Introduction In 2015 the partnership between Bienestar and the Audubon Society of Portland entered its second decade. This summer Bienestar and Portland Audubon continued their commitment to nurture a relationship between young people and the natural world through three sessions of Explorador camp, one week each. Explorador camp gave students from 1 st -6 th grade the chance to explore green spaces close to their own homes and to develop a sense of ownership for these wild places. Portland Audubon believes that in fostering these connections to the natural world we are planting the seeds of stewardship that will bloom as these students grow into the next generation of nature-conscious citizens and future conservation leaders. Overview of Summer 2015 This summer we provided 82 students from six different sites in Forest Grove and Hillsboro with outdoor exploration and science-based programming. The Bienestar staff promoted the program, managed student enrollment, and facilitated daily communication with parents and families. Thanks to their invaluable efforts, we were able to fill each week to capacity. This summer Audubon partnered with environmental educators Ely O Connor at Clean Water Services, and Diane Kearns at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. These partnerships gave Explorador campers the chance to explore local wetland habitats through walks, interpretive hikes, and Explorador campers take advantage of unstructured free time, as they explore a local creek in search of macroinvertebrates. environmental service projects with conceptual focus on watershed health and wetland ecology.
Program overview This summer, each week of camp served approximately 24 students and operated with a team of Audubon and Bienestar leaders. Each morning Explorador staff greeted students at their apartment complex or another Bienestar Explorador campers test the water quality at Tualatin River Farm. site nearby. Campers received personalized woodcookie name tags as well as Audubon baseball caps, which were theirs to take home at the end of the week as a reminder of their time with Explorador. Additionally, each student created their own nature journal to document (through words or pictures) their personal experiences in local green spaces. Students were encouraged to journal often. Our hope was that students would take ownership of their journals and feel inspired to sketch / draw / write about their experiences in nature, rather than viewing journaling as an assignment or burden. This strategy was largely successful. Though not all students elected to journal frequently, many reported that they enjoyed using their journals throughout the week, and requested them even when the group was not journaling. These journals provided each camper with a unique and personal record of their time at Explorador camp. This summer we expanded the role of environmental stewardship in our curriculum. This year, through our partnership with Clean Water Services, we were able to add a service project to our week. Students worked at Tualatin River Farm to up-pot farmed native sage and rush plants. These plants will then be used in replanting efforts along the Tualatin River and its tributaries to fight erosion, provide shade, and improve habitat for animals. Students reported that they enjoyed working in the dirt, and their hard work paid off as they were able to replant about 600 plants.
Through hands on activities like hikes in local green spaces, nature journaling activities, and unstructured time in nature, campers were given the opportunity to begin a long lasting bond with the natural environment. Additionally, we discussed the importance of a healthy watershed ecosystem and how we play a role in its health. Explorador staff provided a variety of activities and programs with a long-term focus on wetlands and watersheds. A typical week of Explorador camp ran from 9 AM-3 PM Monday through Thursday and 9 AM-5 PM on Friday. Additionally, to help incorporate campers family members in our camps, we invited parents to join campers at the end of the week. Typical Week Outline (each site may vary) Monday: Jackson Bottom Wetlands Goals: Set expectations and tone, begin to establish camp community, intake assessments, take a nature walk 8:45 Pick up 9:00 Expectations on the bus, distribute hats and wood cookies, depart for Jackson Bottom 9:20 Arrive at Jackson Bottom snack, introductions, name game (All My Neighbors) 10:00 Tour with Jackson Bottom Staff Member 11:45 Lunch 12:30 Small group games (Poison Dart Frog, Rhythm Maker) 12:45 Explore Interpretative Center 1:30 Watershed tarp activity, closing circle 2:10 Bathrooms 2:25 Depart 3:00 Drop off Tuesday: Audubon Goals: Make Journals, Explore Creek, Learn about salamanders, Meet an owl, Trust Blindfold walk 8:45 Pick up 9:00 Review Expectations 9:10 Depart for Audubon 9:50 Arrive at Audubon, snack, split in three groups 10:30-11:15 Rotation 1 (Blindfold String Walk 11:20-12:05 Rotation 2 (Make Journals) 12:10 Lunch (PIZZA!!!) 12:40-1:25 Rotation 3 (Stream Critter Catch) 1:30 Education Bird, Owl adaptations discussion, then bathrooms 2:00 Depart Audubon 2:50 Drop off Wednesday: Tualatin River Farm Goals: Citizen Science, Stewardship Project, Stream Health, Macro-Invertebrates, Canoeing (Cancelled), Sit Spots 8:45 Pickup
9:00 Depart for Tualatin River Farm 9:20 Snack and Games 9:55 Introduce Clean Water Services Staff 10:00 Rotation 1 (Up Potting Service Project) 10:45 Rotation 2 (Macroinvertebrates) 11:30 Rotation 3 (Water Quality Testing and Walk) 12:15 Wash up and Lunch (Tostadas with Chicken Salad) 12:45 Exploration Time 1:20 Sit Spots 1:30 Games (Drip Drip Drop, Soccer) 2:25 Depart Tualatin River Farm 2:45 Drop Off Thursday: Hagg Lake Goals: Further water quality testing, Drought Discussion, Learn about local plants and how to identify Poison Oak, Nature walk with Binoculars 8:45 Pickup 9:00 Depart for Hagg Lake 9:20 Snack, water safety discussion 9:30 Running Games (Elbow Tag) 10:00 Bathrooms, split in two groups for rotations 10:15 Rotation 1 (Nature Walk, Binoculars, and Water Quality Testing. Discussion: Why is the Lake so low!?) 11:15 Rotation 2 (Fish Printing) 12:15 Wash up and Lunch (Burritos) 1:00 Free time and exploration (Soccer, Beach Exploration, Eagle Eye) 2:10 Depart 2:45 Drop off Friday: Oswald West State Park Goals: Have a blast, Explore the beach, Family inclusion 8:45 Pickup 9:00 Depart for Coast (Estimated drive time with stops 2-2.5 hours) 10:30 Snacks and bathroom at rest stop on 26 11:10 Arrive at Oswald West State Park, bathrooms, unload bus 11:25 Arrive at beach, set expectations, more snacks 11:30 Beach Free time while grill is fired up and lunch is prepared 1:00 Return from beach, washing up 1:05 Lunch, hotdogs and lots of food from parents. 1:40 Lunch clean up and pack up 2:00 Depart beach for parking lot 2:30 Depart Oswald West State Park 4:00 Dairy Queen, Final assessments 4:45 Drop off
Assessment Results Written assessments were administered to students on the first and last day of camp in order to summarize changes in baseline knowledge and attitudes about nature over the course of the week. The assessment was comprised of three different sections: (1) knowledge-based fill-in-the-blank; (2) multiple choice; (3) short answer. Questions focused on natural history knowledge and water quality. Campers were also asked to rate their own level of nature knowledge, as well as how much they enjoyed spending time in nature. These questions were intended to give a subjective measure of the students personal feelings about their relationship with the outdoors. Of this summer s 82 Bienestar Explorador students, 44 completed both the pre- and post-assessments. Taken as a group, the students average natural history assessment scores rose notably after a week of camp, from 66% to 79% (Fig. 1). Figure 1. Students answered a range of natural history and water quality based questions on the first and last days of camp. Percent shown is the average assessment score (N=44). When asked to rate their own nature knowledge, almost half the students rated their knowledge in a higher category at the end of the week than at the beginning of camp. After a week of camp, the number of students who rated their nature knowledge in the lowest category ( not much ) fell to zero. At the beginning of the week, only 28%
of students rated their nature knowledge in the top two categories. By the end of the week, that number had doubled to 56%. As a group, the Explorador students felt more confident about their nature knowledge after their week of camp (Fig. 2). We saw a similar trend in the campers selfreported nature enjoyment. Responses for the bottom three categories fell across the board, as students rated their nature enjoyment higher at the end of the week (Fig. 3). While 13% of campers initially rated their nature enjoyment in the bottom two categories, this number fell to less than 5% after camp. At the beginning of camp, 60% of campers already rated their nature enjoyment in the top two categories. By the end of camp, that number had risen to 76%, more than three- quarters of the group. Figure 2. Students rated how much they knew about nature on the first and last days of camp according to a five-category ranking scheme. Staff observed students comfort and excitement with the outdoors grow throughout the week. Students who on day one were reluctant to sit down outside on the dirty grass were excited to dig through buckets of algae on day three and cover themselves in sand on day five. Figure 3. Students rated how much they enjoyed being out in nature on the first and last days of camp according to a five-category ranking Figure 3. Students rated how much they enjoyed being out in nature on the first and last days of camp according to a five-
All Stars Overnight With the success of last year s inaugural Explorador overnight camp, we recognized that our community members attending camps through the years wanted to continue their connection with Portland Audubon beyond their Explorador experience. The enthusiasm and excitement shared by both parents and campers was overwhelmingly positive and we were excited to provide this opportunity again. Campers learn about tides while on a visit to Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR. All Stars overnight campers enjoying free time in town at Newport s Historic Bay Front. Created for middle school aged campers, this year s overnight excursion provided young Bienestar community members with a 4 day/3 night camping experience to the Oregon Coast. Based out of South Beach State Park near Newport, Oregon, this year s campers spent 4 four days learning about our unique coastal habitats. Through trips to the Hatfield Marine Science Center, Seal Rock, the Historic Bay Front in Newport, and the Oregon Dunes, campers explored how tides worked, learned about animals living along the inter-tidal zone and in the Pacific Ocean, and spent time exploring the sandy beaches of Oregon. Utilizing a variety of different nature based activities including animal tracking, hiking, plant identification, swimming, birding, and whale watching, campers were able to connect to this magnificent region. Additionally, this overnight camping experience provided a safe space for participants to learn how to set up tents, build safe campfires, and be Camper investigates a Comb Jelly discovery at South Beach. Camper investigates a Comb Jelly discovery at South Beach.
comfortable in nature, thus helping to build life skills, such as confidence, teamwork, and problem solving. Participants also had the unique opportunity to build a community with another Audubon camp through dinners, games and campfires. For participants of the overnight camp, this was an experience they were eager to take part in and excited to do again. Campers of Explorador All Stars and Audubon s Marine Science Camp celebrate their day sharing stories and songs around the campfire. Suggestions for next year Each year the partnership between the Audubon Society of Portland and the Bienestar community grows and strengthens through the shared goal of fostering the bond between youth and nature. Even as the program changes and grows, we know there is always room for improvement. We want to continue throughout the year to strengthen the relationship with the environment that Explorador participants form during their weeks of summer camp. We believe that the inclusion of families in outdoor recreation is crucial to reaching this goal and we plan to continue to reach out to the Bienestar community year round through family days. Explorador campers test the PH of soda to understand the differences between an Acid and a Base.
Additionally, we hope to continue working with teens that have aged out of Explorador camp and are not yet eligible to be counselors. We want to ensure that the important bonds with nature are fostered throughout adolescence. Like the Halloween teen event we held last fall, we hosted a teen only event in order to reach this specific age group. With 11 young Middle and High School Bienestar residents, were able to explore the Audubon Sanctuary at night, while celebrating the wonders of the creatures that are active at night. Bienestar Teens take a moment to get their face painted during Audubon s Night Flight event. Bienestar Teens learn about bats. In order to better engage Explorador participants throughout the year, we would like to create new opportunities such as interpretive hikes, weekend events and overnight outings with the hope of bridging the gap between summer camp sessions. We strive to make their love, enjoyment and stewardship of nature a life-long relationship.