About

This program started in the Tillamook School District in 2005 when Clair Thomas was hired by the district as the Natural Resources Coordinator. The intent was to engage students in hands on applicable learning with the natural world around them. Clair grew the program into a nationally recognized award winning program. In 2019 Amy Schmid was hired to take over the program when Clair decided it was time to "retire" and now serves in an advisory role to the program.

From kindergarten to college, natural resource education in Tillamook County promotes stewardship of local natural resources, while cultivating in students a range of skills and competencies that prepare them for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. Natural resource education throughout Tillamook County is a system in which the three Districts collaborate to ensure that all students have ongoing access to coordinated, age appropriate curricula. Delivered in both field and class settings, curricula explores how natural resources are tied to a range of disciplines including the arts and humanities, industry and commerce, politics and geography, economy and mathematics, and other endeavors. Curricula also explores the services that natural resources provide in sustaining the social and economic well-being of coastal communities. Upon exiting the system, students have derived a skill set that has prepared them for adulthood. Equally important, students recognize and place great value on the role that natural resources play in maintaining their quality of life.

• High school class takes on forestry project

• Tillamook School District natural resources leader receives state award

• Tillamook and ‘citizen science’