The Outdoor School

As many of you know, I used to work for an environmental education program in Oregon called The Outdoor School that is run by the Multnomah Education Service District. In this program, grade 6 students go and live for a week with their class (and three other classes from other schools in Portland) to get their science credit for the term. There are also high school-age students that go out the mentor the students in their cabins and also act as teachers of various activities in the areas of wildlife ecology, stream fish ecology, forest ecology, and soil science.

This is NOT a camp- we were out doing 6 hours of field science for 4 of the 5 days that the students were there. I worked as the forest ecology field instructor, meaning that I was in charge of developing a forest ecology curriculum that met the state standards for grade 6 students. Every week, I got a new batch of high schoolers who I had to teach to not only know the material, but to teach it well to the sixth graders. I worked for this program for a few years, and every fall and spring I could look forward to 10 straight 85-hour weeks, one day off per week, and being outside in the rainy conditions of the western cascades. I LOVED it. I met some really extraordinary people, one of whom is my friend Sara.

The first day she and I met, we had an instant connection. She is truly an incredible woman, and is currently working in social services doing wonderful work with at-risk girls. It had been about 6 years since we last saw one another, but thanks to the MySpace, we reconnected. So, we hooked up and drove out to the old site, which is about 40 minutes from Portland. It really felt like going home as we drove along the winding forest roads of the Cascade foothills to the site.

The first thing you see when you pull in is the dining hall, the base of operations. We checked in there, and while the kidlings were eating dinner we went for a hike on the trails where I used to do my activities.

Behind the dining hall, the site supervisor, who owns an amzaing carnivorous plant nursery has some Cobra Pitcher Plants (Darlingtonia californica) that students use to learn about plant adaptations. It is thanks to him that I now have such a fondness for carnivorous plants- and it is so nice that he still works out there. Jeff is truly a wonderful man and I have learned so much from him. He will ship plants all over the nation, so you shold check out the Sarracenia NW website. Really- it's kewl and you should give him yer business! Plus, carn plants are easy to take care of- just keep 'em wet, and they catch their own fertilizer!

Here is a little swamp that is new since I was last here. Pretty.

There were also tiny Calypso Orchids (Calypso bulbosa) blooming everywhere. They are pretty rare, but really seem to love this area of the Sandy River valley. In addition to the orchids, stinging nettles were poppin' out all over. Sara and I picked a bunch for her to make some pesto with, and here she is baggin' some. She is goofy, I am goofy. That is why we love each other:

And here are Sara and I doing the gratuitous head shot with the Sandy River in the background.

Another cool thing about this trip is that I got to catch a glimpse of Japhy's mom... she belongs to the caretakers of the site. Unfortunately, they were not home (woulda loved to have seen them too), but we were able to peek through the windows of their cabin to see her. Sahara is now so old, and moving very slow... sigh. It was good to see her, but it made me a bit sad too...

It was really nice to take this little trip down memory lane. This whole program is very special to me- I attended as a sixth grader and volunteered in high school for it prior to being on staff. The Outdoor School definitely had a huge impact on my love for the environmental sciences and made me who I am today! Oh, and my spirit still lives on their a bit...

... these signs hanging in the dining hall were made by yours truly, like, 8 years ago. Cracked me up so see them still kickin'. Love, The Mrs.