Alumni Field Trip in Bend

Join fellow Beavers for an expert-led field trip exploring Bend’s wildlife and landscapes.

With a guided habitat hike in Shevlin Park featuring Gus Gustafson, ’72, from Deschutes Land Trust, and a walk-and-talk at Lava Lands led by a Matt Shinderman, the director of the OSU-Cascades Human and Ecosystem Resilience and Sustainability Lab, this adventure blends lifelong learning with the great outdoors.

The day wraps up at Deschutes Brewery in time for the Dam Good Connections Bend networking event (registration is separate), where you can continue spending time in great company and learn more about the impact the HERS Lab makes across Central Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Guests must be able to walk two miles, unassisted on uneven ground. We will stop periodically throughout the route for educational moments and discussion. Please dress and be prepared for the weather, we will be outside for the duration of the field trip.

Alumni Field Trip in Bend
Saturday, May 16
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Depart from Deschutes Brewery Tasting Room (901 SW Simpson Ave.)

PRICE
$25 Nonmembers
$20 OSU Alumni Association members (Not a member? Join today.)
$15 Kids 12 and under

Snacks, beverages and transportation between locations are provided. Just lace up your walking shoes and bring a sack lunch and your love of learning.

For questions, please contact Kate Sanders at osualum@osualum.com or call 541-737-2351.

About our guides:

Gary "Gus" Gustafson, leader of our Shevlin Park hike, is a senior environmental and regulatory consultant living in Camp Sherman. A native Oregonian, Gustafson is a certified Oregon Master Naturalist who enjoys beginning each day at home with a walk along the nearby Metolius River. A former state agency director and elected city mayor, Gustafson now volunteers time as a hike leader for the Deschutes Land Trust and serves on several boards and commissions. Gus is particularly interested in identifying, observing and photographing the wide variety of fish and wildlife species found in central Oregon.

Matt Shinderman, who lends expert insights to our Lava Lands walk-and-talk, founded the HERS Lab in 2015 and continues to direct it, in addition to his duties as a senior instructor of natural resources and the program lead for the sustainability double degree at OSU-Cascades. He helped develop the lab’s East Cascades Native Plant Hub and is involved with wildlife crossing structure research. Additionally, he is partnering with the National Park Service to manage a park studies unit at OSU-Cascades. His work focuses on collaborative and applied science, enabling the HERS Lab to serve as the hub of natural resource management in the Pacific Northwest.

Dates, times and other details for in-person events are subject to change.

Photos and videos from this event may be used in promotional materials supporting Oregon State University or the OSU Foundation, which includes the OSU Alumni Association. By attending this event, you consent to having your photo taken and appearing in videos and allow use of these photographs and videos for such promotional purposes as described above.