Leaders NR quietly leading an effort to bring back interest in natural resources vocational education in Oregon. Natural resources instructor at North Clackamas School District’s Sabin Schellenberg Center in Milwaukie. Waibel’s high school programs have been bringing students to hands-on, in-the-woods field experiences.
We need young people who have basic forestry and natural resources skills who want to work in careers in our forests and wildlands of the state. This isn’t your grandfather’s forest anymore. Jobs can be high-tech, involve computer technology, engineering and math skills, not to mention biology and science. After all, Oregon is the leading forestry state in the U.S. High school forestry and natural resource programs should be a big deal here.
The goal has been to create a student organization to band the school programs together, change the focus to a much broader array of natural resource topics and needs, build educational opportunities and career development events for the students and teachers, and develop the next generation of leaders for the natural resource sector of the state.
With an officially sanctioned organization by the Oregon Department of Education, we are now in line for funding support to build these programs and reach more students.