The invitation was certainly intriguing: food, shelter, rest and relaxation on the coast and all for a bit of volunteer work. In fact, it was so intriguing that Jeremy Richards, chaplain and director of service leadership at Linfield University, remembers thinking, “What’s the catch?” As it turns out, “there wasn’t,” Richards said. Just a weekend of new experiences, good food and the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done something good for the planet. Richards and six Linfield students were among the first participants in the Volunteer Adventures on the Tillamook Coasta program that began last year to provide assistance to local organizations in need of extra hands.
“Our management and conservation partners need help in so many different ways, from clearing brush, to caging trees, to invasive species, etc.,” said Dan Haag, director of trails, outdoor recreation and accessibility for the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association. “We were hoping that by creating this program, we could serve as a complement to some of the volunteer forces and projects that we need here. But we also wanted to help create a connection, however small, between residents and visitors that maybe wasn’t there before.”
The program is funded by the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association and is open to school, corporate, church, community and family groups of approximately 8 to 15 people. The volunteer component is an outdoor physical activity with itineraries typically lasting 1 to 2 1/2 days, with meals, lodging and other activities included.
Before coming to a group, Haag contacts the people involved to find out more about their needs. He asks them about their dietary restrictions, their physical condition and, depending on the group, what badges they are working on and whether there are any service project requirements.
“We want to make sure we design an experience that is physically appropriate,” Haag said. “The Cub Scouts we hosted in June were younger, so we did a beach cleanup. The Linfield students are older, so a more physically demanding project was in order. The Linfield group we’ll be hosting in August will be all freshmen, so there will be more of an emphasis on teamwork.”
The Linfield University students Richards accompanied to the coast during their 2023 fall break worked with the Lower Nehalem Community Trust to cage trees to keep beavers from killing them. They spent nights at the Manzanita Schoolhouse, the former Pine Grove schoolhouse built in 1928 that is now a vacation rental, and dined in town. One meal was at the Offshore Grill, where chef Jake Burden gave a brief behind-the-scenes lecture on using ingredients from local growers, harvesters and fishermen. They also toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory and the “Big Tree” at Rockaway Beach.
“It was a great, well-rounded experience,” Richards said. “The students learned skills and knowledge about the ecosystem. We caged trees and then went back to do an apple cider press. We had great food and a great place to stay. It was very holistic. The students were blown away by how well they treated us. We are very grateful.”
Last year, Susan Beal led a group of four Portland-area Girl Scouts and two adult chaperones to the coast, where their volunteer adventure included picking up trash on Manzanita Beach.
“The beach cleanup was amazing,” Beal said. “It was really rewarding. We learned about marine debris and had a really interesting conversation with one of the adventure team volunteers who was incredibly helpful. She explained how this beach debris ends up in the marine ecosystem and how much trouble it causes. It’s not a disaster, it’s just how we can all make a difference.”
After their time at the beach, the teens participated in a workshop hosted by Heart of CartM — a Wheeler nonprofit dedicated to zero waste in the community — on creating artwork from marine debris.
Beal’s daughter, Pearl Dickson-Beal, 16, said it was one of her favorite parts of the tour. “I thought it was beautiful how things that people thought were not beautiful could be transformed into something amazing and have a beautiful message,” said Dickson-Beal, who earned her Girl Scout outdoor arts badge for her work during the tour.
They also attended a private conference hosted by Haag with a panel of Tillamook women leaders who taught the teens what it means to be a woman leader. They spent the night at a nearby campground — reservations courtesy of Haag — and dined on food provided by local restaurants. And they had time to play.
“The girls had a lot of time at the campground to walk down to the beach, play cards and do fun things together,” Beal said. “There weren’t a lot of people, everyone was leaving, everyone was leaving. It was a good mix. The beach cleanup was our main volunteer activity, but the fact that they invited us to participate was really important and special and really got the girls involved. It really made the trip so meaningful.”
Beal hopes to return in the coming months, but she'll have to wait in line. The volunteer adventure program, now in its second year, has been so successful that Haag is struggling to keep up with demand.
“The program has been very well received. We don’t have the capacity to meet all the demand yet,” Haag said. “I don’t know if we’ve tapped into something that people value in terms of community service or how the younger generation sees the world, which is giving back, giving their time to others and helping preserve beautiful spaces. But we’ve had volunteers from all generations, and they’ve all stepped up. It’s not just a free trip to the beach. They’re there to serve and learn. That gives me confidence in the future.”
To learn more about Tillamook Coast Volunteer Adventures, visit tillamookcoast.com/what-to-do/tourism-adventures
— Lori Tobias, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
