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 Spring Oregon Coast scenery, 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 Spring Oregon Coast scenery, 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.
Scanning in Old Camp Documents
Project: Camp Magruder has filing cabinets full of old documents we don’t want to totally throw away, but that we no longer want to have physical space set aside for. We want to scan these files digitally and keep them backed up on our hard drive and then recycle or shred the paper versions of the documents to free up office and storage space.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older. People with at least a basic comfort level with a copy machine or scanner and organizational skills to name files and sort them into searchable digital folders. This is a 1-2 person job.
Helpful Equipment: I high quality scanning machine that can run many pages through at a time will greatly speed up this project
Funding Opportunities: A high end scanner
Estimated Timeframe: 2-20 hours
Splitting Firewood
Project: Campfires are a big part of Camp Magruder, and we are regularly harvesting downed trees for firewood, but supplies of timber needing to be split can sometimes back up. Volunteers in this project will work with a wood splitter machine (or an ax if they are old fashioned) to split wood into manageable pieces of firewood for burning in campfires, wood stoves, and fireplaces.
Recommended Participants: Ages 14 and up. This project will require a lot of heavy lifting and twisting, so participants should be in good physical shape with healthy backs and knees. Some volunteers may be trusted to operate heavy machinery, and they will need to receive training and be over 18 years old. Groups of 2-5 people.
Helpful Equipment: Work gloves, safety glasses, noise canceling headphones, additional splitters or axes
Funding Opportunities: Additional safety equipment and more lumber
Estimated Timeframe: 2-8 hours, though this project can last as long as we have unsplit timber
Planter Box Building
Project: Camp Magruder has wooden planter boxes in several parts of camp with wildflowers to beautify the camp, but our current boxes are succumbing to time and the elements and need to be replaced. Volunteers will take the materials and assemble, based on plans we provide.
Recommended Participants: Ages 14 and up. This project will require precise measurements, hammering or bolting, so basic assembly skills will be necessary. It will likely be necessary to have at least one adult to oversee assembly and monitor safety. Participants will need to use basic tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and saws. Groups of 2-5 people.
Helpful Equipment: Work gloves, safety glasses, hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, vises, measuring tape, squares, saws
Funding Opportunities: the wood necessary to build, work gloves, safety glasses, tools, soil, seeds
Estimated Timeframe: 1-2 hours per box (likely faster after 1st box assembled)
Office Welcome Center Outdoor Beautification
Project: The Camp Magruder Main Office is surrounded by trees, bushes, and ground cover much of which is overgrown. Volunteers will clear out underbrush, mitigate brush that is too close to the building and other structures, while trying to increase the building’s visibility from the driveway.
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 2-8.
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: 4-8 hours
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
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.
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.
Late Spring/Fall Projects (need sunny weather or lower lake level)
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
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: 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.
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
Project: Camp Magruder has filing cabinets full of old documents we don’t want to totally throw away, but that we no longer want to have physical space set aside for. We want to scan these files digitally and keep them backed up on our hard drive and then recycle or shred the paper versions of the documents to free up office and storage space.
Recommended Participants: Teenagers and older. People with at least a basic comfort level with a copy machine or scanner and organizational skills to name files and sort them into searchable digital folders. This is a 1-2 person job.
Helpful Equipment: I high quality scanning machine that can run many pages through at a time will greatly speed up this project
Funding Opportunities: A high end scanner
Estimated Timeframe: 2-20 hours
Splitting Firewood
Project: Campfires are a big part of Camp Magruder, and we are regularly harvesting downed trees for firewood, but supplies of timber needing to be split can sometimes back up. Volunteers in this project will work with a wood splitter machine (or an ax if they are old fashioned) to split wood into manageable pieces of firewood for burning in campfires, wood stoves, and fireplaces.
Recommended Participants: Ages 14 and up. This project will require a lot of heavy lifting and twisting, so participants should be in good physical shape with healthy backs and knees. Some volunteers may be trusted to operate heavy machinery, and they will need to receive training and be over 18 years old. Groups of 2-5 people.
Helpful Equipment: Work gloves, safety glasses, noise canceling headphones, additional splitters or axes
Funding Opportunities: Additional safety equipment and more lumber
Estimated Timeframe: 2-8 hours, though this project can last as long as we have unsplit timber
Planter Box Building
Project: Camp Magruder has wooden planter boxes in several parts of camp with wildflowers to beautify the camp, but our current boxes are succumbing to time and the elements and need to be replaced. Volunteers will take the materials and assemble, based on plans we provide.
Recommended Participants: Ages 14 and up. This project will require precise measurements, hammering or bolting, so basic assembly skills will be necessary. It will likely be necessary to have at least one adult to oversee assembly and monitor safety. Participants will need to use basic tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and saws. Groups of 2-5 people.
Helpful Equipment: Work gloves, safety glasses, hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, vises, measuring tape, squares, saws
Funding Opportunities: the wood necessary to build, work gloves, safety glasses, tools, soil, seeds
Estimated Timeframe: 1-2 hours per box (likely faster after 1st box assembled)
Office Welcome Center Outdoor Beautification
Project: The Camp Magruder Main Office is surrounded by trees, bushes, and ground cover much of which is overgrown. Volunteers will clear out underbrush, mitigate brush that is too close to the building and other structures, while trying to increase the building’s visibility from the driveway.
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 2-8.
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: 4-8 hours
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
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.
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.
Late Spring/Fall Projects (need sunny weather or lower lake level)
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
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: 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.
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