Westwind is one of the Oregon Coast's most beautiful places…. It is a center for outdoor education, summer camp, research, and retreat, with over 500 acres of wilderness beach, salmon-bearing rivers and upland forests and meadows. Access by boat across the Salmon River ensures solitude and wildness. Westwind’s rustic main camp facilities are set into forested hills overlooking the Pacific and range from single cabins to a full camp that can accommodate 150 guests. more...
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seasonal diary
Another successful YWCA summer camp season was filled with energy and deep thoughts.
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| I learned that “no matter who you are or where you're from or what you believe, you and everyone around you should accept who you are and welcome you in to their community.” |
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I learned “to step out of my comfort zone, to do things myself and not wait for others. I'm important in my own way!” |
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conservation news
Fish passage to upstream spawning and rearing habitat on Westwind’s slopes is now open for coho or other salmonid species. With a generous grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and engineering help from the Forest Service, WSG installed culverts in three areas (including the “beaver pond”) in September. These will allow salmon returning from the ocean to get to spawning habitat above the emergency access road, and allow juveniles to migrate back to the estuary. WSG is thrilled to add to available habitat in the Salmon River Estuary and by the prospect of campers and guests helping to track fish presence over time.
During the work at the pond staff discovered juvenile pacific lamprey in the pond. Like salmon, the eel-like lamprey are anadromous, meaning they travel from the ocean to fresh water to spawn. If these lamprey were able to make it into the pond through the old culverts, it’s a great sign that coho and other salmon will love the new culvert and stream channel.
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| In this picture a big alder log is being used as a ram to distribute gravel substrate in the bottom 1/3 of one of the culverts, to provide continuous stream bed. |
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Lezak Institute for Social Justice
In late August 150 participants from across Oregon gamely boarded the Westwind ferry and spent a week at “Fixing Food: What Ails us and the Economy,” the first Lezak Institute conference held to honor the late well loved Portland mediator and U.S. attorney Sid Lezak. Chef Zachary Williams kept everyone extremely well fed with the help of an army of volunteers and generous guest chefs from The Terrace Kitchen, PoShine’s Café de la Soul, and Navarre restaurant.
Maria Jesus Torres, mother of one of the attendees, provided a show stopping traditional Latino breakfast and gave tamale making lessons in the kitchen. California filmmakers Chris Taylor and Thetis Sammons came and screened their recent movie “Food Fight,” which makes a great argument for ending agricultural subsidies and instead growing vegetables that taste good.
Westwind put together a daily children’s program that was the envy of many of the adults. In between visits to sea lions on the beach, making tie dye art, and moonlight campfires the children still found time to volunteer in the kitchen and occasionally hang out with their parents.
The adults discussed a range of topics from state and national agricultural policy, diet and chronic disease, social indicators of health and who lacks access to fresh food, to the sacredness of food in different cultures. The last two days of the conference were entirely peer-driven under the guidance of Vermont experts Adrian Segar and Anne Lezak. Attendees organized a native plant nature walk to the high meadow and even wrote an original freestyle rap demanding better access to healthy food.
The participants made the event, and included representatives of the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, the Oregon Department of Human Services and the state WIC program, faculty and students from PSU, elders from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, gardeners from Village Gardens, staff from the Urban League of Portland and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and many others. State legislator Brian Clem stopped by to exchange ideas with the group and stayed to tent camp on the Westwind beach. Those who attended say it was a conference like no other.
The sun shone on the group for almost the whole week. Thanks so much from the Lezak Project to the staff and leadership of Westwind for the perfect weather and for making it all possible. |
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circa
Hay for the YWCA horses crossed the Salmon River by barge for many years… here in the late 70’s Snaphyx and Paul Vidak (front) deliver the goods and unload to the trailer on the beach. |
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contribute!
The need never ends… the work of preserving the natural and national treasure that is Westwind in perpetuity will always depend on donations from those who love the site and what it has meant in their lives. Please send donations to the address below or by clicking the Donate button on the left side of our home page www.westwind.org. Many thanks for your help and support!
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upcoming events
The next VOLUNTEER WEEKEND begins Friday evening November 6th and ends mid-day Sunday November 8th. Join us for fine food, hard work, and long walks on the beach. We will have some exciting new projects around camp. Please call the office or email info@westwind.org if you would like to sign up or have questions. We could use a couple of volunteer chefs for the weekend, as well!
Interested in attending a “Friends of Westwind” weekend? Send us your ideas to help structure a first-time event. |
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| Thanks to our Volunteers!!! |
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“The Roost” was substantially upgraded during a weekend of skilled work by volunteers from the Salem Folklore group shown [at right]. Grateful site managers Scotty Evens and Irene Miller are
to the left in front row. |
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Here are two winter volunteers making short work of firewood detail now that we have a super efficient wood splitter, created from a rusted-out, inoperable machine destined for recycling. Site manager Irene Miller took it as a personal challenge to clean the discard up, convert it with a quiet, powerful recycled electric motor, and train staff and volunteers on safe use of the machine. Captain Greg Wickes, known as Captain Fishpants, was quoted saying “I love that log splitter!” |
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Another “Irene project” has made green bikes available to those who wish to ride instead of hike into camp. We started with a 5 bike donation from Greenbikes, a non-profit located in Waldport. Eric Butler, a volunteer from Linfield made the first “green bike” ride into camp in March, closely followed by our own board members! This summer the YWCA did an art project by painting some bikes green and YWCA staff used the bikes frequently. Bike Newport recently donated more bikes. If you have mountain bikes or helmets that are no longer being used, consider donating to Westwind Green Bikes. Thanks Irene, for conserving resources the best way – repair, re-use!
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Site manager Scotty Evens reports an active wildlife spring and summer. In the spring Jim Rice of the Hatfield Marine Science Center came out to do a necropsy on a dead Stellar Sea Lion. The timing was great, because Outdoor School classes were at Westwind and had a chance to observe. Results of the lab work showed he died from a pulmonary embolism caused by parasites. A great learning experience for all.
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Spring and Summer brought us some time to do a great service project with the YWCA and Outdoor School. The BLM donated over 200 trees to us so we could do some reclamation of a wash out and the new well site. We were able to plant them all with the help of these energetic kids, building their legacy here at Westwind. As the seasons turn, Westwind welcomes a new raft of Outdoor School 6th grade classes for 4-day stays learning about estuaries, ocean, forest, rivers and themselves.
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from the director
My first six months as Executive Director for WSG have been fantastic. It’s been amazing to watch the site and landscape transform from quiet winter hibernation to spring and summer and the activities and growth they bring to Westwind. I have worked hard with the staff to learn everything I can about the site, and we’ve worked hard together to take on projects big and small: from installing new trail lights and a water heater, to having our barge certified by the Coast Guard and our camp accredited by the American Camp Association. Most of all, it’s been great to meet so many of you for whom Westwind has been a special place for years if not generations. I will be joining that club in a big way this October when my fiancé and I get married at Westwind. I look forward to hearing more of your Westwind stories, and to working with you to keep Westwind a special place for years and generations to come.
Dave |
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Please send Westwind memories, news, photos or epiphanies you want to share with others to info@westwind.org. |
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