Students are assigned to one of the following courses. Let us know your preferences when you apply.

In the River

Rocks, Rivers, and Ancient Life

Students will learn about the local rocks in Cottonwood Canyon and the volcanic activity that originally formed them. Through direct observation, they will learn about the ways that water shapes the earth and creates different physical environments that are inhabited by living organisms of today. They will also work with fossilized organisms, the evidence of past life present in rocks, and gain an understanding of how they are formed and preserved.

Instructor: Joe Corsini is a professor of Biology at Eastern Oregon University. He has a Ph.D in Microbiology with an emphasis in Virology and has taught biology at all levels for 16 years. His current research projects include a study of the diatoms at Hot Lake in Union County and DNA studies of relationships between Western Painted Turtle populations.

Visual Storytelling

Writing in the Wilderness

The writing project will introduce students to the wilderness, ecosystems, history, and culture and region of the John Day River through acts of reading, writing, photography and discussion. Daily activities will include learning how to create a visual narrative through a variety of field research methods, such as developing photography techniques, conducting observations and journaling, testing narrative-building skills, and learning group project design as we study and write about this landscape. By the conclusion of this project students will present their findings and work in a cumulative visual narrative that is planned, developed and shared as a group. Students are encouraged to bring a camera (film or digital) if they have one; although this is not required to be a participant in this project. All other materials will be provided.

Instructor: James Stolen is currently a Senior Instructor II of English and Writing at Eastern Oregon University. He received a BA from Carleton College and MFA at Virginia Tech. He is an avid explorer and hiker, and centers much of his fiction, essays and poetry on the landscape of the American West.

Neuroscience

Nature’s Navigation

Students will learn how the invertebrate nervous system combines multiple sensory cues, including Earth’s magnetic fields, into a complex hierarchy of signals that can direct and guide navigational tasks. Fieldwork will include collecting samples and examining invertebrate behavior under a microscope.

Instructor Shaun Cain is a Professor of Biology at the College of STM & Health Science.

Natural Resources

Fisheries and Riparian Habitat

Students will learn the changing dynamics along the John Day River with some historical, cultural, and present-day challenges. Which some of the impacts are from climate change, development, agriculture, and invasive species. The field project will include the sampling of macroinvertebrates along a reach on the John Day River and how to identify them to order or families. Students will learn to process a small study of biodiversity integrity and how they are impacted with changing watershed dynamics. This will also be integrated into identification for fishing techniques as a fly fisher.

Instructor: Christine Longjohn is a Navajo Riparian Ecologist, who is working for The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs as a Fisheries Biologist. I am from Utah and have had the opportunity to work in the Pacific Northwest with the Tribes and The Forest Service. I have been a part of restoration projects in the John Day Basin and currently working on Salmon monitoring programs in the Hood River Basin. I am an avid Fly Fisher with a passion for our watershed health.

Outdoor Recreation

River Day!
All camp participants will take a journey with EOU Student Mentors and Instructors on inflatable kayaks and inner tube to enjoy a slow 10 mile float from the park”

This is an all hands on deck group activity to relax, recharge and take in the scenery around them.

Final Presentation Day

Members of the community and families are invited to attend the project presentations on Friday at 10am. You will be amazed at what our young people can do!

Samples of Previous Student Work

The videos and images below are representative of a variety of student projects from 2015 and 2017. Both videos were created by students in the Writing with Images series. Bringing Back Bighorns was a 2017 Oral History project. The Weed Transect video was created by students to describe what students in the Botany project were studying in 2015. The images show picnic table designs created in 2017 to provide solar charging stations at camp sites. For an overview of the week in 2018, see the video at the bottom of the page!