Lindel Evers New FFI Educator!
This past August Forests Forever, Inc. (FFI) hired an additional forest educator to expand their outreach to youth throughout the Portland metro area. The new educator is a part-time contract employee with the nonprofit and will work alongside Peter Matzka – Oregon State University’s Forestry Outreach Coordinator assigned to FFI and housed at the Hopkins Demonstration Forest in Beavercreek. Matzka reaches about 5,000 students each year with his Science in the Forest classes.
“This is a huge step forward for FFI,” said Mike Bondi, FFI’s Board of Directors Chair. “Peter has done a wonderful job growing education programs over the past 10 years. But, we’ve been unable to keep up with demand from schools nor expand to important underserved audiences. Our new FFI Forest Educator will help address these needs.”
Lindel Evers is the new educator and is quickly settling in. Evers’ primary responsibilities include establishing an Outdoor School Day Camp. Most Outdoor School programs are overnight camps in Oregon. FFI wants to offer a Day Camp alternative for schools and parents looking for another option.
Evers will also develop youth forestry and natural resource programming for homeschoolers—another underserved audience. It is estimated that more than 4,000 students are homeschooled just in Clackamas County. Few forestry and natural resource field days and more extensive programs are offered for this audience.
Evers and his family live in the Oregon City area. Lindel has more than a dozen years of volunteer and leadership positions with Boy and Girl Scout programs. He describes himself as a “science guy” and is passionate about outdoor education in the natural world and working with youth. In addition, Evers has experience working as a volunteer with an elementary charter school.
Bondi said Evers’ work this fall will begin pilot testing initial homeschool forest education programs, developing contacts and reaching out to networks. At the same time he will be planning to begin the Outdoor School Day Camp programs in the Spring.
Funding for the new FFI Forest Educator is provided for three years from two principal donors – Hampton Lumber Company and the Walker Family Foundation. “We are really excited about this support and commitment,” said Bondi. “We have always tried to provide our youth education programs at no cost to schools and teachers. Having the opportunity to bring the next generation to the forest for science-based education in a managed forest environment is critically important to our communities, state, and economy.”
If you’d like more information about FFI’s new youth education programs and how you can be involved, contact (503) 655-5524 or see our website at demonstrationforest.org.