The statewide outdoor school program still needs your help
We would like your help this fall in evaluating Oregon outdoor schools statewide. We are administering surveys to 5th/6th students throughout the state that haven't attended outdoor school yet. Surveying your students this fall will allow us to establish a control group to compare a typical week in the classroom with a week of outdoor school. Attached you will see figures comparing these two groups from 2019. They show very strong results and affirm the transformative nature of outdoor school, especially when compared to a typical week in the classroom.
Are you able to help? If so, complete this 2-minute form.
The 2023-2024 Report System is OPEN
If some or all of your district's schools have completed their outdoor school experience, you can complete and (when all school reports are completed) submit your reports for review and reimbursement! Read about the latest system updates and access the online reporting system by clicking the button below. And remember - the 2023-2024 report deadline has been moved UP to September 30, 2024!
VIEW THE LATEST VIDEOS FEATURING OUTDOOR SCHOOL
Please watch these videos to learn more about the work being done by the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School program staff and the outdoor school community to improve outdoor school for all of Oregon’s 5th or 6th grade students. You can also watch a video explaining the benefits of fall outdoor school programming or a video highlighting the unique outdoor school programming developed to permit Harney County Students to participate in an experience that met the needs of the families and their students.
Our Mission
Together we guide and support equitable, culturally responsive, and interdisciplinary outdoor school programs for Oregon's youth.
Our Vision
Outdoor School will create equitable and positive outcomes for every Oregonian through empowering learning experiences.
Our Values
Equity, diversity, and inclusion. Relationships, Innovation, Integrity, and Quality. These core values are central to how we perform our work.
For Outdoor School Site Owners and Operators
The Outdoor School Cost Model Report
Outdoor School site or facility owners/operators requested a tool to help them determine the actual cost of renting their facility to an outdoor school provider, and with the energy and expertise of Andy Lindberg, and the Friends of Outdoor School Team, that tool is now available! Contact us to request a physical copy of the report, or you can download a copy of the report to print yourself by clicking the link below. You can also download an excel spreadsheet for use in calculating your costs.
Outdoor Stories Project
Storytelling is uniquely human. It helps us to make sense of our experiences, pass on knowledge, express big ideas, and connect to others and to our environment in meaningful ways.
That’s why Friends of Outdoor School is collecting stories—personal and powerful memories from people of all backgrounds and ages.
The Outdoor Stories Project shares the important ways that Outdoor School and other outdoor education experiences positively affect individuals and their communities.
These storytellers may have realized something new within themselves. Discovered a career path. Experienced wonder. Found a community where they truly belonged. Learned something mind-expanding. Realized they could learn, by learning in a different way than possible in their classroom.
Whether it’s about personal transformation, the chance to lead others, receiving safe refuge or a kind voice when needed most, learning about our unique Oregon heritage with their own two (muddy!) hands, or the timeless tradition of singing songs while bonding around the campfire, many Oregonians have important stories to tell about the outdoor educational experiences that changed their lives in positive and often substantial ways.
But don’t take our word for it. Spend some time here! Learn their stories. Hear their voices. Be changed, too!