Elana Gold Project
June 24 – 30, 2013
For information send an e-mail to Bob Sauer
Catlin Gabel's Elana Gold '93 Memorial Environmental Restoration Project was established in 1991 to carry out land restoration projects in the Barlow Ranger District on Mt. Hood National Forest. Catlin Gabel students have contributed over 15,000 hours of labor in areas that were severely degraded by a century of cattle overgrazing, severe wildfire, and intensive salvage logging. The goal is to increase habitat for fish and other wildlife, decrease erosion, improve stream water-quality, and thin timber to reduce the risk of fire. Students build fences to exclude cattle and vehicles from sensitive wetland areas, install native plants along stream banks to shade and cool streams, and add woody debris to streams for fish and other wildlife habitat.
This work provides opportunities for education about ecosystems and the need for environmental restoration. Best of all, these lessons are imparted through direct, hands on experience. The camaraderie and fellowship of overcoming physical challenges through teamwork and living “in the rough” together provide many opportunities for growth seldom found inside a classroom.
Throughout the year, several Catlin Gabel groups participate in the restoration project. Freshmen spend their first day together as a class on the Mt. Hood National Forest in the fall. Seniors spend three days on the project just before graduating in the spring. Some students choose to return to the Restoration Program for their “Winterim” project, a week-long break from classes during which students engage in service learning activities. And in the summer, students, parents, and alums return to the site for four days as part of the Elana Gold Memorial Land Restoration project.
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| Elana Gold '93 |
Elana Gold '93
Elana Gold ’93 died in 1991. The year she would have graduated from high school, the Elana Gold ’93 Memorial Environmental Restoration Project was established to honor her memory. The annual trip celebrates Elana’s love of nature and commitment to the environment. Each year, her parents, Ivan Gold and Lois Gold, travel to Camp Cody at Mt. Hood to work alongside and get to know the students, teachers, and Forest Service staff members making a difference in the national forest.
“When Elana's project started, most of the campers were her classmates and friends. The staff members were her teachers. A few years later, most campers who knew Elana were her friends' younger brothers and sisters. Now, ten years later, most of the kids know just her memory. But Elana really is there on the trip. People are always saying her name when they talk about the Elana Project or "Camp Elana." It makes her immortal. We couldn't ask for more.”
— Lois Gold and Ivan Gold
