Westwind archers ready to hit their target!
End of Year Success for Camperships!
Westwind warmly wishes everyone a Happy New Year and a big thank you for supporting Westwind’s Year End appeal for Camperships. We surpassed both our year-end fundraising targets ($5,000 through the Give!Guide and $20,000 total) with over 100 donations totalling $25,022 (with $6,408 coming through the Give!Guide). From these funds and the proceeds from Abundant Westwind, we will fund over 200 campers to attend Camp Westwind in 2017!
Exciting Changes in 2016!
The ‘Whale’ – a new feature to Westwind’s Challenge Course
2016 brought a lot of exciting new things to Westwind. For Camp Westwind, the challenge course moved from near Wilson Lodge to over by the Salmon River, and is greatly expanded (thanks to support by the YWCA of Greater Portland!). Where the old challenge course once was we added ‘Hammock World,’ a great new place to relax, read, and enjoy the whispering pines. A Gaga Ball court was added, and we reclaimed the horse fields by Tillicum (old stables) for kickball and soccer. Archery moved (slightly), and now has an actual range and storage shed. We added a tree climbing activity, popular for so many, and added a new Teen Trekkers program, taking campers snorkeling, to a high ropes challenge area, and surfing.
Dynamic Westwind Beach
Eroded beach near Westwind volleyball court
2016 also brought interesting changes to the Westwind landscape and built environment. The winter storms early in the year washed away a large sheet of sand (and deposited it further out towards Three Rocks and up the Salmon River estuary). By early Spring we could almost walk to Three Rocks at extreme low tides. The U.S. Forest Service built an interpretive site at the entrance to Fraser Road (just off the Hwy 101) to showcase the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area. For anyone accessing Westwind through Fraser Farm and coming in on the Rainforest Trail, they will pass through a nice looking parking area with bathrooms and a picnic area. Finally, the old wood deck at Wilson Lodge was demolished, and awaits a rebuild this winter.
Abundant Westwind
Amanita Muscaria popping up just in time for Westwind’s Mushroom Camp.
On other fronts, Westwind hosted its first-ever “Mushroom Camp,” which brought over 30 participants at peak flush for fall foraging, guided by world-class mycologists. We held our 4th “Welcome the Salmon Home” event with over 200 visitors. Finally, Westwind hosted its first major fundraiser since the formation of the Westwind Stewardship Group ten years ago, and celebrated Camp Westwind’s 80th Anniversary (founded in 1936) with “Abundant Westwind.” The event was a rousing celebration of all things Westwind, and raised over $75,000 for Camperships.
A busy and exciting year, and so much of it made possible by generous donations and grants, volunteered time and service, and the ongoing spirit of community shared by staff, board members, campers & guests, alumni and the larger Westwind family.
