Connection

Learning, Helping Oregon

The town of Cascade Locks gets a playground. A volunteer assists the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation with cultural preservation. Farmers learn how to keep their watershed pristine. These projects may seem small. But to Oregon’s rural communities, RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) is a big help. “RARE is changing the fate of our community,” says Chuck Daughtry, a RARE supervisor from Cascade Locks.

RARE was the inspiration of returning Peace Corps volunteer David Povey, now a retired professor from the university’s Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management. In its first ten years, RARE placed more than 225 participants in 160 organizations in Oregon’s rural areas.

Participants bring with them expertise aimed at increasing the capacity of communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions.

“It’s an excellent program,” says Lori Quillen, a RARE participant with the Long Tom Watershed Council. “It’s a great way for young people to learn about these issues hands on. This is a chance to explore a planning career and see what it’s really like.”