“Thank you for a wonderful experience!”
They came together from as far away as Wallowa County and Klamath Falls with a shared vision: that every Oregon 5th or 6th grader should have a great overnight experience in the outdoors. These teachers, nonprofit service providers and project managers spent two days working to strengthen outdoor schools in the state. Some were putting together new programs, and some came from programs that had been going strong for 40 years. They all wanted the rare opportunity to share what they know and celebrate their accomplishments.
The summit, held in February in Salem at the 4-H Conference and Education Center, was hosted by the Gray Family Fund. The Gray Family Environmental Education Program seeks to encourage a strong local land ethic, sustainable communities, and stewardship of the natural environment throughout Oregon. The Fund’s focus this year is on outdoor schools.
Workshops topics included strengthening program capacity, fundraising, curriculum and evaluation. At a special luncheon, Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder spoke about the steps he had taken to create a government-supported tax from waste collection to help fund outdoor schools and encouraged the group to be creative in their approaches to long-term funding.
As the weekend ended, one participant said, “Thanks for the great event. I left with new contacts, ideas, and inspiration” – which was exactly the goal of the summit.