Projects | SolTrekker

Current Projects

Recently, our organization's focus has shifted from renewable energy education via mobile field trips, to establishing a community gathering space in a wild but accessible setting.

Outdoor Education and Youth Camp Development

We are currently navigating the state and county processes for developing a youth camp on 92 acres of private forest land just past Banks, OR (near the Oregon Coast range about 45 minutes west of Portland).

If all goes well with the permitting process, we intend for the camp to serve the local and regional community by forging partnerships with local nonprofits, schools and individuals in order to support existing and start-up youth education programs, outdoor schools, and environmental advocacy projects.

In that way, we envision the camp as a community hub that will serve as more than just a wilderness education getaway, but also as a living model of resilience through community building, creativity, and long-term thinking and practices. Ideally, it will also serve as a model for more wildfire resistant communities/developments.

We also envision a network of trails, food forests, creeks/natural swim ponds and gardens to cultivate an immersive, nature-based experience. We intend for the camp to serve a diverse range of community members, including nature enthusiasts, artists, educators, families, and corporate groups, providing opportunities for education, rejuvenation, and collaboration. Through curated workshops, retreats, and hands-on learning experiences, guests will explore topics such as community building, permaculture design, natural building, regenerative farming practices, decentralized, small-scale renewable energy, foraging, plant and animal studies, creative expression, and wilderness skills.

Seeking Community Resilience Partners

While it's not exactly a typical project, we are currently seeking partnership with individuals and organizations who are interested in taking action to create a more connected and resilient local community, whether that's through any of the avenues mentioned above like experiential education, wilderness skills, mutual aid, regenerative food production, etc. We're also always happy to network with kindred spirits beyond our own locale.

If this is you or an organization you know and the idea of having access to 92 acres of Pacific Northwest meadows and forests is exciting, please reach out!

Connect with Us!

Past Projects

The journey from biofueled busses and solar panels to waffle carts and beyond.

Mobile Renewable Energy Education

It all started with a colorful, biofueled bus.

Solar Waffle Works

Nobody ever said we weren't willing to try weird things.

After several years working in journalism and the RV industry, and in the midst of a fulfillment crisis, one of our founders hopped off a mid-management career track in his twenties. He sold his house, cashed out his 401k and bought a new motorhome on his company's retiree program in order to travel the U.S., test out this "new" fuel called biodiesel and to make the case for a rapid and full transition to renewable energy and more sustainable systems (bless his heart).

He called the project BioTrekker and along the way, teacher friends began asking for classroom tours and talks, it got a little media attention and some kindred spirits joined in to help. After many miles and classrooms, green building events, renewable energy expos, roadside breakdowns and music festivals, the group of kindred spirits involved in the project decided to form a nonprofit called SolTrekker (broadening out from biodiesel) and create a flagship vehicle for mobile education.

They took an older motorhome and rebuilt it into a fully outfitted mobile sustainability education platform that featured solar electric and solar hot water systems, biofueled engine, rainwater catchment, and various green building materials. In this way, the organization created a sort of mobile field trip, allowing students and visitors to see conservation, efficiency and renewable technologies in action. From there, SolTrekker developed curriculum and lesson plans on renewable energy, delivering presentations to dozens of schools and engaging thousands of students and community members in sustainability education.

Beyond mobile presentations, our organization has also pursued innovative educational initiatives such as creating “Solar Waffle Works,” a solar-powered food cart we created in collaboration with Portland Public Schools’ Community Transition Program (and eventually On-The-Move Community Integration and Albertina Kerr) — blending renewable energy demonstration with real-world job-training and entrepreneurial experience opportunities for public school students and individuals with disabilities.