written by Daniel O’Neil | photography by CultureSeed

The Columbia River Gorge naturally serves as a wellspring of health for those who recreate there. Body, mind and spirit find renewal in the area’s trails, waters and slopes. Yet while access to the outdoors is convenient, not all Gorge residents can easily take advantage of what the place offers. Rural youth especially find it difficult. Equipment, instruction and even transportation raise barriers that for many seem insurmountable, so CultureSeed leads the way.

Since 2017, CultureSeed has brought local youth into the outdoors where they can experience the inspiring and healing qualities of the great river and her flanks. Working with three schools in Klickitat and Skamania counties, CultureSeed offers free outdoor immersion and mental health programming to youth ages 13 to 18 and sometimes beyond. Programs last one year, but participants can continue with CultureSeed year after year. Currently, the nonprofit serves eighty-one youth, half of whom identify as BIPOC, and many of whom come from lower-income families.

Co-executive director Yesenia Castro figures that about 80 percent of participating youth had never engaged with the outdoors before they joined CultureSeed, mostly due to cost. “The Gorge is a very expensive place to live, but there’s still a large percentage of low-income youth that do not have access to all of the play that attracts most of the residents here,” she said. “So they experience a lot of those activities with us for the first time.”

CultureSeed works in several ways, from casual weekly meet-ups where participants connect with a facilitator and then head out for a walk, to full-immersion outings of all sorts. Working with partner outfitters, CultureSeed helps make Gorge-based activities like snowboarding, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and backpacking possible.

Nature offers refuge and relief from many of life’s pressures, and in the case of today’s youth that can include smartphone dependence. Multiday backpacking trips guarantee disconnection from cell service. “The youth are telling us that they’re letting go of their phone for the first time, which is really hard,” Castro said. “But they also say they’re finding a lot of benefits to just being in nature, like less stress and anxiety. By the end of the trip, they’re like, ‘Wow, we want to stay for longer.’ And they forget about the phone.”

Emotional health also plays into CultureSeed’s offerings. By partnering directly with local therapists, one-on-one therapy is available to participants at no cost. “We live in an area that is very, very much underserved with mental health providers,” Castro said. “But we’re getting a lot of therapists that are already in the Gorge because they are also doing some sort of recreational activity. And then they’re finding us and saying, ‘Oh, perfect.’”

As youth gain skills and experience in the programs, they can become peer guides on CultureSeed outings. This forms part of another aspect of CultureSeed’s offerings by helping prepare youth to work in the outdoors economy, and it can lead to internships with local outfitters.

For the past five years, Joanna Turner has watched her daughter grow under CultureSeed’s wing. Turner lives with her children in Trout Lake, a half-hour drive north of the Columbia River. Public transport is minimal, and entertainment centers like the bowling alley and rollerskating rink have closed. So CultureSeed provides transportation from the front door to the outdoors and back, which makes life easier for parents, too. Knowing that her daughter is engaged in healthy, sober activities brings Turner peace of mind.

“What’s good for youth also supports the family and our community,” Turner said. “So when these kids are given opportunities to get outdoors, to learn actual hands-on skills that not only build confidence but give them something to rely on, it’s good for everybody.”