All across Oregon, 6th graders are given the opportunity to attend Outdoor School, a unique hands-on learning experience about the world around them. It’s a four-day overnight camp where students spend time learning about the world around them. They attend four field studies: two-hour long stations that cover plants, animals, water, and soil. However, Outdoor School isn’t just a special experience for 6th graders. The hard-working high school volunteers, known as student leaders, are deeply impacted by the experience as well. “I learned a lot of things, even some of my kids taught me things,” said student leader Jesse Wallace. Similar to Wallace, each student leader has a unique story to tell about the meaning of Outdoor School to them.
“The staff said it takes a special type of crazy to do outdoor school multiple times, I was the only boy who had done it more than once,” said Benson sophomore Ben Cooper, also known as “Halibut” during his two weeks at Camp Collins. “Getting to teach [6th graders] and getting to see what, for around a quarter of them, is safe housing, safe food, just being in a safe environment, is amazing,” continued Cooper, explaining the experiences that have inspired him to return as a student leader. “I had some kids who it was clear that they have not had stable food for months. So it was nice to provide a safe space for them.” His advice for future student leaders can be a hard truth to accept, but it’s truly valuable. “Fake it till you make it. Just try to be as extroverted and friendly as possible.” Even though it may be hard to socialize with strangers, making connections is an important part of the week.
“I did [Outdoor School] for my first time and it was so amazing that I went back…I just had my second week,” said Phoebe Stowe, a sophomore at Benson. As a student leader at Camp Collins, Stowe is known as “Apple”, the name displayed on her wood cookie. “What made it really good [was the] other student leaders [and] just the environment and the 6th graders too.” Phoebe teaches 6th graders all about water when she takes them down to the Sandy River. “I just felt drawn to it,” she said, explaining why she chose her field study. “It’s [at] the river and I love the river…I’ll never change [field studies]. Ever.” Stowe didn’t just teach 6th graders at Outdoor School, she learned many skills as well. “I feel like when you’re in a small place with everyone you really kind of get to know people as they are, and I think it’s made me better at communicating with other people,” she explained. “I’m better at being a leader and speaking up because you have to be assertive.”
Eli Hendricks, a Benson senior and Outdoor School third-timer, has a similar love for Outdoor School. “[I like] Outdoor School a lot because I think it… gives you a lot of experience you wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Hendricks. At Camp Namanu, the 6th graders call him “Mr. Ed” after a character from a 1961 sitcom that he used to watch. “I really like hanging out with [kids] because… they have an outlook on life that’s really interesting,” he said after thinking for a moment about the impact Outdoor School has on him. “I love outdoor school, it’s one of the things I look forward to every year.”
“I think [Outdoor School] is an important and necessary thing for students to go through,” said Benson senior Edmond Barringer or “BFG.” “It not only gets them out of their comfort zone of just being in a city [and] having their phones…they can learn about the world around them in a way that humans are designed to learn. We’re not designed to sit at desks writing.” Barringer’s parents, who are both teachers, passed down their love for teaching to him. Once his friend convinced him to sign up for Outdoor School, he loved it enough to sign up five more times. His name came from Roald Dahl’s novel The Big Friendly Giant. “I remembered one of my favorite books growing up, BFG […] and then my friends thought it fit.”
Scout Brigham, a junior at Benson and past cadet staff sergeant for the Civil Air Patrol, really found her leadership skills during her two weeks of Outdoor School. “I definitely learned the most from outdoor school because it’s so immersive.” Her Outdoor School name at Camp Kuratli is “Maverick,” a nod to the movie Top Gun: Maverick.
Her love for Outdoor School runs deeper than enjoyment. “I love the culture, how it’s so accepting and just everything is…nice and safe…I always have kids that are really curious and eager to learn more [and] it makes me happy to know that those kids can get that experience…You get to build really good bonds with the kids.”
