Social Change and My Community by Jackie Varela Cruz

My Community - NW Outdoor School

jackievarelacruz — 2025-09-29 00:23:13 UTC

I chose my outdoor school community. In this program students in high school and college volunteer to stay at a camp overnight and lead a group of middle school kids through a week outdoors. This consists of learning outdoors and building community through games and critical thinking.

The first time i went to outdoor school was my senior year of high school. My cousin had previously been a student leader for outdoor school and told me it would be something i would enjoy. I became a student leader March 2025. I lead a group of 5 middle school kids and guided them through outdoor education with help from a peer and a field study instructor.

Culture

jackievarelacruz — 2025-09-29 00:23:27 UTC

Since a lot of the ODS campsites are on indigenous land students are required to learn about the tribes that stayed on or near the sites. This has made the MESD program shift to more land based learning so they are able to incorporate indigenous ways when it comes to preserving the land they are using. To make the experience as authentic as possible, partnerships with actual indigenous communities.

Historical

jackievarelacruz — 2025-09-29 00:23:44 UTC

In Oregon, Outdoor school started as school camping by Dr. Irene Hollenbeck but dates back to the 1860s. When it began it consisted of two weeks of camping, fishing, hiking and fishing outdoors. Although outdoor school didn't originate to learn and appreciate Indigenous land, overtime they have made it a key mention throughout the program.

Environmental

jackievarelacruz — 2025-09-29 00:24:02 UTC

Because of environmental changes like climate change, ODS allows students to learn and understand the impacts humans have on ecosystems. They use the knowledge of indigenous tribes to restore what is known about indigenous lands to promote compassion for the outdoors within student bodys.