8A | SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS
ADVENTURE from page 1A
Unfortunately, the future of
the program is somewhat in
doubt.
Drastic cuts to the block grant
that funds the Outdoor Adven-
ture Camp through the “Twi-
light Education Program” has
forced the district to reduce the
services offered to students after
school. This has led to an elimi-
nation of meals and supervised
activities for students that wish,
or need, to stay at school after
classes have ended for the day.
“It costs somewhere between
$10-15,000 dollars to hold the
camp, depending on what activ-
ities and other things, like meals
and transportation, we include,”
Wells said. “And the school dis-
trict has some work to do.”
Wells will meet with Siuslaw
Superintendent Andy Grzesko-
wiak this summer to discuss
possibilities for the program.
“After camp wraps up this
year, the planning team is going
to look at our finance reserves
from our donors and figure our
best approach to meet the needs
of the students,” Grzeskowiak
said. “There is quite a bit of in-
terest in the community to re-
turn to an outdoor education
program that has the overnight
component. So many people
speak of that week from their
middle school days as one of
the greatest experiences of their
lives.”
On the positive side of the
ledger, voters approved Measure
99 in 2016, which takes four per-
cent of the state’s lottery funds
and dedicates them to creating
an Outdoor Education Fund.
This revenue stream has some
restrictions as to its use and
while voters overwhelmingly ap-
proved measure 99, the specifics
of obtaining and utilizing this
money is still being worked out.
According to Grzeskowiak,
WATERSHED from page 1A
The islands are the remnants
of a more extensive forest that
once covered the dunes, which
has been lost through erosion
over time. The remaining is-
lands are hubs for vegetation
and wildlife, including a ro-
bust population of fir and
spruce trees.
But the tree islands are in
danger of being overrun by
invasive species like Scotch
broom, which are growing on
the edges of the islands.
“Sand Dunes Frontier will
take the students on sand bug-
gies out to the tree islands and
work with campers and forest
service folks to remove the
invasive species,” Terry said.
“We’ll also have someone do-
ing a history of the dunes and
dune ecology.”
After learning about and
caring for the tree islands,
students will be taken to Sand
Master Park where they’ll be
given lessons on sandboard-
ing.
“It’s a good experience for
them to see recreational op-
portunities that they haven’t
had before. And along the way,
teach them that if you’re going
to recreate out here, it’s great
to keep in good shape,” Terry
said. “It’ll be a heck of a day
and really cool.”
One day will find the stu-
dents at lakes south of Flor-
ence, such as Siltcoos and
Cleawox, where students will
discover birdwatching and
how the region’s delicate eco-
system supports habitats. That
will then lead to the dunes,
where students will learn
about the Western Snowy Plo-
ver, a threatened species that
is just recently beginning to
reestablish its population on
the coast.
Another day will find the
students at Sutton Lake.
“We’ll do invasive species
monitoring,” Terry said. “We’ll
walk the creek with some of
the kids and actually map
where the invasive species are,
patches of Japanese knotweed
or parrot feather, and we’ll be
going with a botanist from the
National Forest Service.”
That day will also include
the representatives from the
Confederated Tribes of Coos,
Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Archery, kayaking and
canoeing, hiking and learn-
ing how to set up a campsite
and cook food on an open
fire are all lessons taught by
qualified volunteers at the
Outdoor Adventure Camp. In
addition, cooking, beadmak-
ing and tie-dyeing options
were available, as well as
lessons about native cul-
tures.
there will more than likely be
some changes to the program in
the future.
“With the passage of Measure
99, outdoor school funds can be
spent for fifth- or sixth-grade
students for either a day or over-
night educational experience,”
Grzeskowiak said. “We cannot
continue with our current for-
mat building relationships be-
tween fifth- and seventh-graders
to ease the transition to middle
school and use the M99 funds to
cover all of the program costs.”
Historically, Siuslaw’s outdoor
school has been a sixth-grade
activity.
“Since our current fifth-grad-
Indians, which will do a canoe
pull with the students.
Other activities include pad-
dle boarding and horse rides at
C&M Stables.
By doing these activities,
Terry hopes that local youth
will look beyond the usual
summer activities.
“If you’re at home in the
summer, and you’re playing
video games, you could also
be out there stand up paddle
boarding. There’s entertain-
ment today outside in the nat-
ural environment. They’ll be
exposed to recreational oppor-
tunities in their own backyard
that maybe they wouldn’t have
access to otherwise,” he said.
Beyond recreation, Terry
hopes that the experiences will
give youth the opportunity to
explore future employment op-
portunities in the field of res-
ers have had Outdoor Adven-
tures this year, the program at
sixth-grade would not be eligi-
ble for M99 funds if we spent
any M99 funds this year on
camp, since the measure’s funds
will not cover any costs related
to seventh-graders. So, we are
caught in the middle of a legisla-
tive gap if we move the program
back to the middle school,” Grz-
eskowiak said.
He clarified that the program
would not necessarily go away.
“The format may change as it
moves back to the sixth-grade
level. There has been too much
work done by staff, students
and people in the community
toration.
“The students can see that
this is a viable future,” he said.
“They can say, ‘If I enjoy what
I’m doing out here, this could
be a viable job for me.’ There
are a lot of jobs in restoration
and other fields right here in
the Siuslaw region. And it’s
great for the natural resource
specialists to see what rural
youth are actually interested in.
It’s good to introduce those two
groups.”
The camp, which is being
funded by The Ford Family,
Western Lane Community and
Mapleton Community founda-
tions, will run from Monday,
June 25, to Friday, June 29.
The cost of the camp is $75,
but scholarships are available.
For more information, vis-
it www.siuslaw.org/camps, or
call 541-268-3044.
to not bring outdoor camp back
for Siuslaw students,” Grzesko-
wiak said. “We are just having
to wrestle with the funding re-
quirements of the state and the
Florence Food Share provides food to those who
are hungry in our community. If you have four
hours a week available, we are in need of vol-
unteers to staff our Front Desk and also act as
Guides as clients walk through the pantry. Please
call our volunteer coordinator, Sarah Lovejoy,
@ 541-997-9110 (Monday – Friday, before noon)
to learn more about volunteering. info@lorence-
foodshare.org 2190 Spruce Street.
Volunteer
Volunteers needed for new home construction, home repairs, general
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Annual Ice Cream Social
July 21 at
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possible transition back to the
middle school level.”
Wells also wants community
members to know that they can
donate to Siuslaw School Dis-
trict to specifically support the
Outdoor Adventure Program.
“People interested in donat-
ing to the program can contact
me, Mr. Dougherty or Ms. Bar-
nard, the team leaders from the
fifth- and seventh-grade,” Wells
said. “We do a lot of teamwork
and they put in a lot of hours to
make this happen. There is an
Outdoor Adventures account set
up at the middle school and we
can help them with their dona-
tions.”
The enthusiasm exhibited by
Wells and the teachers and vol-
unteers who participate in the
camp is reflected by dozens of
students swirling around the
adults, laughing, talking and,
yes, learning. It is a much dif-
ferent level of energy and ex-
citement than at a typical school
function.
Wells believes the reason is
simple: people, and especially
kids, love being outdoors.
He also wants to thank Flor-
ence residents for helping to
make this year’s camp a success.
“I just want to say thanks.
Florence has been so good to
us. This our fifth year of Out-
door Adventures and hopefully
it won’t be our last,” Wells said.
“And if one student, because of
what we did here, has a better or
more productive year, it makes
all the work, money and time
worth it.”
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1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
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regardless of income. Cafe 60 is available for those
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@ 541-997-3441