As many of you are aware, I have left the trail. I hiked roughly 1100 miles on
the Pacific Crest Trail before running out of money. In an attempt to find
temporary work I stumbled accross a job as a Program Leader at Outdoor School
for the Multnomah Education Service District.
In this job I am offered the opportunity to work with other outdoor enthusiasts.
Not ready to leave the trail, but realizing that I must, I felt that this was
the perfect job for my interests. I would be offered an easing back into
"society." I would be able to stay in the outdoors, be around those who love
the outdoors, and try my hand at teaching.
My history with Outdoor School goes back to the 5th grade when I went for the
first time. Leaving Salem, OR and moving to Pendleton, OR, I was able to attend
Outdoor School a second time in the 6th grade. Then in high school I went up
three times as a high school counselor to the 6th graders attending the
program. Then off I went to college to pursue my career in Architecture. Events
happened that sent me on a hike. This hike allowed endless hours of
introspection of what I wanted for myself in the future. One idea I set out to
understand was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I struggled with
the idea of doing Architecture till the winters of my life, and had been
contemplating the prospect of teaching. I tutored Mathematics all through
college, finding myself enjoying the spark in my students eyes as they had that
moment of epiphany when a concept suddenly made sense. While Architecture fed
my creative side, teaching touched me in a totally different way.
Naturally on the hike, I debated for many hours whether I wanted to have
architecture as a hobby, and do teaching as a job. So when this opportunity
arose to go out into the woods and teach kids about our natural environment, I
was excited. But never in a thousand years would I have expected the experience
to be so emotionally rewarding. The program is a drug for the soul, and I have
this feeling that I might be returning several times.
So then, let me explain.
I am a Program Leader at Milk Creek, part of Camp Adams, outside Molalla, OR. I
work with 5 other Program Leaders, 4 Field Instructors, a Nurse, and a Site
Supervisor. The 12 of us work at the camp over a period of 6 weeks, taking a
different group of four 6th grade classes through the program every week.
What makes the program a drug for the soul? This is a hard concept to explain to
those not there, but I will try my best. First and foremost, I have been blessed
with an amazing staff to work with. We all came out for similar reasons; a
desire to teach, a desire to be outdoors, a love of the program, etc. Yet, we
all are completely different, each bringing a special element to the experience
we provide for the 6th graders and the high school student leaders. My job
consists of being an assistant teacher with a Field Instructor, being a
personal mentor to high school students, and being support for the camp and its
staff. We are an "intentional community" built to provide students with an
experience that they might never have been able to have without the Outdoor
School Program.
In the first week we held workshops and set up the site to cater to the
following six weeks of students. Before the first student ever arrived, I
realized how well thought the program is, and how it is designed to help all
those who go through it. I can not fully describe the effects emotionally it
has on me, but I can share snippets of the week that might capture why I am
addicted to this drug for the soul.
The first week I acted as a Student Leader as well as a Program Leader. This
means that we where shy one male high schooler, so I filled that role by having
a cabin of 10 boys to myself. I made sure the kids were up on time and to
various places on time. As the lessons ended for the day we had a campfire,
where all the students came together and did skits and songs before heading off
to bed. As I took my students away at the end of the night, we all paused at the
field and pointed our eyes upward to the skies. Each night, I pointed out the
constellations in the sky, sharing a story of the constellation if I knew one.
Then we would return to the cabin, where I put them to bed. After all the boys
were in bed I told them a story or recited a poem. After the story, I
circulated the bunks giving a personal goodnight to each student. I asked them
about there day, told them what was in store for the next day, and all around
acted as loving parent saying goodnight.
On the last night, the clouds covered the stars, so instead I told them of a
story about how stars are formed (or at least what I believed when I was real
young). One student asked me where I lived. Since I don't really live anywhere
right now except at camp, I told him that I lived at camp. "Wow, you must be
the luckiest guy alive," he replied.
In a sense there is more truth to that statement for me than I would probably
admit. I have been blessed with a job that allows me to teach what I love, our
natural environment. I have been blessed with amazing coworkers, with whom I
have already bonded closely with. Each bringing a different element to the
team, I am surrounded by a group as closely knit as those that I have hiked
with. My mornings sing with the first step at the flag raising. My afternoons
are sparked by a dual mentorship from other staff members, each providing me
with a different element for personal growth as a staff member, and as a human
being. My evenings glow with way we come together and share stories.
My Field Study is Soil, so I am an assistant teacher to "Snag," on topics such
as erosion, weathering, geology, earth morphology, soil pH, and all things
related to the soil.
I know the difference between dirt and soil.
I am given the opportunity to take my knowledge and be a mentor to high school
students, teaching the students how to be role models, leaders, and teachers.
Over my first week I worked closely with five high schoolers. As I taught the
five of them, each in turn contributed to my own personal growth and
understanding of myself.
By the end of the week I had grown close to my students, both 6th graders and
high schoolers, and felt a pain to see them go. During the final ceremonies, I
could feel emotions welling up inside of me, emotions that had been all but
vacant in me over the last couple years. The final ceremony of the week is a
tree planting, where the four best students of the week are selected to plant a
tree with soil that each student brought with them from a "special place." Two
boys from my cabin received this honor. As we all formed in a semi-circle
around the 4 students, 4 Field Instructors, and the Site Supervisor, I kneeled
in the rain listening to one of my students say to everyone how the best part
of outdoor school was his cabin leader, me. Wow, the week was filled with all
sorts of fun, many great elements, and what he remembers was me. What an honor
to hear him proudly announce that to one hundred plus people. I was thankful of
the rain, for it hid the tears in my eyes.
It is hard to capture what the camp does for people in words, but I think that
simply stating that it is a drug for the soul, paints a picture that many can
understand and relate to.
I hope to write a journal entry every week about my experiences and share it
with you all.
Happy Trails, Inner Peace, & Harmony