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Situated at the gateway to Redwood National and State Parks, the long-overlooked community of Orick has struggled for years to realize its potential as a tourist destination. Now, a group of Cal Poly Humboldt students is trying to change that. 

The student-led project, “Orick Rising,” aims to draw more visitors to the economically depressed town by revamping and beautifying its main street. The hope is that increasing curb appeal will encourage Highway 101 travelers to stop, explore and spend money in town.

While the project’s primary focus is increasing tourism in Orick, the students are working with locals to ensure their vision honors the unincorporated community’s “cultural identity” and improves the “overall quality of life for residents.” 

“We want them to be involved,” said Nancy Nazario, one of four recreation administration majors working on the project. “Some people are averse to change, but, hopefully, any improvements that are made are in the hands of the community. … We’re working on a time constraint — this is just a one-semester project — but, in the future, I’m hoping to come back, even to just work on small improvements.”

“We started off with the idea of just bringing some basic ideas to the community to find out what they really want,” said Mike Sanchez, another recreation administration major at Cal Poly Humboldt. “We really wanted them to identify with the ideas we came up with, so it’s more reflective of [Orick] and doesn’t feel like we’re just coming in to improve the economy.”

Last semester, the group of students put together a report, “Orick Rising: Assessing the Tourism Potential of Orick, California,” that looked into the region’s tumultuous history and current challenges, analyzing how “natural, built, cultural and economic systems shape a community’s identity, functionality and appeal for residents and visitors.”

The report outlined several short-term strategies to attract travelers, including the development of a trail along the levee and the construction of a new visitor’s kiosk and/or self-guided tour system that would share the town’s history via QR codes. The students also floated the idea of putting together a festival-type event that would complement the Orick Rodeo but occur during the off-season. However, that idea seemed a little too ambitious for a single-semester project, Sanchez said.

The group of students presented the report at a community meeting in September, where attendees were encouraged to provide feedback and share their own ideas.

“Meeting participants showed support for projects by applying stickers to project boards,” said Ara Pachmayer, associate professor of tourism management at Cal Poly Humboldt. “Of the meeting attendees, many residents expressed interest in moving forward with the main street beautification proposal, and that is what the class is pursuing with the community.”

Now that they’ve got a plan in place, the students are meeting with the Orick Main Street Beautification Planning Group, a collection of local stakeholders. 

Humboldt County’s Economic Development Program Manager Peggy Murphy attended the September community meeting and said she was impressed by the students’ proposal, noting that she was “truly inspired by the professionalism, openness and grace each of them has shown throughout the process.” While the beautification project may seem like a small step in improving Orick’s economic future, “real change often begins with a catalyst.”

“Downtown and tourism-oriented investments help create a stronger sense of place,” Murphy said. “Orick sits at the gateway to the redwoods, one of the most iconic destinations in the world, yet it has historically captured only a fraction of the tourism economy passing through. Strengthening the town center and adding amenities that reflect local culture, and landscape could help Orick tap into that opportunity.”

“Also, these kinds of projects often spark broader economic development,” Murphy added. “This momentum has the potential to attract small businesses, hospitality services, eateries and recreation-based enterprises that diversify the local economy.”

Sociology major Steven Ochoa hopes the beautification project will provide the morale boost needed to encourage property owners to improve the façades of buildings along Highway 101 and, eventually, bolster infrastructure all throughout town.

“We can see that as being a little bit outside of tourism, but that infrastructure is still really important when you’re trying to invite potentially thousands of people that are going to the redwoods and aren’t stopping in Orick to now stop there,” Ochoa continued. “We don’t want to overwhelm what is there already, right?”

The students’ current focus is tracking down the grant funding needed to bring the project to life. Until then, the group will keep meeting with the planning group to set priorities and finalize beautification plans.