In 2023, the Lincoln Climate and Health group launched a Youth Community Science project. It was the first step in putting their Lincoln Benton Climate and Health Adaptation Plan into action.
The 10-day camp in Newport helped participating youths build confidence and deepen their connection to place and community.
That September, with support from Healthier Together Oregon, the group held focus groups with youths from the Arcoíris Cultural Center and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Sessions were offered in English, Spanish and Mam, a Mayan language spoken primarily by Indigenous Mam people in parts of Guatemala.
The Latine youths from Arcoíris — many with Guatemalan, Mexican and Indigenous Mesoamerican backgrounds — expressed strong interest in learning more about climate change and community health.
In July 2024, a two-week summer camp gave those youths a chance to explore those topics through hands-on learning offered in both English and Spanish.
Oregon State University researchers and Oregon Sea Grant organized the camp in partnership with Arcoíris Cultural Center, Lincoln County Public Health, the University of Washington and the OSU Extension Service.
Sixteen youths — ages 6 to 15 — joined the camp in Newport. Over 10 days, they connected science, art, geography and storytelling with their own experiences and communities.
Activities included:
- Beach field trips to Seal Rock and Nye Beach to explore tide pools, coastal geology and landslides
- Art workshops with Emy Daniels, a Newport-based artist and educator, where students kept nature journals, sculpted with salt dough and made comics
- Mapping exercises led by Jenna Tilt, associate professor of geography at Oregon State University, using drawings and satellite photos to explore local environments
- Bilingual scavenger hunts presented by Cait Goodwin, marine educator with Oregon Sea Grant, to help families learn about tsunami safety and coastal landmarks
- Science lessons on landslides and coastal hazards with Felicia Olmeta Schult, coastal hazards specialist with Oregon Sea Grant, and Daniel Acosta, doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington
- Civic reflection activities led by Beatriz Botello Salgado, OSU Extension outreach program coordinator, and Marianne Seifert, deputy director of Lincoln County Public Health
- Storytelling and interview sessions with Maja Jeranko, postdoctoral researcher in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, helping students gather stories from family members
The camp helped participating youths build confidence and deepen their connection to place and community.
Emma Gleeman, a graduate student at Oregon State, coordinated the program. Data and observations from the camp formed the basis for her master’s thesis. By analyzing student journals and interviews, she hopes to better understand how Latine youths describe their lives on the Oregon Coast.
These insights will help researchers and community leaders support coastal residents — especially in preparing for natural hazards like floods, landslides, tsunamis and sea-level rise.
Funding came from the Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, Oregon Sea Grant’s Activity and Conference Support and OSU’s Extension and Engagement Expanding Access Mini-Grant Program.
