Education

Cultivating the Next Generation of Watershed Stewards Through Experiential Ecology

2023 Registration is Scheduled to Open on May 3 at 6:00 PM

** Registration for our 2023 Watershed Camps is now full and we are no longer accepting applications.

The week-long day camp is June 26-30 for those entering 4th thru 12th grades.
The overnight Wilderness Weekend is July 7-9 for those entering 9th thru 12th grades (high school).

Watershed Camp incorporates education, restoration, and recreation in a one-week summer camp for students entering 4th through 12th grades, including home-school students.

At Camp, students are introduced to our current restoration projects, receive specific restoration skills training, and even have a chance to get their hands dirty with restoration projects on the ground! Our students see an immediate, positive impact on our watershed through their own hard work -- truly something to be proud of.

Learning from biologists, botanists, Forest Service staff, Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program volunteers, foresters/timber managers, water safety guides, tribal culture guides, and others, these budding stewards also receive a first-hand introduction to the rich field of restoration and scientific careers.

Watershed Camp equips the next generation with the knowledge and skills for a lifetime of scientific learning and working for the health of their watershed. And, of course, to learn to have fun while doing it! Recreational activities are built into the program to ensure everyone has a fun and meaningful summer experience.

A new program in 2023, Wilderness Weekend will offer high school students a more immersive experience in the Coast Range. Over three days and two nights they will learn Leave No Trace ethics while exploring tide pools, identifying and preparing backcountry camps, flying above the Siuslaw Watershed in a private plane, and paddling the shoreline of a coastal lake.

Click here to make a donation to support Watershed Camps

 

2018 Review

In 2018, we had record attendance for our one-week watershed Exploration Camp!

Fifty students, ranging from fourth grade through high school, traveled throughout the Siuslaw Watershed engaging in a wide range of outdoor learning and recreational activities. While most of the students came from the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Districts, we were also joined by students from as far away as Portland.

As part of our 2018 programming, campers traveled to various sites throughout the Siuslaw Watershed and Coastal Lakes. This year the sites were on the Coastal Dunes, at Siltcoos Trail, Honeyman State Park, Sutton Lake, Camp Lane, and the Florence beaches. Activities included a scotch broom pull, a transect at Tree Island, sandboarding, Snowy Plover biology and habitat, bird-watching, hiking, boating, field games, a canoe pull, water quality monitoring, a traditional tribal tea, removing Japanese knotweed, making fish prints, freshwater ecology, orienteering, volleyball, forestry, a scavenger hunt, and horseback riding.

Watershed camp is made possible by the generosity of many organizations and watershed council members and donors. The Siuslaw Watershed Council and Camp staff would like to extend a sincere thank you to the following for their contribution to this year’s camp: The Ford Family Foundation, Siuslaw School District, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, Western Lane Community Foundation, Mapleton Community Foundation, the Rotary Club of Florence, Fred Meyer, Sand Dunes Frontier, C&M Stables, Sandmaster Park, Honeyman State Park, Florence area Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program, the US Forest Service, Camp Lane, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Roseburg Forest Products, Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors (ECO), Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and many local volunteers. Also a special thank you to those SWC members who donated to our annual Sponsor-A-Camper for scholarships offered to several campers this year.

Thank you for making this valuable opportunity for our youth possible.

“Learning about fish and plants was my favorite part.”

~Sylas, Watershed Camp attendee

 

Program News

Spring-Summer 2024 Newsletter

Spring-Summer 2024 Newsletter

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Winter 2024 Newsletter

Winter 2024 Newsletter

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