We launched our #InstagramTakeover series to highlight the incredible students, alumni, staff, and instructors who define us as an organization. Check out our IG Takeover with Tiffany Thio – a two-time Outward Bound alumna who is now entering the field of environmental science. See more IG Takeovers on our Instagram, @nwoutwardbound. We’re looking for more…
Facilitating Education for Life During the Pandemic
by Marc Heisterkamp, Executive Director As a parent and as a leader of an educational organization, I witness daily the impacts of the pandemic on our youth. We try to emulate normal life as much as we can but we know the impacts are significant. Our youth are doubled down on screen time. Parents and…
Recreating Responsibly
by Ari Kosel Ari has worked as an Instructor at the Oregon basecamp since 2015 and began writing blog articles for Outward Bound last year. In this post she shares resources for how we can all recreate responsibly in 2020 while prioritizing community health and working to improve inclusion and diversity in the outdoors. In…
From Scotland to the Pacific Northwest
We launched our #InstagramTakeover series to highlight the incredible students, alumni, staff, and instructors who define us as an organization. Check out our first IG Takeover, Jack Copland – NWOBS Instructor & Course Director! See more IG Takeovers on our Instagram, @nwoutwardbound. We’re looking for more staff and students to share your stories! If you…
Self-Discovery from Oregon to India
“In Oregon I fell in love with rock climbing…In India, we were given the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal and that will be something I will never forget.” Dalia Solano OREGON TO INDIA RAFTING & TREKKING | When thinking back to my course, what stands out to me the most vividly is the morning yoga. At…
Dynamic Learning with Portland Programs
“The classroom instructors with Outward Bound are true professionals. They are able to get to know the students, challenge them, and support young people to do things within their class time that they normally might not do. The lessons learned in doing so bolster a confidence level that students carry with them long after leaving…
Jenny’s Humility List
“Now I can say without hesitation: Outward Bound changed my life. It humbled me, yes. But in doing so it ultimately empowered me. It filtered out distraction and the hum of routine life so I could focus on what really matters”. – Jenny Urice Jenny joined Outward Bound for the Northwest Outdoor Educator course…
All-Decades Alumni Reunion
On November 22, 2019 we held the inaugural All-Decades Alumni Reunion in Portland, Oregon. This amazing event brought together over 120 Outward Bound staff, students, instructors, and supporters from the 1960s through 2019. Attendees traveled from Idaho, California, Colorado, and across Oregon and Washington to share stories, photos, and memories over food and drink at…
A Day on the Challenge Course with Tofurky
Our friends at Tofurky are facing an exciting challenge. Demand for plant-based foods has absolutely EXPLODED, with sales of plant-based foods surpassing $4.5 billion per year. The family-owned business was one of the earliest innovators in the plant-based foods space, starting out by selling tempeh in 1980 and debuting their now-famous holiday roast in 1995….
Waking up to a Moose
“Outward Bound shaped who I am in the world. I am very proud of that and will be forever grateful” -Kathleen Wood Kathleen was an Outward Bound instructor in her 20’s and 30’s, many of those years spent in the Pacific Northwest. Following her time as an instructor, she stayed in the field of people…