Explore the great outdoors at Saint George’s
Saint George’s stunning campus is the perfect setting for teaching students life skills through our Outdoor Program. They learn to cooperate while paddling canoes down the Little Spokane River, hiking through the state park land that surrounds the school, or helping each other descend the 30-foot Dragon Crag in the woods above campus. Through it all they learn to cope with adversity, practice teamwork, and develop their leadership skills as they grow into responsible young adults.
But it’s not all serious business. Students can practice on the school's indoor climbing wall or take the Friday Night Ski Bus to Mt. Spokane. Beyond the campus they can pursue school-sponsored expeditions into all kinds of environments. Summiting glaciated Cascade volcanoes, rock climbing in rugged Eastern Oregon, backpacking into Idaho’s mountain wilderness – Saint George’s Outdoor Program offers some great adventures.
The outdoor program at Saint George's School has not only expanded my knowledge of what I am able to do outdoors and how to do it, but has also given me many favorite memories from the best experiences with the greatest friends that I could have ever asked for.
ALYSON GALOW
CLASS OF 2017
On Sunday, April 7, SGS students floated the Little Spokane River along with Melanie Mildrew, Dr. Seth Coleman, and Dr. Steve Hayes (Gonzaga University) to check on the usage of 12 wood duck nesting boxes that were put up as part of several students’ CAS projects last year. Each box was inspected for usage by nesting wood ducks. Last year’s egg shells were removed for later genetic and heavy metal analyses, and old nesting material was replaced with fresh, clean nesting material for this year’s nesting pairs.
Of the twelve nesting boxes put up between Saint George's campus and Indian Painted Rocks, nine had been used by wood ducks last year. "This is a GREAT use percentage, as wood ducks tend to be pretty rare around here (providing the motivation for the project in the first place)," said US Bio teacher Seth Coleman. "One had been used by an owl, one by a northern flying squirrel (a very rare treat to see around here!), and one had not been used."
Right now, along the Little Spokane River corridor, pairs of wood ducks are looking for nesting cavities. Based on last year’s usage, we are hopeful that our SGS wood duck nesting boxes will once again provide vital nesting sites for these lovely little ducks.
Saint George's students climbed, belayed, and explored caves at Smith Rocks State Park in Eastern Oregon over spring break. See a Photo Gallery of them in action!
Animals and plants emerge after the late winter on campus, including a muskrat in the stream by the Middle School, ducks, geese, green shoots, and even the first small flowers in Peter's Garden. See a Photo Gallery of what's happening on campus when the school was closed for spring break.