Here are student summaries of survey observations with visitors to the Tillamook Forest Center, adapted for the public Rain Festival event. Click on any title for details, then return to see all titles.
Experiences and Interactions at the Tillamook Forest
Event: Tillamook ForestInterviewer: HB
Whom did you interview?
A woman in her late 40’s leading a group of disabled adults from Beaverton on a trip to the national forest. We didn’t catch their names but this was the woman’s part time job and passion it seemed. She was making a difference for the adults on the field trip as they didn’t get the opportunity to get outside a whole lot. and she wanted to get them more involved with nature for future development of the group.
How did your EcoTypes and SDG priorities compare?She expressed that she found a lot of peace and stillness in the beauty of nature, which I related to a lot as I lean heavily towards the nonhuman places and EcoTypes. She didn’t really think that nature specifically was important for building community, but shared that she felt it was important for this specific demographic of adults to have different experiences and environments to interact with. The adults in the group seemed very invested in the exhibits and organics of nature.
What larger MCJD lessons did you learn?I think that even though I personally feel that learning about nature can bring a community together, I completely agreed with what she said about nature providing an escape from stress and allowing an embrace of stillness and calm amongst the busies of everyday life and work. She definitely found solace in the practice of engaging with nature and I feel like with a more in-depth, exploratory conversation, we would be able to discuss how that feeling can definitely lead communities closer together to protect those sacred environments.