. Without it, Outdoor School becomes just a weird, extended field trip, as opposed to a culturally defining moment.”

A friend who lives in the Bay Area offered to record the song in his studio for free. Arbielle signed with Electronic-Boy Productions last winter and their album, “Roots Grow Deep,” is out in iTunes, Amazon and elsewhere. 

They performed the song on their last tour as well as on KBOO’s “Movin’ On” folk show.  All proceeds from each $1 download of “Sandy River” benefit Friends of Outdoor School. Here’s a sample: radishoutdoorschool.bandcamp.com/track/sandy-river

​— Jennifer Anderson

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Howard, Kuratli

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
 

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Kiwanis, Kuratli

50th Anniversary

celebration for current and former staff and their families, held on March 5th, 2016 at the Angelos Outdoor School site.

Passages Through Time 2016

Flux, Urchin, Weasel, Falco, Trout, Hatchet, Ladybug, Twilight, Glucose, Karma
Daisy, Fern, Driftwood, Lafcadio

2016 Student Leader Scholarship Winners

Hedgehog
"Among many changes, the most important one I have experienced at Outdoor School has been my approach toward people. At camp, I have been able to see my snap judgments fall egregiously short. There were numerous times where I worried a sixth grader was too high-energy or too closed-off to work with, only to observe them channel their excitement or open up with keen observations. At Arrah Wanna, I met sixth-graders, staff, and student leaders that I might have written off with an errant judgment in other environments."
 

Flurry
"Adolescence is a time of meandering, metamorphoses, and in some cases misdemeanors. Teenagers as a species are expected to develop into full-blown adults by the time they graduate high school. . . . The act starts out easy enough, balancing chores and school work, but quickly escalates into establishing a social life, and deciding what your future will be like. On top of that mess, I decide to mentor seven to nine 11-year-olds for a week at a time. One word: stressful. I love it. . . . Outdoor School is a haven where "selfish" teenagers have the opportunity to volunteer. Where the "uncommitted" student devotes their time to take care of and teach science to 6th graders."
 

Aloe Vera
"I had no plans, and as a junior with 10 credits left, I felt I had no future beyond high school. I wasn't even fully decided on whether or not I wanted to bother trying to earn my diploma; all I knew was that if I was dropping out, it would be on my own terms. If nothing else (and there was a lot else), my fantastic experience at Outdoor School gave me the boost I needed to keep trying new things and pushing my boundaries. If I could try something so physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing, something so alien, and do well enough at it that people asked me to come back and do it again, well, I must be able to do more than I thought. Maybe there was a whole world of opportunities out there, and I just wasn't undertaking them because I didn't think I was good enough."
 

Toasty
"Maria turned to me, eyes wide. Her breathing quickened and she started gasping for air. I grabbed her hand and we left the campfire. We easily fell into the pattern that had become our routine. I squeeze her hand, I breathe. She breathes, and squeezes back. Our pace slowed on the walk back to the nurse's office as I told her stories of tree houses and ice cream."
 

Lumos
"At Outdoor School, with my boots in the mud and my hands buried in the soil alongside students, I transform into the best version of myself. I am not normally outgoing, yet I find myself standing up to lead songs with a moment's notice and stepping in to help less experienced SLs if they feel over their heads. Outdoor School has given me the confidence to apply those leadership skills in areas of my life like youth group, girl scouts, and home life. It's given me a way of dealing with people and meeting them where they are at."
 

Jasper
"The philosophy I have learned that has influenced my the most is that there are no "bad kids." In Outdoor School, I have learned to recognize that each student leader, staff member, and student has specific needs—from having trouble communicating effectively to needing physical attention to being particular about silverware—and I have been able to address my own particularities and create stronger relationships with the people around me as a result."
 

Rialto
"From Outdoor School I truly learned to have compassion for others as well as the importance of listening, the importance of finding out what people's needs are, and the importance of gaining people's trust. I did not realize it during the times I volunteered at Camp Howard, but what I was learning was changing how I saw others in the world, especially how we all can benefit from each other."

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Namanu

Oregon 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.

Outdoor School returns to the Namanu site!

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.

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Kiwanis, Kuratli, Namanu

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Namanu

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Kiwanis, Kuratli, Namanu

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Kuratli, Namanu

Article written by a Student Leader with some factual inaccuracies:

Outdoor School and How it Came to Be

from The Franklin Post • Wren Helzer-Florer (ODS Student Leader) • October 15, 2018

Outdoor School Counselors pose for a photo after the sixth graders go home. ODS is held for 15 weeks every year, in two separate sessions. Photo by Kelly Wade.

Drenched socks, muddied pants, chapped lips, mystery meat. These are all associatively gloomy characteristics, yet when all of them are bundled and tied together with wood cookies and beads, are they the highlight of the sixth grade? The community. The oddball teenagers that sleep in cabins outnumbered by 11 year olds for a week. The young adults they call Student Leaders.

As the school year started, some of the first flyers on the walls were recruitment posters for Outdoor School Student Leaders. Instagram feeds filled with recommendations to sign up. They do this because just as the highlight of the kid’s weeks is their Student Leaders, the highlight for the S.L.’s are the kids.

Hadlie Cyrus (11) went to Camp Howard this fall for her first season as an S.L. She describes the kids leaving: “On the last day, right before this little girl got on her bus home, she ran over to me, engulfed me in a hug, and told me I was her favorite! She wasn’t even in my cabin. As her bus drove away she waved at me from the window till she was out of sight. I was trying really hard not to cry the whole time. It was such an life changing week.”

That’s exactly what the Multnomah Outdoor School program wanted when they began in the 1960’s. Pilot programs had been started a decade earlier in California, and migrated up the coast over the next couple years. A committee was formed in order to begin an outdoor school there here in the Northwest.  Oregon’s program began as short teacher-guided nature trail, called the Portland Area Resource Education Tour or the P.A.R.E.T. Trail. The committee decided on a full out camp when the trail became a grand success, with over 5,000 students utilizing it.

P.A.R.E.T. asked for a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, but there was a misunderstanding and the department thought it was only a six month program, so they did not give it full funding. Luckily the P.A.R.E.T. committee was awarded a Grant award, and in 1966, they were able to secure full funding from the Department of Education. In the spring of 1967, Trout Creek Camp served as the very first home of the Regional Outdoor School program, seeing 637 students through six days and four field studies. Every year since, sixth graders have gone into the woods to get hands-on experience in nature. Student Leaders were added in ‘69.

With Outdoor School having existed for over half a century, the program has become a keystone for Oregon youth. Outdoor School’s Student Services Specialist, Kitty Boyer, attended the Howard location as a sixth grader, returned six years later as a counselor, and again a year later as a program leader. Boyer went on to get a psychology degree from PSU, unsure of her exact path. Her love for nature and working with kids prevailed, and she returned to Outdoor School.

The beginning of budget cuts for ODS began in the early 2000’s, causing school districts to attend for only half as long if not having to abandon ODS all together. PPS had decided to completely pull out of the program, but a huge fundraising kick from Portland community members fostered hope. As Boyer recalls, “They were able to raise about 500,000 dollars to send Portland Public Schools to Outdoor School that spring.” After this PPS committed themselves to getting kids to ODS even if for only three days. Two years ago, PPS was able to come back for the full week, but other school districts, such as Reynolds, can still only afford the half week.

Boyer believes that the full week is substantially more beneficial, stating that “They’re just starting to buy in on that Tuesday if they are doing a split week, and then they are gone.” The full week allows the students to create a community, while learning the full ODS curriculum. For Student Leaders, it builds leadership, opens them up to a statewide community, and helps the teens learn who they are out in the real world.

Outdoor School has been around so long for a reason: and that’s because there is nothing quite like it. In their day-to-day routine, students learn letters and numbers that they do not know how to relate to real life. According to the Department of Education, dropout rates soar as kids get older, and it’s because they aren’t buying in. ODS teaches sixth graders, teens, and adults alike, the importance of outdoor learning and how it relates to education

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Collins, Howard, Kiwanis, Namanu

Angelos, Arrah Wanna, Canby Grove, Howard, Kuratli, Namanu

No Outdoor School sites in operation

Global Pandemic!

Like regular school, Outdoor School was canceled for the season. Staff spent time engaged in professional development, as well as creating Outdoor School-themed curriculum that teachers could use with their now-online students.

Outdoor School During the Pandemic

from The Franklin Post • Nora Hugo (ODS Student Leader) • June 8, 2020

High school students across the country are realizing the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on our lives. Most students, instead of being at school amongst teachers and classmates, are now at home, experiencing for possibly the first time an online education instead of a physical one. But sixth graders and some high schoolers in Multnomah County are missing out on an additional facet of their lives, one that was highly anticipated for many: Outdoor School.

Outdoor School is a program run by the Multnomah Education Service District that is offered to sixth graders throughout Multnomah County and surrounding areas. Students go to experience a week’s worth of hands-on, project based science classes outdoors with their classmates and other schools. For many students, Outdoor School is their first time being away from their family overnight or spending time in the great outdoors. It is an experience that many treasure and remember for a long time, and it’s a landmark in students’ lives. But this year, some students did not get to experience the spring session that had been planned. 

Because of the spring session cancellations, the Outdoor School staff is hard at work, not in the field working with students, but at home working on redesigning the Outdoor School curriculum in a more equity-focused way. “We’ve used this as an opportunity to really take a look at some of our older curriculum and activities, and we hope that the updates we’ve devised will be durable updates for some of those older modalities,” says Paul Susi, also known as “Badger,” who is the site supervisor at Angelos, one of the Outdoor School sites. The staff is using this time to consider students’ current needs, and taking advantage of time off-site to really focus on improving the program. Curriculum-building is a large project, with Field Instructors and Program Leaders working in teams to build, analyse, and distribute the new curriculum. They rely on student leader and teacher feedback to ensure that the new curriculum is conducive to the Outdoor School experience. Curriculum development, for Outdoor School staff and volunteers, is truly a team effort.

Since this closure was so unexpected, the staff are still unsure about how students will be able to make up their session. “We are hopeful that students that missed this spring will be able to participate in some form of Outdoor School in the future,” says Outdoor School Coordinator Jennifer Basham, otherwise known as “Pheff” while on site. The program is working on a solution for those students, she says, and “in the meantime, we have developed many activities for families and teachers to use to engage in science concepts in their neighborhood.” 

Sixth graders are not the only people missing out on an Outdoor School experience this spring. Student leaders, high schoolers who sign up to help lead students throughout the week, are also missing out on what could possibly be their last session. For student leaders, Outdoor School isn’t just a volunteer opportunity— it’s an experience that’s just as important to them as it is to sixth graders. For lots of student leaders, Outdoor School is an important community where they can be themselves and help sixth graders learn. “[Outdoor School] gives me the chance to give kids the unconditional love and respect that I didn’t get in school,” says Abby Steward, a junior at Wilson High School.

For prospective student leaders, it’s a disappointment to miss the session. However, the staff at Outdoor School are doing their best to make sure that everyone can still connect with the community. Depending on the site, some are holding online social hours, where staff and student leaders alike can relax and have fun while socializing. According to Susi, the community is involved in Instagram challenges as well, and the Angelos Instagram account (@mesdodsangelos) features videos of the staff honoring seniors who would have been experiencing their last session. 

For Doré Young, a Franklin senior, Outdoor School is a chance to make a difference. “Teens can support outdoor education, climate education, and time away from technology,” she says. She plans on coming back to Outdoor School for at least a week next year, after having missed her last session as a student leader due to the cancellation. This situation is true for other student leaders who, unbeknownst to them, experienced their last session before they had planned. Right now, things feel uncertain, and no one truly knows what will happen next. However, as Susi says, “We’re not going anywhere. Outdoor School is 55 years old, and we’re pretty confident that we’ll be happening, in one way or another, for a long time to come.” 

No Outdoor School sites in operation

Pandemic, 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.

Staff also engaged Student Leaders in online activities, enrichment, teaching skills enhancement, and social time.

​This model continued throughout the 2020-21 school year.

No Outdoor School sites in operation

Pandemic, continued.

See Fall 2000; the Outdoor School Anywhere model of programming continued for the entirety of the 2020-21 school year.

No Outdoor School sites in operation

Pandemic, 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 environment

Outdoor 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 experiences 

While 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 world

The 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.” 

“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.

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.”

I 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.”

“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.

Outdoor School Launches Programming for its Second Year Amid a Pandemic

from The Franklin Post • Stella Garrido-Spencer (ODS Student Leader) • October 29, 2021

An Oregon River with tall trees surrounding it. MESD Outdoor School brings 6th grade students to similar locations to learn about the forest. Photo by Isabella Smejtek.

Three weeks ago, on October 3, after a year of virtual activities, Multnomah Education Service District (MESD) Outdoor School began its annual programming, and it looks vastly different from previous years. Whereas in years prior 6th grade students would be transported by bus to a designated camp where they would stay overnight for 6 days, students this year walk with their teachers to the nearest public park, where for three half days they are taught modified versions of the traditional lessons on water, plants, animals, and soil. The new format of Outdoor School has been overwhelmingly successful in its goal of protecting students from COVID-19, but has raised concerns over equity and resource access, which Outdoor School is still working to overcome. 

MESD Outdoor School Senior Program Coordinator Jennifer Basham says the program’s first priority is “safety of staff, safety of student leaders, and safety of students.” In order to keep the Outdoor School community safe, MESD has been closely following guidelines from the State of Oregon, Multnomah County, Ready School Safe Learners, as well as their own teacher advisory group to construct a program that maximizes safety by minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Mount Tabor Middle School science teacher Anna Durocher notes that the program was very satisfactory in meeting PPS COVID-19 regulations, and is confident that “we were COVID safe the whole time.”

Another major priority has been maintaining and building equity in the program. Basham describes the realization that if they stuck to the traditional model of serving each sixth grader for 6 consecutive days, “any students scheduled for the fall would not have the opportunity for an overnight experience.” For this reason they made the choice to shift into a two part model in which all students will participate in a three-day experience in the fall, and if metrics allow, they will complete three more days on-site during the spring. The idea behind this model is to “[build] opportunities for students to get to know staff and student leaders in a day program which is hosted at the school sites” says Basham, and in the spring those same groups of students will be taught by familiar faces. 

However, concerns about equity go beyond giving every student an overnight experience. Program Leader and educator Tri Sanger, who goes by the name of Trilobite when working with students, is concerned that the necessary changes to the program surrounding student safety have had an impact on how equitable the program can be. They described a recent session at Ron Russell Middle School in the David Douglas School District in which it became apparent that “having students outside from school is a very different experience than having them come to us on site … we had students that did not own jackets, and had students that hadn’t eaten breakfast because their families couldn’t provide that to them and the schools did not provide that to them.” 

In a typical year of on-site programming, Outdoor School staff are able to provide students with the resources they need to create a level learning environment for all participants, with “coats and gloves and hats, and covered spaces that are ours to manage and give out to students if they need it,” says Basham, as well as three meals a day served in the dining hall, snacks, and water bottles. With these resources unavailable, Outdoor School shifted its format once again, this time from full to half days, in order to ensure that no student would be outside for 6 hours straight during winter months without the appropriate weather gear. 

The change in Outdoor School programming has also had an impact on high school students. A central aspect of Outdoor School is that it is taught in part by student leaders, who lead a cabin and specialize in teaching a science subject. 12th grader at Franklin High School and two-time student leader Abby Darr is passionate about the program because it allows her to be outside and “help kids who wouldn’t really get outside be able to spend a week learning outside.” This year, instead of leading a cabin, student leaders travel to their assigned middle schools and assist in teaching a class. Darr was assigned to Mount Tabor Middle School and MLC: “we spent two days with them each, so it did feel like there was a little bit of a connection there … but we were assigned to an entire class which was a large group, so it was kind of hard to have one-on-one connections with [students] over the course of the week.” 

Outdoor School typically has between 15-25 student leaders per session but is currently averaging around 5, so they are still actively seeking student leaders to participate.

Outdoor School is “for a lot of kids the first time that they come to a place and that they have positive adult role models,” says Sanger. “We have students that don’t traditionally thrive in a classroom environment who really thrive at ODS because we allow students to pay attention however they best pay attention, we allow students to cater their learning to their own interests, and we allow students to learn in ways that best suit them.”

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.

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Westwind 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.

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Outdoor School is So In

from 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!

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu, Westwind

Statewide 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.

Outdoor School Shortened after Budget Cuts, Worrying High School Volunteers

from The Benson Orbit • Elizabeth Larrison (ODS Student Leader) • October 9, 2025

Budget cuts have caused Outdoor School, a beloved Oregon tradition of over half a century, to shorten from six days down to four, and Student Leaders are concerned about the changes.

Photo by Elizabeth Larrison

Every fall and spring for over 50 years, thousands of Oregon sixth graders load onto yellow buses and head out into the woods for a week of Outdoor School. Sixth graders aren’t the only students at Outdoor School, however — there are also hundreds of high school students who volunteer their time to be Student Leaders, taking care of and teaching the sixth grade students. But this year, Outdoor School will be looking a bit different. Outdoor Schools state-wide are facing a 20% funding shortage due to a budget cut decision from the Oregon Legislature. To continue to run, Multnomah County Outdoor Schools will be shortening their weeks from 6 days to 4 days. 

At Benson, there are 44 students volunteering their time to Outdoor School this fall. One of them, Senior Han “Soobi” Quach, said that “one of the things that immediately stood out to me about ODS was the amazing community. All of the counselors were incredible and it was clear that ODS was a very special place to everyone that went there.” The sense of community between Student Leaders and with students and staff is something many Students Leaders highly value.

Edmond “BFG” Barringer, a Senior who is preparing for his fourth week as a Student Leader at Kuratli Outdoor School, said that one of the things he loves most about Outdoor School is “forming connections with the students, other student leaders, and the staff.” He is concerned that “with the shortened week, we won’t be able to build as much rapport with the students and therefore won’t be able to teach them as much.” 

Marvin “Tiny Tim” Kolbow, said that the shortened week makes them worried for the future of Outdoor School.

“Four days is absolutely horrific; it’s just not enough time,” Soobi said about the shortened week. “For a lot of kids, ODS might be their singular sleep away camp experience. They should be given the time needed to enjoy it.” Outdoor School serves students from all different types of families, cultures, and financial backgrounds. The Outdoor School provides those students with an opportunity to get the experience of sleep-away camp that many wouldn’t get otherwise, for free. 

Many Student Leaders worry that the educational aspects of Outdoor School will suffer. RiverCrow “StormSpider” Snyder, a Senior who has done three weeks of Outdoor School, wondered “how much education are the kids losing out on because of these budget cuts?” He continued, “this isn’t the most important thing for our state to be spending money on, but it makes me sad to see […] camps losing resources and time because of it.”

“Education has been hurt enough,” BFG said.

Soobi agreed, “[four days is] also not enough time for them to experience the full water, soil, animals, and plants curriculum, which provides hands-on learning that can’t be replicated in their everyday classroom.”

Another Student Leader, Jeff “Sloth” Martin, had a different perspective on the shortened week, “It’s personally great for me because if I get scheduled [to work] on a Monday it means I don’t have to call out,” Sloth said “but it does suck for the kids, and I’m quite sad about that.”

Angelos, Collins, Kuratli, Namanu

Outdoor School discontinued the use of the Westwind site due to reduced funding.

Voices of Roosevelt Article
ODS Sees Biggest Funding Cut in Years
February 12, 2026 | Written by Eli Mair Lowery (Student Leader "Jorts")

Camp Westwind, now closed for the spring Outdoor School season due to funding cuts. Photo by Sierra Jones

Outdoor School has been a beloved Oregon institution for over sixty years, and in June of 2025, it received a 20% funding cut. For anyone unfamiliar, Outdoor School is a program that allows fifth and sixth graders to leave the school building and have nature become their classroom, at no cost to the students. Typically students will go to Outdoor School, which is usually held in residential camps, for up to five nights, where they will learn all sorts of things about soil, water, plants, and animals. It’s engaging and hands-on, presenting learning in a new way to the students and oftentimes is the first time a child gets to go to “camp” or go on a hike. High school students are even given the opportunity to volunteer as Student Leaders, teaching and guiding younger students. (For more information on being a Student Leader, check out the article “Outdoor School is So In” on our website!) Without this program, many sixth graders would not be able to have these outdoor experiences and growth opportunities. Every kid in Oregon deserves to go to Outdoor School, and funding cuts threaten to kill these precious programs. 

To understand the situation better, I spoke with Dan Prince, Associate Director of Friends of Outdoor School, a group whose mission is to “connect, support, and advocate for all of Oregon’s diverse students to learn at inclusive and accessible Outdoor School programs that contribute to educational development, inspire youth, promote personal growth, and embrace justice.” 

In 2016, voters approved Ballot Measure 99, a law which allocates 4% of Oregon lottery funds towards Outdoor School. Every two years, the Oregon Legislature allocates the funds in the “long session.” Early in June of 2025, The Oregon Joint Committee of Ways and Means—the legislative committee that determines state budget policy—passed a budget that cut Outdoor School funding by $12 million dollars. Because Ballot Measure 99 is a law, the legislators have the power to change it, as they do every year with the budget creation. In addition to the initial cut, in December 2025, state agencies had to present proposals for additional 5% budget cuts. For Outdoor School, this would be an additional $1.7 million cut from the program. The Oregon Legislature, who will meet in February, is now responsible for determining whether and by how much to cut Outdoor School funding. 

These budget cuts went into quick effect, with each week of the Multnomah County Fall session being only four days long as opposed to the previous six days. In other parts of the state, the fall session was postponed or even cancelled. Dan Prince describes the cuts as a “killing of momentum,” as schools that had hoped to move from a three day program to a longer one no longer have that ability. Many programs around the state are unsure  if they will serve their usual schools in the spring, putting hiring staff and making plans on pause. Many of the people who had expected to work for ODS this year had to find other jobs. In a typical year, ODS in the Multnomah County district has five sites; Namanu, Angelos, Westwind, Kuratli and Collins. Unfortunately, the Westwind site will not be operating in the spring, reducing the number of sites to four. The status of sites around the state isn’t yet fully known. Even with all of these effects, the full extent of the impact the budget cuts will have is unknown, because most kids in Oregon attend Outdoor School in the spring. 

While it is too late for the budget cuts to be reversed this school year, they still can be next year. Representative Zach Hudson is introducing legislation to restore $6 million to Outdoor School for next year, which will bring it back to the level that voters intended in Measure 99. 

If you’re interested in helping, reaching out to your legislators to tell them your thoughts is something everyone can do. Some potential talking points Dan provided me with are:

• Outdoor School is important to me because…
• Outdoor School is already reeling from the 20% cuts the Legislature made in June, 2025
• Reject further cuts to Outdoor School
• Voters were clear with Measure 99–4% of Lottery revenue for kids to attend Outdoor School
• Please support Rep. Hudson’s legislation to restore $6 million in Outdoor School funding for 2026

While what may happen if this budget is maintained for the whole biennium isn’t known, programs across Oregon are making short term sacrifices to keep going right now. That can’t be sustained however, because you can only sacrifice so much before you don’t have anything left to give up. It’s expected that many students will go for a shorter period of time than they deserve, and many won’t go at all. 

When I asked Dan if there was anything else he thought was important to know, he wanted to highlight and stress the importance of high school leadership in Outdoor School. He says that, “Across Oregon, thousands of high schoolers work with younger students at ODS, and the value of that is impossible to fully understand. We want decision-makers to know that this program is a place where not only 5th or 6th graders get a great experience–it’s a place where high school students contribute to younger students’ development and growth, and where they gain many important skills themselves. Sometimes that gets lost when we talk about ODS, but it’s a signature part of ODS in Oregon!”

If you are a high schooler who is a Student Leader, or a former Student Leader, or a parent who believes in sending their kids to Outdoor School to get vital education, I encourage you to reach out to your legislators and urge them to support Rep. Hudson’s legislation. Nature and knowledge belong to everyone, but aren’t accessible for so many. Programs like Outdoor School give people opportunities and access they wouldn’t have otherwise. 

SITES

SITES

SITES

SITES

SITES

SITES

SITES