Students build trail at Camp Tamarack

A group of Sisters High School students conducted a much-needed service project for the new Sisters Country Outdoor Education Center at Camp Tamarack Wednesday, September 25. From the moment they arrived until they returned to school - exhausted and hyped for all the fun they had - they knew they'd done good work.

Rima Givot, SHS science teacher, set the tone for the day as the happy seniors left the bus to gather around the welcome campfire:

"You will all be working together for a common purpose; the bond and relationships you create among yourselves with different partners will be for the good of yourselves and your community. You will have the opportunity to break down preconceived images of each other and see the real people. Plus, everything you do today will not only be a reward for you, but be of the utmost value to the fifth- and sixth-graders - perhaps your younger brothers and sisters - who will use this area next

year."

And away the seniors went, six of them to a working unit, along with an adult partner. Each team was assigned a project, and they all set to getting it done with obvious fun and will to do it - and do it right.

Loose paint was scraped from the sides of the dining hall, plumbing was repaired, a lot of painting accomplished in the cabins, bathrooms cleaned, old rotten railings taken down to be cut up for firewood, trash was piled up by the ton for future transporting to land-fills, and just about anything Richard Graham - maintenance supervisor for Tamarack - needed done was done.

Probably the most labor-intensive project the seniors took on was a new trail that connected Camp Tamarack with the Blue Lake trail. The only thing they had for a guide was a line of flagging from the camp to the trail junction, over the hill and out of sight to the north.

Woody Starr, team leader, handed out trail hand-tools, showed them how they worked, and away they went. Chopping out brush, sawing and dragging logs, scraping soil so it was down to below the layers of duff - often to a depth where they met up with one of the most recent volcanic events in Sisters Country, ash and pumice from the explosive crater filled by Blue Lake today.

In less than half a day, the seniors whacked and grubbed out a trail over a third of a mile long, from the camp to the trailhead that will allow the outdoor schoolers access to areas all around Blue Lake, Dark Lake and

beyond.

During lunch, Anderson took the opportunity to thank the seniors for the work they accomplished, and the projects they finished. Perhaps the spirit of the day was best shown by SHS paraprofessional Denise Cristiano - expert bathroom cleaner/instructor and all-around cheerleader of the seniors in her unit.

When asked how the day went, she said, "Exhilarating! The seniors worked very well together. I haven't heard one kid complain about how hard they worked or how much they missed their old pals, but the reverse; how much they enjoyed working with their new

friends."

Rima Givot, also thrilled with the conduct, work and meaningful relationships she saw forming as the day went on, said - looking at each student: "I'm so grateful for all the work you have done today, how you bonded together. You have set the goals for future senior service projects."

Charlie Anderson, owner/operator of Tamarack, was appreciative: "We are extremely excited about this next phase for Camp Tamarack. By offering a rich outdoor education curriculum in the spring and fall, developed with the help of Deschutes Children's Forest, we will be able to meet our objective of enriching the lives of kids with knowledge about all the wonders found in our own backyard. Being a part of this community is important to us, and we are excited to work with our partners and the people of this area to make positive and meaningful

contributions.

"Having these kids from Sisters High School out here exemplified what we are trying to accomplish, the partnerships we want to establish. These kids are great, Camp Tamarack is grateful to be the recipient of their hard work."

photo by Jim Anderson