The Westwind mission inspires people to be stewards of the environment and their communities. We believe that long or short, your time at Westwind can profoundly affect all aspects of your life. Experiencing the natural world and learning about the ecosystems where we walk, inspires us to be conscious of the world around us. Through outdoor education, we believe we can build healthy communities and inspire the next generations of stewards.
Sustainability education
We host several programs each year, specifically tailored to sustainability instruction. Our Mushroom and Forgaing Camps, bring together an incredible community of ecologists, researchers, and experts. These programs are direct ways that Westwind shares ecological knowledge with the community and encourages guests to consider the stewardship of the natural world. Earth Day at Westwind is another way that we highlight our conservation work and allow our community to learn from our site and community.
Naturalist program
Each summer, we hire a Naturalist Coordinator to lead nature-based activities. Every camper who attends our summer camps will spend a dedicated block with our naturalist, participating in age-specific outdoor education programming. Activities include games, workshops, and identification exercises that mix fun with hands-on outdoor education. These programs can spark a lifelong curiosity in the outdoors and encourage campers to think critically about how their actions affect the world around them. And the results show that this program is working! Last summer, on the end-of-session survey, 99% of campers said that protecting the environment was important to them.
Outdoor School
We just kicked off our spring session of Outdoor School rentals. For the past several fall and spring seasons, we have welcomed MESD Outdoor School to our sandy shores. Outdoor School is an incredible opportunity for all 6th-grade students in Oregon to take their classroom outside. For a week, students explore Westwind and learn how four unique natural systems interact. The immersive nature of Outdoor School can leave a lasting impression on these students. We have seen many former Outdoor School Students go on to be counselors and lifelong stewards of Westwind (including our very own Andy Lindberg!).
You can learn more about our partnership with MESD Outdoor School here!
Scientific research
Westwind is working to become a leader in conservation research and exploration. We are engaged in two multi-year projects to conserve and restore coastal prairie habitats. With the help of Institute for Applied Ecology and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, we believe that our work can become a model for coastal habitat restoration. As well, we have welcomed researchers from some of Oregon’s top colleges and universities to study our ecosystems. You can see the result of this research on the wall of Wilson Lodge. A soil peel, taken from the Salmon River estuary, shows more than 10,000 years of geological history and may offer insight into protecting coastal communities from future seismic activity.
Help us sustain
Through these incredible outdoor education programs, we are inspiring campers of all ages to engage with nature and consider the world around them. But we need your help to continue this incredible work! Become a sustainer today and support incredible advancements in outdoor education.
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Your monthly gift will inspire the next generation of stewards!
