The Elana Gold ’93 Project

Spend a week doing work that matters. Each summer, the Elana Gold Project brings students and alumni volunteers together with conservation professionals for a week of restoration work in the beautiful Oregon landscape. Join a community built on stewardship, hard work, and shared purpose; become part of a tradition that has shaped the landscape for more than thirty years. The Elana Gold Project takes place each summer and is open to high school students from the Portland Metro area and beyond.

History & Background

Since the Elana Gold Project (EGP) was established in 1993, high school students, parents, faculty, and EGP alumni have contributed over 15,000 hours repairing lands that have been degraded by over a century of cattle overgrazing, severe wildfire, and salvage logging. Over the past three decades, EGP has partnered primarily with the USFS Barlow County District and Mount Hood National Forest to provide substantial fencing and repair work in the Eastern Cascades forests. In the past few years, our efforts have extended further eastward into the Pine Creek Conservation Area, part of the land owned by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. 

Student Program

Participants spend six nights and seven days in a rustic lodge on Mt. Hood, where they sleep, cook meals together, and enjoy evenings of music and games after working outside. The trip also includes hikes and swimming, and a dinner with Elana’s parents.

Transportation to and from the camp is provided by Catlin Gabel buses. There is a small cost to participate, as the Project is primarily funded by an endowment established by the Gold family in memory of their daughter, Elana Gold.

Environmental Restoration 

Participants 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. The goal is to increase and preserve habitat for fish and other wildlife, decrease erosion, improve stream water-quality, and thin timber to reduce the risk of fire.

This work educates participants on ecosystems and the importance of 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 together “in the rough” provide opportunities for growth seldom found inside a classroom.
 

Application Details & Deadlines

The Project is open to all high school students from any school. Applicants should be completing grades 9, 10, 11, or 12. Catlin Gabel students who have completed 8th grade may also apply. We also encourage past volunteers and Catlin Gabel alumni to participate. In total, each year, about 20 students take part.

Summer 2026 program participants have been selected. Information about the summer 2027 program and application will be available in the fall.

Contact Information 

Please contact Upper School Science Teacher, Marguerite McKean with any questions.