Columbia High School students Layne Clark and Landen Nielsen inspect the flooring unit for the conestoga huts they built for the Washington Gorge Action Programs’ Guided Path location on April 30. They spent most of the day on site and were joined by other classmates and woodshop teacher Del Medenbach.
Columbia High School students, from left to right, junior, Nanako Mori; senior, Layne Clark; grade, Landen Nielsen; sophomore, Liam Campbell; and sophomore, Joshua Chiccino.
Columbia High School students Layne Clark and Landen Nielsen inspect the flooring unit for the conestoga huts they built for the Washington Gorge Action Programs’ Guided Path location on April 30. They spent most of the day on site and were joined by other classmates and woodshop teacher Del Medenbach.
BINGEN — Five Columbia High students volunteered time with their woodshop teacher Mandel Medenbach, to construct and to brand new Conestoga huts for the Washington Gorge Action Programs Guided Path Shelter in Bingen. The Guided Path Shelter is led by Program Director Kevin Summa, Associate Director Jennifer Pauletto and Housing Manager Lori Call. Prior to the conestoga huts, the housing development had spaces for up to 16 people who need temporary housing. Summa explained they also have permanent housing options.
On April 30, Landen Nielsen, Layne Clark, Joshua Chinnino, Liam Campbell and Nanako Mori spent their school day building out the two huts for people to use for temporary housing through WAGAP. Nielsen and Clark both jumped at the opportunity to help build the huts because they felt everyone deserves a warm, dry pace to sleep at night.
“It gives someone a place to place to live, stay warm and help them get off the streets,” Nielsen said. He added that this is not the first conestoga hut he has built. Last trimester, he and Clark built one for another nonprofit, but Nielsen could not recall where the finished hut ended up. Wherever their first hut was sent, Clark is happy knowing he helped someone else.
Columbia High School students, from left to right, junior, Nanako Mori; senior, Layne Clark; grade, Landen Nielsen; sophomore, Liam Campbell; and sophomore, Joshua Chiccino.
Contributed photo
“That’s my main goal in life. I feel that my main purpose in life is to help people,” said Clark, who is a senior at Columbia High School and has taken the woodshop class all four years at CHS.
Conestoga huts were contrived in Eugene, Ore. and are a much cheaper alternative to a traditional shelter or tiny home. On average they cost $3,500 and the footprint is small. The huts total 80 square feet — 60 square feet inside with a 20 square foot covered deck — with enough space for a twin bed. Each hut is insulated and is built off the ground to keep the user dry.
“I was able just to purchase the plans from their nonprofit. And, and I was able just to kind of hand it over to the students at that point,” Medenbach said. “We’ve been working on them since January. So we built a prototype in the fall to see, make sure that it was something that was going to work and it was successful.”
The students arrived on site at 9 a.m. and with the instruction of Medenbach, they began by leveling the ground. As sophomores Chiccino and Campbell finished getting the foundation level, Japanese exchange student Mori took her time understanding her role on the construction crew.
“It was hard to learn English at first,” she said, on coming to the United States. “I have been here nine months and I am learning a lot.”
Columbia High woodshop teacher Del Medenbach helps the students navigate the conestoga hut construction instructions.
Noah Noteboom photo
The group was there until about 2 p.m. when they finished putting the huts together. Medenbach commented on the skills acquired throughout the duration of this project.
“So much of this applies to residential construction and commercial construction,” he said. Necessary skills in mathematics, reading, planning, design, engineering, drawing and teamwork were needed to complete the construction and installation of the conestoga huts.
“Kudos for these guys for jumping in there,” Medenbach said.
He added there are plans to build more huts in the future, but for now, WAGAP shared their gratitude to the students and school for making it happen.
“This will give us two more beds, in our peak times to be able to support another two community members, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but is a really big deal for our community,” Pauletto said.
“I thought it was a wonderful idea, because it’s something we don’t have here,” added Call. “So this is pretty exciting for us.”
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