Gorge Explorers (3rd-4th)

Gorge Explorers is a place-based education program focused on providing out of school opportunities for youth in the Columbia Gorge in order to build connections between community and the local landscape through active hands-on-learning and stewardship projects.  Through a 6 week long summer camp, elementary school youth are provided with in-depth learning related to the ecology of their own backyards.

High school students not only act as mentors for the elementary school students, but also engage in servicing learning projects that enhance their connections to the local landscape and to the possibilities of careers in the field of conservation.

Combining real science, experiential learning, youth engagement, stewardship, and a place-based approach, Gorge Explorers provides a unique crossroads of learning that bridges conservation and community through education.