House Bill 2516, Funding for Outdoor School

Yesterday I testified to Oregon House Energy and Environment Committee in favor of House Bill 2516. Rex Burkholder also testified.

Below is the testimony I gave:

I’m Claire McKinley. I am a constituent of House district 43. I am currently the Soil Field instructor at Sandy River Outdoor School where everyone calls me Arken. At the end of each week the Student Leaders (who are high school volunteers) and our staff re - introduce themselves to the 6^th graders using their real names and state their occupations outside of outdoor school. Each week I say “My Name is Claire McKinley and when I’m not a Field Instructor I operate an Inductively Coupled Plasma Emissions spectrometer named JY.”

Previous to working as a Field instructor I worked as a lab technician, analyzing the chemical composition sediments in the lab where I did my undergraduate research. My involvement in the program in high school is the single reason I pursued an education in science in college. In the fall I will return to school to pursue a graduate degree in Earth Science. I hope to Study the interactions between volcanic ash and the global carbon cycle.

I attended Outdoor School as a 6^th grader, and like so many of our students I cried on the bus ride home and was determined to return in four years as a student leader. A goal I achieved as I spent five weeks of my high school career volunteering for the program. The lessons I taught to 6^th graders about the properties of soil were my only exposure to Earth Science curriculum in High School.

Everyone who comes to Outdoor school experiences the practical and ecological applications of the natural science they learn in their classrooms. And I mean everyone. Our students learn plant identifications, and animal adaptations. Our students learn what pH and dissolved oxygen measure and what those measurements indicate about the health of water or soil. Our students have the unique opportunity to make observations and perform experiments within the environment they are learning about.

A week of outdoor school is a well-developed marriage of scientific experiences, conservation education and community building. Currently only 45% of the students in Oregon attend some form of outdoor school.  By supporting house bill 2516 and investing in
Outdoor school you will be investing in young Scientists, young community leaders, and a population who will continue to be concerned about conserving our natural resources.

Outdoor School was my gateway to a love of the natural sciences. I am indebted to the program and to my own field instructor in a way I will never be able to repay. In a time when we are asking important questions about the future of education in Oregon and America.

Questions like: How do we encourage students to be interested in math and science? How do we improve test scores? How do we instill a sense of stewardship in the next generation? Outdoor School is a program that answers all these questions. It was the answer for me. And with your help we can provide the same opportunity to all children in Oregon.