Projects for Incredible Volunteers
Bring your family to Camp Magruder for quiet rest and take part in a work project that will benefit camp and give everyone a feeling of pride. Magruder is offering the chance for families and friend groups to stay with us, while doing work projects addressing some needs around camp.
Browse the work projects we’ve identified and choose one that fits the members of your family’s age and skill levels by clicking this link. Stay without lodging fees, enjoy the scenery of late Spring Oregon Coast, join in peaceful reflections, and bond together as you strengthen and support the camp we all love. In addition to volunteering of time and service, the use of personal equipment is graciously accepted if available. Donations for project supplies and equipment will also be accepted from those able and interested.
Call 503-355-2310 or email magruder.reservations@gmail.com to check dates and discuss details for reservations and projects.
Browse the work projects we’ve identified and choose one that fits the members of your family’s age and skill levels by clicking this link. Stay without lodging fees, enjoy the scenery of late Spring Oregon Coast, join in peaceful reflections, and bond together as you strengthen and support the camp we all love. In addition to volunteering of time and service, the use of personal equipment is graciously accepted if available. Donations for project supplies and equipment will also be accepted from those able and interested.
Call 503-355-2310 or email magruder.reservations@gmail.com to check dates and discuss details for reservations and projects.
Paint Bunch Lodge Exterior
Project: Bunch Lodge is one the few buildings left at Camp Magruder that has not been recently painted with the camp’s current underlying color scheme. This makes Bunch stick out among the buildings. A new paint job will greatly improve the building’s charm. If a group did not have time to do the entire building, they could opt to do the border work or do one out of the four walls.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers through older adults. Some ladder climbing will be required by a few participants to get the upper sections of the building. There will be a need for people skilled with edging and cutting in for borders. This will be one of our more challenging painting projects.
Helpful Equipment: Scrub brushes and brooms, paint brushes and paint rollers, paint trays, breathing barrier masks
Funding Opportunities: Paint, brushes, and trays
Estimated Timeframe: 8-20 hours
Paint a Room in Edwards Lodge
Project: Edwards Lodge has not had an interior paint job in some time, and it is showing a great deal of wear and marks we are unable to clean or touch up. Groups will paint room by room. The project could be broken into a single room.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers through older adults. There will be a need for people skilled with edging and cutting in for borders. One person may be necessary to move bunk beds. Groups of 2-20 recommended.
Helpful Equipment: paint brushes and paint rollers, paint trays, breathing barrier masks
Funding Opportunities: Paint, brushes, and trays
Estimated Timeframe: 4-20 hours
Oil/Stain Decks and Benches
Project: Much of the outdoor woodwork at Camp Magruder is drying out, taking on an old, gray look. If left too long, it will begin taking on water and rotting. There is work to do on several lodge decks and porches, and there are smaller scale projects for benches and picnic tables around camp.
Recommended Participants: Anyone old enough to hold a brush and scrub could participate, though several adults are recommended. Strong scrubbing will be required to initially clean out as much mold as possible, before oiling or staining the surfaces. Groups of 2-10 are recommended depending on the deck, porch, or bench being oiled/stained.
Projects identified for oiling: Bunch Balcony Decks & walls (1-6 hours est.), Guest House Porch (3-6 hours est.), Wetlands Trail Bridge (6-12 hours), boat dock pier (4-8 hours)
Helpful Equipment: Scrub brushes and brooms, paint brushes and paint rollers, paint trays, breathing barrier masks
Funding Opportunities: Oil/Stain, brushes, rollers, trays
Estimated Timeframe: 2-12 hours depending on the project and group numbers.
Deconstruct Old Dock Structures
Project: Camp Magruder has a few old dock structures at Smith Lake that are no longer usable that are eye sores and could pose small hazards for outdoor school students who do field studies near them. The group will pull decking off the docks and relocate it to be reused, burned, or sent to the landfill. Groups of 5-15 recommended.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers at the youngest, and people who can walk uneven terrain, pry boards that are nailed/screwed into wood pieces and can carry planks of wood.
Helpful Equipment: Hammers, pry bars, hacksaws, work gloves
Estimated Timeframe: 4-8 hours depending on group size.
Waterfront Clearing
Project: The lakefront swim area has become overgrown with shrubs and bushes, and we need to remove some plants altogether and prune others
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly if mechanized tools are being used. Younger kids could be trusted with pruning shears and loppers, but parental discretion is advised. Most participants should be able to walk on uneven surfaces and operate mechanized equipment. Groups of 2-12, as long as there is enough equipment.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, hand saws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 3-6 hours depending on group size
Trail/Campfire Maintenance
Project: Salal and Blackberry grows relentlessly on the Oregon Coast, and it only takes about 6 months for a cleared trail to look like it’s been abandoned at Camp Magruder. Groups will trim back vines, branches, and grasses that make trail works more tedious or open up campfire and outdoor chapel spaces.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly if mechanized tools are being used. Younger kids could be trusted with pruning shears and loppers, but parental discretion is advised. Participants should be able to walk on uneven surfaces and operate mechanized equipment. Groups of 2-12, as long as there is enough equipment.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps,
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 3-15 hours, we will honestly never run out of trimming projects
Chappell Hall Boiler Removal
Project: Camp Magruder recently replaced an old cast iron boiler system in Carrier Dining Hall. The boiler is still in the Carrier basement occupying storage space and should be removed to be hauled off for scrap iron.
Recommended Participants: Senior High and Adults. The boiler is pure cast iron and very heavy. It will take several strong individuals to lift the boiler onto a rolling cart that will need to be pushed up to a ramp where it can be hooked to a vehicle. Groups of 4-6 recommended.
Helpful Equipment: Work gloves, flat dolly
Estimated Timeframe: 1 hour
Top Shrubs for Improved Window Views
Project: Salal, blackberry, rhododendron grow fast and tall on the coast, and many are blocking the views from cabin/lodge windows. Participants will use hedge trimmers to top the bushes we’d like to keep and removing the pests altogether, so guests will be able to better see the beautiful scenery during their stay.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly because of the height requirements and the use of mechanized tools.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 2-12 hours, there are about as many opportunities as there are buildings.
Outdoor Chapel Clearing
Project: The Blackberry bushes and English Ivy have taken over the space in front of the Outdoor Chapel and are beginning to obstruct the view and creep into the Chapel Space itself. We hope to rebuild the railing and platform before next summer and clearing the brush from this space will be the first step in the process.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly if mechanized tools are being used. Younger kids could be trusted with pruning shears and loppers, but parental discretion is advised. Most participants should be able to walk on uneven surfaces and operate mechanized equipment. Groups of 2-12, as long as there is enough equipment.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 3-10 hours, depending on number of participants
Project: Bunch Lodge is one the few buildings left at Camp Magruder that has not been recently painted with the camp’s current underlying color scheme. This makes Bunch stick out among the buildings. A new paint job will greatly improve the building’s charm. If a group did not have time to do the entire building, they could opt to do the border work or do one out of the four walls.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers through older adults. Some ladder climbing will be required by a few participants to get the upper sections of the building. There will be a need for people skilled with edging and cutting in for borders. This will be one of our more challenging painting projects.
Helpful Equipment: Scrub brushes and brooms, paint brushes and paint rollers, paint trays, breathing barrier masks
Funding Opportunities: Paint, brushes, and trays
Estimated Timeframe: 8-20 hours
Paint a Room in Edwards Lodge
Project: Edwards Lodge has not had an interior paint job in some time, and it is showing a great deal of wear and marks we are unable to clean or touch up. Groups will paint room by room. The project could be broken into a single room.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers through older adults. There will be a need for people skilled with edging and cutting in for borders. One person may be necessary to move bunk beds. Groups of 2-20 recommended.
Helpful Equipment: paint brushes and paint rollers, paint trays, breathing barrier masks
Funding Opportunities: Paint, brushes, and trays
Estimated Timeframe: 4-20 hours
Oil/Stain Decks and Benches
Project: Much of the outdoor woodwork at Camp Magruder is drying out, taking on an old, gray look. If left too long, it will begin taking on water and rotting. There is work to do on several lodge decks and porches, and there are smaller scale projects for benches and picnic tables around camp.
Recommended Participants: Anyone old enough to hold a brush and scrub could participate, though several adults are recommended. Strong scrubbing will be required to initially clean out as much mold as possible, before oiling or staining the surfaces. Groups of 2-10 are recommended depending on the deck, porch, or bench being oiled/stained.
Projects identified for oiling: Bunch Balcony Decks & walls (1-6 hours est.), Guest House Porch (3-6 hours est.), Wetlands Trail Bridge (6-12 hours), boat dock pier (4-8 hours)
Helpful Equipment: Scrub brushes and brooms, paint brushes and paint rollers, paint trays, breathing barrier masks
Funding Opportunities: Oil/Stain, brushes, rollers, trays
Estimated Timeframe: 2-12 hours depending on the project and group numbers.
Deconstruct Old Dock Structures
Project: Camp Magruder has a few old dock structures at Smith Lake that are no longer usable that are eye sores and could pose small hazards for outdoor school students who do field studies near them. The group will pull decking off the docks and relocate it to be reused, burned, or sent to the landfill. Groups of 5-15 recommended.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers at the youngest, and people who can walk uneven terrain, pry boards that are nailed/screwed into wood pieces and can carry planks of wood.
Helpful Equipment: Hammers, pry bars, hacksaws, work gloves
Estimated Timeframe: 4-8 hours depending on group size.
Waterfront Clearing
Project: The lakefront swim area has become overgrown with shrubs and bushes, and we need to remove some plants altogether and prune others
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly if mechanized tools are being used. Younger kids could be trusted with pruning shears and loppers, but parental discretion is advised. Most participants should be able to walk on uneven surfaces and operate mechanized equipment. Groups of 2-12, as long as there is enough equipment.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, hand saws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 3-6 hours depending on group size
Trail/Campfire Maintenance
Project: Salal and Blackberry grows relentlessly on the Oregon Coast, and it only takes about 6 months for a cleared trail to look like it’s been abandoned at Camp Magruder. Groups will trim back vines, branches, and grasses that make trail works more tedious or open up campfire and outdoor chapel spaces.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly if mechanized tools are being used. Younger kids could be trusted with pruning shears and loppers, but parental discretion is advised. Participants should be able to walk on uneven surfaces and operate mechanized equipment. Groups of 2-12, as long as there is enough equipment.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps,
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 3-15 hours, we will honestly never run out of trimming projects
Chappell Hall Boiler Removal
Project: Camp Magruder recently replaced an old cast iron boiler system in Carrier Dining Hall. The boiler is still in the Carrier basement occupying storage space and should be removed to be hauled off for scrap iron.
Recommended Participants: Senior High and Adults. The boiler is pure cast iron and very heavy. It will take several strong individuals to lift the boiler onto a rolling cart that will need to be pushed up to a ramp where it can be hooked to a vehicle. Groups of 4-6 recommended.
Helpful Equipment: Work gloves, flat dolly
Estimated Timeframe: 1 hour
Top Shrubs for Improved Window Views
Project: Salal, blackberry, rhododendron grow fast and tall on the coast, and many are blocking the views from cabin/lodge windows. Participants will use hedge trimmers to top the bushes we’d like to keep and removing the pests altogether, so guests will be able to better see the beautiful scenery during their stay.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly because of the height requirements and the use of mechanized tools.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 2-12 hours, there are about as many opportunities as there are buildings.
Outdoor Chapel Clearing
Project: The Blackberry bushes and English Ivy have taken over the space in front of the Outdoor Chapel and are beginning to obstruct the view and creep into the Chapel Space itself. We hope to rebuild the railing and platform before next summer and clearing the brush from this space will be the first step in the process.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older, particularly if mechanized tools are being used. Younger kids could be trusted with pruning shears and loppers, but parental discretion is advised. Most participants should be able to walk on uneven surfaces and operate mechanized equipment. Groups of 2-12, as long as there is enough equipment.
Helpful Equipment: Electric or gas-powered bush trimmers, small chainsaws, pruning shears or scissors, loppers, weed trimmers with blades, gloves, safety glasses, protective chaps
Funding Opportunities: Power trimmers, blades, and accessory equipment
Estimated Timeframe: 3-10 hours, depending on number of participants