Outdoor Ed Community

New Book: Outdoor Program Administration: Principles and Practices

Rick Curtis — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:42:00 GMT

A new book has just come out from Human Kinetics Publishing from the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) that adds to the growing list of text books that focus on outdoor education and is a great reference title for any professional's library. The editors, Mat Epeldring and Geoff Harrison have brought together experts from across the industry to explain administering outdoor programs from the inside out. Available from Amazon.com and Human Kinetics.

[Full disclosure - the authors included a graphic on risk management and decision making from one of my lectures. I did not receive any compensation for the use of my material.]

About the Author:

The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) provides opportunities for professionals and students in the field of outdoor recreation and education. AORE’s mission is to exchange information; promote the preservation and conservation of the natural environment; and address issues common to college, university, community, military, and other not-for-profit outdoor recreation and education programs.

Geoff Harrison, MS, has been working in the field of health and recreation for over 20 years and has been fostering student and staff development at Boise State University since 1998. Geoff serves as the associate director of education and recreation at Boise State University, where he oversees multiple programs and service areas, department partnerships, and initiatives. He also serves as an adjunct faculty for the department of kinesiology. Prior to his work at Boise State, Geoff worked in the fields of publishing, event promotion, and domestic and international adventure travel.

Geoff has served the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education as a committee chair, board member, conference host, and interim national director. In 2010, Geoff was the recipient of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education’s Jim Rennie Leadership Award.

Mat Erpelding, MA, has been working in the field of physical education and outdoor leadership for over 15 years. Currently, he teaches at the College of Western Idaho in the physical education department and at Boise State University in the leadership studies minor. Additionally, Mat guides mountain climbers and teaches courses for the American Alpine Institute and teaches wilderness medicine courses for the Wilderness Medicine Training Center. Before making the transition to outdoor education, Mat worked as a developmental therapist and in the mental health industry.

Mat is a past president of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education and served on committees and the board of directors and as a conference host. In 2006, Mat was the recipient of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education’s Jim Rennie Leadership Award, and in 2010 he received the Instructor of the Year Award from the Wilderness Education Association.

Mat and Geoff co-own Experiential Adventures LLC. They provide training and consulting services to organizations that foster leadership development, help organizations manage change, develop positive organizational cultures that promote success, and build professionalism in outdoor programs through trainings and certifications.

From the Publisher:

Outdoor recreation programming is a growing and diverse field that requires administrators to be ready to work in complex and multidisciplinary environments. Outdoor Program Administration: Principles and Practices will help both seasoned and new administrators—as well as students and emerging professionals—flourish in various settings, including university, military, government, commercial, and nonprofit organizations.

You’ll learn the best contemporary administrative strategies and practices from veteran professionals from the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE). The AORE authors provide extensive coverage of all aspects of administrative duties and responsibilities from a diverse organizational setting.

Outdoor Program Administration: Principles and Practices guides you in developing and sustaining programs in outdoor recreation settings across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. You will reap the benefits of the experience shared by the AORE authors, who also provide questions and critical thinking exercises that will enhance the materials and deepen your understanding.

This reference explores all the issues pertinent to being a successful outdoor program administrator. The book has four sections: Outdoor Program Foundations, Program Design and Implementation, Staffing Considerations, and Facilities and Programs. Topics you’ll delve into include

designing and developing programs;
risk management and legal considerations;
budgeting and financial operations;
marketing and land access (permits);
environmental stewardship;
staff recruitment, supervision, training, and assessment; and
management of indoor climbing walls and challenge courses.

Outdoor Program Administration: Principles and Practices presents material that will help you improve your administrative skills and enhance the programs you oversee. As such, it’s an essential book for your professional library.

Contents

Preface

Part I. Outdoor Program Foundations

Chapter 1. The Outdoor Program Administrator
Geoff Harrison, MS, and Mat Erpelding, MA
Outdoor Program Administration Defined
Outdoor Program Administrator Defined
Skill Sets for Outdoor Program Administrators
Administrative Competence
Acquiring Skills
Professional Maintenance
Administrative Challenges
Summary

Chapter 2. History of Outdoor Recreation in the United States: An Outdoor Program Administrator’s Perspective
Steven P. Guthrie, PhD, Bryan J. Cavins, EdD, and Jerome Gabriel, MEd
The Beginnings of Environmentalism and Outdoor Recreation: 1825 to 1880
The Beginnings of a Profession: 1880 to 1920
National Environmental Consciousness and Outdoor Recreation Evolves: 1920s to 1960s
Adventure Programming Emerges: 1960s to 1990
Outdoor Adventure Programming Today (1990 to Present)
Summary

Chapter 3. Dimensions of Outdoor Recreation Programs
Todd Bauch, MEd, and Steve Hutton, MA
Three Service Sectors of Outdoor Recreation Programs
Common Programmatic Types
Common Facilities or Resources of Outdoor Programs
Outdoor Program Administrative Structures and Models
Summary

Chapter 4. The Future of Outdoor Program Administration
Laurlyn K. Harmon, PhD, and Susan L. Johnson, MS
Evolving Participant Characteristics
Staffing
Professionalization of the Field: Standards, Certifications, Accreditation
Youth and the Outdoors
Technology and the Outdoors
Sustainability
Collaborations and Partnerships
Outcome Assessment
Summary

Part II. Program Design and Implementation

Chapter 5. Administrative Risk Management
Mat Erpelding, MA, and Geoff Harrison, MS
Terms and Definitions of Risk Management
Creating a Comprehensive Risk-Management Plan
Summary

Chapter 6. Designing and Developing Outdoor Recreation and Education Programs
Todd Miner, EdD, and Heidi Erpelding-Welch, MS
Vision
Mission Statement
Strategic Plan
Sustainability
Dealing With Change: Evolve to Survive and Thrive
Summary

Chapter 7. Legal Considerations in Outdoor Recreation
Brent Wilson, JD, and Tracey Knutson, JD
Negligence
Legal Definition (Elements) of Negligence
Negligence and Related Theories of Liability
Defenses Against Negligence
Role of Insurance in Legal Liability Matters
Summary

Chapter 8. Budgeting and Financial Operations of Outdoor Programs
Tim J. Moore, MS, and Geoff Harrison, MS
Budget Components
Budget-Development Strategies
Forecasting Expenses and Revenue
Summary

Chapter 9. Marketing Outdoor Programs
Geoff Harrison, MS, and John McIntosh, PhD
Marketing Basics
Identifying the Market
Marketing Mix
Developing a Marketing Plan
Branding
Marketing Methods
Summary

Chapter 10. Access and Permitting for Use of Public Lands
Rachel M. Peters, MA
Outdoor Programs on Public Lands
Permitting Defined
Management Agencies and Regulations
Permitting Tips
Summary

Chapter 11. Environmental Stewardship
Whitney Ward, PhD, and Will Hobbs, PhD
History of Environmental Stewardship in the United States
Major Impacts of Recreation Today
Applied Environmental Stewardship
Integration of Environmental Stewardship and Recreation
Summary

Chapter 12. Developing Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines for Outdoor Programs
Mat Erpelding, MA, Curt Howell, MA, and Brien Sheedy, MA
Characteristics of Quality Policy, Procedure, and Guideline Documents
Considerations Specific to Developing Policies and Procedures
Developing Administrative Policies and Procedures
Developing Field Policies and Procedures
Summary

Part III. Staffing Considerations

Chapter 13. Staff Recruitment and Supervision
Jeff Turner, PhD, and Leigh Jackson-Magennis, MEd
Human Resource Planning
Staff Selection
Staff Supervision
Summary

Chapter 14. Staff Training
Bruce Saxman, MA, and Tom Stuessy, PhD
Needs Assessment
Staff-Training Progression
Mentoring
Staff-Training Assessment
Mechanisms for Training Assessment and Evaluation of Staff
Staff-Training Designs: Integrated Training Model
Activity-Specific Training
Staff Appraisal
Summary

Chapter 15. Staff Assessment
Jenny Kafsky, PhD, and Mark Wagstaff, EdD
The Basics and Purpose of Staff Assessment
An Effective Environment for Assessment
Assessment Criteria
Assessment Tools
An Effective Assessment System
Summary

Part IV. Facilities and Programs

Chapter 16. Rental Operations
Rob Jones, MS
Planning
Purchasing
Rental Center Operations
Summary

Chapter 17. Indoor Climbing Walls
John Bicknell, MA, and Guy deBrun, MS
History of Artificial Climbing Walls
Climbing Wall Facilities and Construction
Climbing Wall Activities
Climbing Wall Management
Summary

Chapter 18. Challenge Course Management
Christina Carter Thompson, MS, and Adam Bondeson, BA
Challenge Terms
History
Challenge Course Program Design and Outcomes
Primary Influences on Challenge Programming
Challenge Course Facilities
Designing and Choosing a Course
Bidding Process
Building Process
The Challenge Course Administrator
Organizational Support and Resources
Summary

Chapter 19. Land-Based Programming
Curt Howell, MA
Incident Prevention and Incident Response
Cost Analyses
Determining Learning Outcomes
Risk Management
Backpacking
Climbing
Caving Programs
Mountaineering
Ski Programs
Cycling
Summary

Chapter 20. Water-Based Programming
Chris Stec, BS, and Geoff Harrison, MS
Incident Prevention and Incident Response: Needs Assessment
Water-Based Programming: Flat Water
Water-Based Programming: Moving-Water and Whitewater Venues
Water-Based Programming: Open Water
Summary

Chapter 21. Special Events Programming
Brent Anslinger, BS, and Amy Anslinger, BS
Special Event Options
Risk Management for Special Events and Competitions
Assessing and Planning for Your Event
Staffing
Managing the Event
Developing Timelines for Successful Events
Putting the Planning Into Motion
Summary

References and Resources
Index
About the Editors
About the Contributors

Audiences

Reference for outdoor program professionals in university, military, nonprofit, and other settings and for outdoor professional employers. Text for college and university students.

A Proposed New Conference Model for Outdoor Education

Jay Roberts — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:05:00 GMT

I have posted here previously about my views on the current conference structure/environment in outdoor/experiential education but now I would like to propose a specific way forward in the hopes that it might get some folks talking and (just maybe) get the folks with AORE/AEE/WRMC/WEA talking with one another. As the previous sentence reveals, we have a veritable mess of organizations and conference associations for such a small field. While to some degree "diversity is strength" I believe in this particular case it is not. While I do not have current numbers at my fingertips, I would hazard that none of these conferences has attendance over 1,000 and many/most hover between 250-800. I also know, from conversations with folks at the various associations, that budgets are very, very tight. Given this backdrop, does it make sense to have not 1, not 2, but at least 3 different associations and conferences happening around the same time year after year? I don't believe it does.

In my perfect world, we would simply merge at least AEE and AORE into one, larger association and all would be right for the world. For anyone that knows the history of these two "cultures" I would say that my hopes for such a merger are slim at best. But, there are other creative ways forward! I suggest that each year the three conferences (AEE, AORE, WRMC) come together at the same location for their conferences. Participants could then sign up for "packages" that would consist of various "tracks" and/or Special Interest Groups. Cost sharing would consist of a set conference fee plus additional fees for the various tracks signed up for. Many conferences have similar set-ups.

The advantages to this are numerous. All associations would save on conference hosting costs as we could share costs among larger organizations. Vendors would be thrilled with more potential customers and we would likely get higher vendor participation and advertising potential. With more people, we would have better bargaining power with catering, hotels, etc. Imagine a conference titled "International Conference on Outdoor and Experiential Educational" or something of the like that drew 1500-2000 attendees rather than several hundred. Students, vendors, scholars, practitioners could all attend because this would be the ONE conference to attend, to network, and to learn and grow professionally.

It's time to change the paradigm. It's time to think boldly so that we can better serve our constituencies. Are there issues? Sure. But you cannot tell me those are not petty compared with the benefits of a larger gathering of folks. We can make it work. Isn't that, after all, one of the educational tenets we claim to espouse in this field-- collaboration, creativity, and cooperation?

The Science of Experiential Learning

Jay Roberts — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:15:00 GMT

A recent editorial in Nature argues for more experiential, informal curriculum for students in science classes. The editorial titled: “Learning in the Wild” makes the point that informal learning environments are often much more powerful and longer lasting in transfer than formal classroom curricula. They go on to note: “Indeed, researchers say, the personal and idiosyncratic nature of informal science education is precisely what makes it powerful. The question that plagues classroom science — why is this relevant? — never even arises.”

Experiential methodology is getting a little more attention these days as we learn more about how the brain functions in various learning contexts and states. The Nature editorial cites the 2009 report from the National Academies on how people learn in informal settings which can be found here. The National Academies Press also released a very useful text simply titled How People Learn in 2000 that represents a rigorous scientific approach to the issue and summarizes key findings from neuroscience and related studies. Not surprisingly to those of us who advocate for experiential education, these reports support experiential learning methodologies. It would be well worth your time to read these as it is difficult to find rigorous, evidence-based studies of experiential education from such well-regarded sources (e.g. the National Academy of Science). Here is a short-list of findings from the 2000 report:

1. You must work with and address pre-existing knowledge in learners

2. Active learning is a key component to “meta-cognition”

3. Depth of learning is more important than “superficial coverage” of topics

4. Learning is influenced by context. Therefore, attention must be paid to the social aspects of learning

For those who support experiential education, these findings ought to look and sound familiar. They speak to the heart of the experiential educational philosophy and approach. That our “hunches” are now finding support in empirical science is heartening. Here is hoping there are policy makers, school officials, and “curriculum specialists” out there reading more about the science of learning. In the meantime, for the outdoor and experiential educators out there: take heart because the National Academy of Sciences has got your back!

Comfort Zone: Model or metaphor?

Rick Curtis — Mon, 09 May 2011 03:33:00 GMT

I found this research paper from the Australian Journal of Outdoor Education by Mike Brown of the University of Waikato and wanted to share it. Mike presents a very interesting perspective on the Comfort Zone in outdoor education programming.

ABSTRACT: The comfort zone model is widespread within adventure education literature. It is based on the belief that when placed in a stressful situation people will respond by overcoming their fear and therefore grow as individuals. This model is often presented to participants prior to activities with a highly perceived sense of risk and challenge which arouses strong emotional and physical responses to novel tasks (e.g., ropes courses or rock climbing activities). Students are encouraged to think about ‘stretching themselves’ by moving outside their comfort zone, to expand their preconceived limits and by inference learn (and become better people). This paper explores theories from cognitive and social psychology, based on the work of Piaget and Festinger respectively, that underpin the comfort zone model. The perpetuation of this model which uses risk to promote
situations of disequilibrium/dissonance does not find strong support in educational literature. It is therefore suggested that the comfort zone model be reframed as a metaphor, for possible discussion post activity, rather than being used as a model to underpin programming and pedagogy in adventure education settings.

You can read the PDF online.

The State of Outdoor Recreation in the United States

Rick Curtis — Mon, 02 May 2011 02:51:00 GMT

Each year the Outdoor Industry Foundation releases it's Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report which presents an assessment of the level of participation in outdoor sporting activities in the United States. Monitoring these trends are key for outdoor programs to stay focused on what activities are of major interest to different population groups.

Unlike many other sports, outdoor participation among Americans has remained remarkably stable over the last several years - demonstrating impressive resiliency during challenging economic times. According to The Outdoor Foundation's topline report, the rate of participation in outdoor recreation in the United States remained solid in 2010 and at the same level seen in 2008. Nearly half of Americans ages 6 and older, or 137.9 million individuals, participated in at least one outdoor activity in 2010, making 10.1 billion outdoor outings, according to the 2011 Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report. The research shows significant increases in adventure sports such as kayaking, backcountry camping and climbing as well as slight increases in youth participation among those individuals ages 13 - 24.

Published annually by The Outdoor Foundation, the 2011 Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report 2011 is derived from 40,000 online interviews conducted in January 2011/early February 2011. Respondents came from a nationwide sample of individuals and households from the U.S. Online Panel operated by Synovate. A total of 15,086 individual and 23,656 household surveys were completed. The total panel has over 1 million members and is maintained to be representative of the U.S. population. Over-sampling of ethnic groups took place to boost response from typically under-responding groups.

File Size: 496 KB

Download from the Outdoor Industry Foundation (PDF)

Australian Study shows ongoing outdoor education program multiplies life effectiveness skills

Rick Curtis — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:16:00 GMT

A recent Australian study shows teenagers exposed to outdoor education programs develop real life skills that give them a huge advantage over others as they transition into adult life.The study, commissioned by Cranbrook School in Sydney, is the first to follow a group of students who attend four Outward Bound courses as part of their mandatory high school curriculum from Year 7 to 10. "It shows young people taken from the comfort of their homes learn to be self reliant fast in wilderness conditions. They also learn to take responsibility, work in teams, and accept the consequences of their own actions. Their life skills grow with every year, and by their final outdoor experience they are significantly more confident, capable and stable than students who did not participate. They are also far better prepared to initiate, motivate, and lead in later life." The study, led by Dr. James Neill from the University of Canberra, used a variety of measures to assess changes in leadership and other social skills impacted by an ongoing Outward Bound experience.

Experts agree than any outdoor education is better than none. Similar research techniques have been used to measure the effect of short courses – some less than a week - provided by others in the industry – all of which show students developing positive life skills. The Cranbrook Study shows that the benefits are multiplied if students take part in more than one outdoor education course throughout their school years.

You can download a PDF copy of the full report from Outward Bound Australia.

A Call for Better Scholarship in Graduate Outdoor Education

Jay Roberts — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:15:00 GMT

It's another year and once again my in-box is full of survey requests from well-meaning students in various outdoor education graduate programs. Over the last 10 years, I must have completed fifty of these and I am beginning to wonder about their efficacy. While I realize Master's level work is not meant to be a "new contribution to the field," it appears as though we have set the bar awfully low. There is worth to be had in survey style research, to be sure. Brent Bell's "Neighborhood Project" (JEE, 33 (1), 2009) is an excellent example of this sort of research done well. But enough with the survey's sent out by email to every Tom, ***, and Harry that runs an outdoor program in higher education. While I am on this rant, I would also like to suggest that not every form of research needs to fall into the "pre/post" paradigm either. The scientific fetishism in the field seems rappant. Most of these studies are of dubious utility, in my mind, because population sizes are usually very small, timescales are short, and the confounding variables are numerous.

For those interested in other ways of knowing not represented by the current "evidence-based" standards colonizing educational research, I would recommend Biesta and Burbules (2003) Pragmatism and Educational Research as an alternative. It would be great if that text, or others like, were required readings in some of these programs. It would also be great to link the college or university more purposefully with the community in which it is located. More action research, place-based studies, or applied approaches would certainly be welcome.

So what would I like to see in my in-box? How about conceptual studies-- one's that explore questions of race, class, and gender in outdoor education. Or, one's that explore the linkages between outdoor education and education for sustainability? How about the influence of Romanticism on our current thinking about the outdoors? Or, one's that explore the links between what we are learning about the brain in relation to outdoor learning (the emerging eco-psychology field is fascinating in this regard)? How about more work that purposefully integrates outdoor education learning outcomes with K-12 schooling (Michael Gass has been a real pioneer in this sort of work at UNH)? And, if we are going to do qualitative or quantitative (or mixed methods) work moving forward, how about some longitudinal studies or ones that have a significant enough population size for results to actually matter? How about anything, really, that moves us away from the esoteric, the inane, and the shabby. As Historian Page Smith once wrote:

"the vast majority of research turned out in the modern university is essentially worthless. It does not result in any measurable benefit to anything or anybody. It does not push back those omnipresent 'frontiers of knowledge' so confidently evoked; it does not in the main result in greater health or happiness among the general populace or any particular segment of it. It is busywork on a vast, almost incomprehensible scale."

To move Outdoor Education forward in this educational climate, we have an ethical obligation, I believe, to prepare our graduate students with exceptionally high standards of research methodology. So, enough with the surveys. Let's do some real thinking for a change.

An Inconvenient Education: Convocation Address at Earlham College

Jay Roberts — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:51:00 GMT

Text of a talk given at Earlham College, Sept. 1st, 2010 for a convocation on an interdisciplinary approach to Climate Change.

INTRODUCTION

In the few minutes I have, I’d like to speak a bit about the role education plays in the climate change debate. I am concerned here both with how our current models of schooling in the U.S. but in many other parts of the world, too, have contributed to our current situation and what role education might play, in the words of Maxine Greene, imagining things otherwise. It has been almost five years since Al Gore released his popular and controversial documentary An Inconvenient Truth. As I mentioned in the introductory remarks, both nationally and internationally, we seem to have gone backward from that watershed moment. We seem less concerned, less focused, and less politically determined to tackle the environmental challenges before us in relation to climate change. But how or why is this an educational problem? Indeed, if you have seen An Inconvenient Truth, you may have noticed that not once did Al Gore invoke our educational system (either K-12 or Higher Education) as either part of the problem or as a potential ally in generating solutions. This is curious to me. It is as if the sum total of 16 years of institutional socialization, of schooling on a massive scale, the values imparted, the knowledge, skills, and abilities gained—these have no bearing, no impact, on our associations with the natural world.

INCONVENIENT EDUCATION

So, to borrow from Al Gore, I would like to argue in the next few minutes for what I would call an “Inconvenient Education.” Just as Gore titled his movie an “Inconvenient Truth” to suggest that there is something about this truth we do not wish to hear, I have titled this talk an “Inconvenient Education” to argue that the way forward in terms of sustainability and education is likewise “inconvenient.” When we are “inconvenienced” we are interrupted. Our normal patterns of thinking and behaving are halted. Things cease being easy and comfortable. So what might an inconvenient education entail?

PURPOSE OF SCHOOL

First, we ought to step back and re-consider the purposes of school. David Orr, in his provocative essay, “What is Education For?” argues that it is not education per se, but education of a certain kind, that will save us. He notes, in that essay, that the architects of the final solution in Germany, the administrators of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, were products of perhaps the finest educational system in the world at that time. These were well-educated men. And yet they were capable of atrocities that are difficult to imagine and understand. Clearly, their schooling failed them. But to Orr “this is not an argument for ignorance but rather a statement that the worth of education must be now measured against the standards of decency and human survival.” With species extinction rates nearly 100 times the background rate, the health of our oceans and freshwater systems in drastic decline, and a warming planet that not many in the U.S. seem to care about, how can we not ask hard questions about what schooling is for? When we look at the health of our people, our forests, our rivers, and the web of life all around us, I wonder, has our education failed us too? What we are now measuring the worth of our education against?

While we obsess over test scores, accountability metrics, and “seat time,” our children are spending more time in front of screens of various sorts and less time outside. The average American boy or girl spends just four to seven minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day, and more than seven hours each day in front of an electronic screen. Richard Louv coined the term “Nature Deficit Disorder” to describe the impact this has had on the minds, bodies, and spirits of American children. A University of Michigan study, for example, found that between 1981-1997, children’s unstructured outdoor activities fell by 50%. Surely classroom learning is necessary, but it is not sufficient. It is clear to me that we cannot care for something we do not understand, and we cannot understand something that we do not meaningfully interact with. Rachel Carson knew this well. In her essay, “A Sense of Wonder” she writes: “what is the value of preserving and strengthening this sense of awe and wonder, this recognition of something beyond the boundaries of human existence? Is the exploration of the natural world just a pleasant way to pass the golden hours of childhood or is there something deeper? I am sure there is something much deeper, something lasting and significant.” What is education for? A job? Preparation? For what? To what end? It is inconvenient to ask these sorts of questions but if we are to take the present and future challenges of climate change seriously, these are the kinds of questions we must address.

KNOWLEDGE OF MOST WORTH

In addition to questioning what an education is for, another element of an inconvenient education involves questioning what knowledge is of the most worth. This includes both what we are teaching and how we are teaching it. Aldo Leopold recognized this in the 1930’s when he took note of the fact that many in his day viewed the ecological damage wrought by poor farming practices as the result of a lack of education. But Leopold was not so sure of this. He said: “the usual answer to this dilemma is ‘more conservation education.’ No one will debate this, but is it certain that only the volume of education needs stepping up? Is something lacking in the content as well?” In my foundations of education class, for example, I give students a pop-quiz on local knowledge. I ask, for example, if they can name three birds that migrate through this area in the Fall. Or, which vegetables you can safely plant before May 1^st in this area. I ask them to name the reservoir in town where we get our drinking water and the name of the river our Whitewater river eventually flows into. In a class of 55 students, every single student fails. And yet, 100 years ago, an 8 year old would likely get 100%. Perhaps this is not a problem. Many of Earlham students are not from Richmond, the Midwest, or even the U.S. But what does it say about what we value here at Earlham, educationally, when we don’t ask all students to engage with the natural and human history of this place? Author Russell Scott Sanders argues that colleges and universities ought to be assessed as to how many of their graduates stay in the community upon graduation—a homecoming major so to speak. Perhaps this goes too far, but it ought to force us to consider what knowledge really is of the most worth when we consider appropriate responses to climate change? Good people will disagree here: some may wish to emphasize so-called STEM coursework (science, technology, engineering and math) so we can prepare students for the needed technological breakthroughs and work to both reduce our ecological footprint and meet rising population and resource demands. Others might argue for more work on ethics and critical media literacy as a way to respond to the mass-consumerism and individualism that seems ever present in the United States and in other parts of the developed world. Still others may argue for a more place-based, experiential, and community-oriented approach that gives students a sense of agency and active citizenship. Of course, these knowledge domains are not isolated, but rather they interact and are interconnected and interdependent. If that is true, then perhaps what is most important is to teach a “systems thinking” orientation which aims to understand not just the isolated parts but the ways in which the parts come together to form nested and networked wholes.

In addition to what we teach then, an Inconvenient Education would ask us to reconsider how we teach. Are students learning how different subjects and disciplines are connected and interrelated? Are they also asked to work through and experience the consequences of knowledge enacted through projects that are collaborative, relevant and practical? Are they learning systems and holistic thinking and not just broken down and disjointed parts? Environmental Historian Donald Worster, for example, in an essay entitled “Thinking Like A River,” argues that to truly understand our agricultural relation to water we must learn to think differently. This new kind of thinking, he argues, “requires more than technique: [it is] a way of perceiving, a set of mental images, an ethic controlling agricultural policy and practice. It demands, as I have said before, learning to think like a river.” What would schooling look like if the aim was to have everyone thinking like a river?

BEGINNING THE CONVERSATION

The issue, at this point, is not which of these curricular visions is the right one, it’s the fact that we have not yet even begun the conversation. We simply have not considered education as part of the problem and part of possible solutions moving forward. I would ask all of us this simple question: if climate change is as serious as many believe it is, is our current educational response adequate? If the full brunt of the challenges of climate change are truly upon us, how would we educate differently?

INFORMAL CURRICULUM

One final point I would like to make about this inconvenient education—it does not stop at the classroom door. It is important to note that there is another domain to be considered-- the informal curriculum or what some have called the “public pedagogy of the everyday.” What does it communicate, at a place like Earlham for example, when our classroom walls are devoid of color, when the hallways are lined with fake plants, when we don’t know where the food we eat at Saga comes from, and the windows must be opened in winter because we cannot regulate the heat properly? Everything speaks and everything teaches. A truly inconvenient education would constantly pit our values against our actions—noting the areas of incongruence and involving the community in imagining solutions.

CONCLUSION

Chuck Yates once said that the goal of Earlham is simple: we wish to make students comfortable with being uncomfortable. I wonder, are we uncomfortable yet in regards to our individual and collective responsibility to climate change? Do we have the sort of Inconvenient Education we need to challenge us, provoke us, to imagine things otherwise? Can our education give us the will to go about enacting that future in both big and small ways? I think so. But only if we begin to realize the impact education and schooling has on our relation to the health and well-being of this planet. Thank you.

Children & Nature Network releases Natural Leaders Network Toolkit

Outdoor Ed — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:48:00 GMT

The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature. The network provides a critical link between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being.

C&NN has just annnounced the release of the Natural Leaders Network Toolkit. This tool kit is a guide for all youth around the world who want to start Natural Leaders action groups or networks. It’s like a road map to figure out how to get started and where to go with your work. It offers some cool ideas and gives examples of how you might build your own Network. You will find stories of current Natural Leaders and the work they are doing, as well as the history of the Natural Leaders Network and how Natural Leaders fit into the greater movement to reconnect kids to nature. Go ahead, download it now and start reading.

The Children & Nature Network launched the Natural Leaders Network in 2008 to encourage young leaders to take decisive action against nature-deficit disorder. With founding support from the Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors, and the corporate support of The North Face, we are ready to take on this challenge.

Reports from the Children & Nature Network

June is the nation’s Great Outdoors month, proclaimed by the President of the United States and all 50 state governors. The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) is among those organizations celebrating and supporting Great Outdoors month. C&NN has chosen the occasion to announce the release of two major studies it commissioned with funding support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The “American Beliefs Associated with Children’s Nature Experience Opportunities: Development and Application of the EC-NES Scale,” was conducted by the Maryland-based independent non-profit learning research Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) at the request of the Children & Nature Network. Authors are John Fraser, Ph.D.; Joe E. Heimlich, Ph.D.; and Victor Yocco. This is the first study to establish a baseline measure of the attitudes of the American public concerning the importance of direct experiences in nature for children’s healthy development. Among its findings, the survey indicates that parents and others in the public see the benefits to children’s physical development and their love of nature from nature-based experiences, but do not tend to see the cognitive, emotional and social benefits from those experiences. The study also revealed a wide age differentiation—the younger the adult participating in the survey, the less likely he or she is to see the benefits for children’s healthy development from these experiences in nature.

While the public reports positive attitudes about children playing outdoors in nature, the respondents also reported barriers. The most dominant was concern about safety. Respondents reported significant differences between locations where they played as children, such as woods, and where they let children play today, such as indoors. They identified “wilder” places like woods, streams and ponds as the riskiest locations.

To C&NN, this discrepancy strongly suggests that the movement must develop new ways for parents to feel safer introducing their children to nature, such as Family Nature Clubs (http://www.childrenandnature.org/movement/natureclubs/).

“We believe this landmark study is the first but not the last of its kind,” said Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Children & Nature Network. “During the next five years, we hope to see the children and nature movement reach more people, of all income and cultural groups, and that, in the next survey, they report an even stronger appreciation for the importance of children’s direct experiences with nature for their healthy development —along with a greater willingness to make those opportunities possible for every child, every day.”

The second study, C&NN’s Grassroots Survey, developed by the Children & Nature Network’s national Grassroots Leadership Team with independent analysis of the results by professional evaluator, M. Lynette Fleming, Ph.D., provides a baseline measure of the growth of the “children and nature movement” as reported by grassroots leaders and representatives of the more than 70 campaigns working to reconnect children and nature. These campaigns are registered on the Children & Nature Network’s map of the movement (www.childrenandnature.org), located in more than 40 states—spanning cities, states and regions. These campaigns, in total, report between 900,000 to 1.5 million participants during 2009.

Among other findings, reported as changes since their children and nature campaigns started:
• 74% of the campaigns report an increase in community support;
• 71% report increased awareness of the importance of nature for children’s healthy development;
• 71% report increased media attention; and
• More than half report an increased number of people participating in events and programs.

In addition, Fleming reports a trend toward collaborative efforts to support the growth of the children and nature movement, rather than individual efforts by individual organizations and agencies—locally, regionally and nationally.

“This report is the first to quantify the numbers of people reached as well as the value of the resources that the Children & Nature Network provides in the effort to nourish and support this movement,” said Betsy Townsend, Founding Chair of C&NN’s national Grassroots Leadership Team and a member of the C&NN Board of Directors. “I am inspired by these indicators of progress—and compelled by how much work we all still need to do to reverse the trend that Richard Louv, co-founder and Chairman of C&NN, has called nature-deficit disorder.”

“I am heartened by the rapid growth of the children and nature movement, evidenced in part by these studies,” said Richard Louv, C&NN co-founder, Chairman, and author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. “However, more research is needed on a number of fronts. And we are a long way from reaching our goal of every child experiencing their birthright of experience in the natural world, which we believe offers better health, improved learning abilities, and a sense of wonder.”

2009 Independant Baseline Study
The “American Beliefs Associated with Children’s Nature Experience Opportunities: Development and Application of the EC-NES Scale,” is the first study to establish a baseline measure of the attitudes of the American public concerning the importance of direct experiences in nature for children’s healthy development.Download PDf

2009 Grassroots Survey
The second study, C&NN’s Grassroots Survey, developed by the Children & Nature Network’s national Grassroots Leadership Team with independent analysis of the results by professional evaluator, M. Lynette Fleming, Ph.D., provides a baseline measure of the growth of the “children and nature movement” as reported by grassroots leaders and representatives of the more than 70 campaigns working to reconnect children and nature. Download PDF

Health Benefits to Children from Contact with the Outdoors & Nature
The following is a synthesis of selected research and studies on health benefits. These studies, along with others, were originally published as part of C&NN's four volumes of annotated bibliographies of research and studies listed below. Download PDF

Children's Contact with the Outdoors & Nature: A Focus on Educators and Educational Settings
The following is a synthesis of selected research and studies that focus on education and educational settings. These studies, along with others, were originally published as part of C&NN's four volumes of annotated bibliographies of research and studies listed below. Download PDF

Children and Nature 2009: A Report on the Movement to Reconnect Children to the Natural World
Download PDF [1.1MB]

C&NN Community Action Guide: Building the Children & Nature Movement from the Ground Up
Download PDF [1.4MB]

Outdoor Nation: Empowering the nation's youth outdoors

Outdoor Ed — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:06:00 GMT

Outdoor Nation is a growing community of young Outsiders -- artists, athletes, advocates and ambassadors -- who have joined together to champion the outdoors. This new youth-led movement will reclaim, redefine and rediscover the outdoors - building an Outdoor Nation for this and future generations.

How to Get Involved!

Share this application http://www.outdoornation.org/summit with your networks: Facebook, Twitter, emails, friends and colleagues and encourage them to apply.

Outdoor Nation will:

Mobilize a movement by empowering young people across the country to champion the outdoors and outdoor issues
Influence federal, state and local outdoor policies and programs
Provide advice and a youthful perspective to outdoor companies and organizations
Create a community that shares outdoor passions and organizes outdoor outings
Host events that bring the Outdoor Nation together - providing networking and training opportunities

Outdoor Youth Summit and Festival

On June 19 and 20, thousands of Outsiders from Outdoor Nation will join together for the world's first two-day Outdoor Youth Summit and Festival in New York City's famed Central Park. This event will unite young people from across the country with a common mission: to champion the outdoors and advance a youth-driven movement.

Outdoor Nation Festival

On June 19th, thousands of young people of all ages will join together to celebrate the active, outdoor lifestyle. This multi-faceted event will turn the world's iconic urban park into an adventure playground and festival - fusing pop culture with an outdoor ethic and lifestyle. All activities will be inclusive, open to the public and free of charge.

Outdoor Nation Summit

On June 20th, Outdoor Nation will bring together young people from all 50 states to take part in an Outdoor Youth Summit to develop a national agenda, set priorities and outline strategies to champion the outdoors. The Summit will enable young leaders to craft and deliver their message of change to the country as well as exchange ideas, skills and connections -- building a strong Outdoor Nation for all.

Coalition

Supported by a coalition of more than 40 organizations - including The Outdoor Foundation, The North Face, REI, National Park Service and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation -- Outsiders will receive the tools, training and social support they need to spur a cultural revolution that leads to a strong Outdoor Nation.

Future Trends in Outdoor Education

Jay Roberts — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:16:00 GMT

As we turn the corner away from the 00’s or the “aughts” or whatever historians will choose to call the last decade, it’s worth taking a moment to look ahead toward future trends and issues that will affect things in the outdoor education field for the next ten years or so. Future prognosticating is, of course, a dangerous game and I make no claims that my reading of the tea leaves is any better than anyone else’s guesses. However, I do keep up to date on the goings on in the field as best as I can and spend a good deal of time talking about these issues with colleagues at other programs, institutions, and conferences. So, without further ado, here are my top five trends (in no particular order) in Outdoor Education for the 2010’s...

1. LOCALISM: The impact of the “great recession” is certainly being felt in outdoor education. People are “nesting” more, staying closer to home, and looking for ways to enjoy the outdoors in simpler, more frugal ways. This dovetails nicely to the emerging localism movement connected to broader sustainability and environmental shifts in certain segments of the population. Interest in gardening, local green spaces, and getting kids out in nature is on the rise across the board. How can outdoor education, as a field, tap into this social shift in a way that democratizes nature and challenges some of the elitism and narcissism that has defined outdoor pursuits over the last several decades?

2. SUSTAINABILITY: It’s hip, it’s green, and it’s everywhere. Whether you think this new movement is shallow or deep, it is certainly influential. Equipment manufacturers are going green, ski slopes and other outdoor industries are ramping up sustainability efforts, and even travel and guide purveyors like REI are offering carbon off-sets for eco-tourist travel. Green gear lists for programs are on the rise as are attempts to lower the carbon footprints of everything from college outdoor programs to summer camps to environmental education centers. How can outdoor education act as an example of sustainable operations and education moving forward?

3. ACCESS: Population increases and the impacts of urbanization and suburbanization are placing incremental pressures on our natural recreation and wilderness areas. We are, in many respects, “loving them to death.” Yosemite and Yellowstone have smog alerts and traffic jams. Getting a permit in some places is like winning the lottery. As pressures increase, guided outdoor education groups will be under increasing pressure to find less-crowded and permit-driven recreation areas. Programmers can stay ahead of the curve by looking for less popular climbing areas, rivers, and trails that serve educational purposes without adding to the crowds.

4. NATURAL HISTORY: Knowing how to identify trees, birds, flowers, and the like use to be a stronger part of our national K-12 curriculum as well as the informal curriculum passed down from generation to generation. We have several generations of kids and young adults who cannot identify even the most basic plant and animal species in their own backyards let along the basic geological history or watersheds of their region. As the “no child left inside” movement and the concern for childhood obesity rates grows, re-kindling a love of the more-than-human world through natural history is, well, “natural.” How can outdoor educators leverage this emerging need into programs and new educational opportunities?

5. STANDARDIZATION: Travel to many places in northern Europe or New Zealand and Australia and you will find a professionalization and standardization of outdoor education that we have yet to see here in the States. Ropes courses, climbing walls, and other outdoor education sub-fields are all feeling the pressure toward more national standards. This is both a good and bad thing. With increased standardization comes increased need for certifications and training. This makes access into the field more expensive as a career option. But it also, potentially, increases the quality of the educational product and process. Yet, too much emphasis on “merit badges” can take the flexibility and life out of a field that has long thrived on passion, creativity, and sound judgement over rules, credentials, and bureaucracy. How will the field wrestle with the need for quality control against the strong legacy of individual freedom?

Those are my top five. I would be interested in hearing from others. What with the 2010’s hold for outdoor education?

Legislative Alert: Commercial Drivers Licenses Could be Required for Drivers of 9-15 passenger vehicles under new Senate Bill

Rick Curtis — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:40:00 GMT

On December 17, 2009 the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee passed S. 554: Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2009. It now is set to go to the full Senate. All outdoor programs should be aware of this bill and its potential impact on your program.

The full language of the bill that is of concern is show below.

SEC. 7 IMPROVED COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE TESTING.

(b) Modification of Requirements for Commercial Driver’s License Passenger-Carrying Endorsement- The Secretary shall establish by regulation a requirement that a driver shall have a commercial driver’s license passenger-carrying endorsement in order to operate a commercial motor vehicle and transport not less than 9 and not more than 15 passengers (including a driver) in interstate commerce for compensation.

SEC. 10. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION PROGRAMS.

(1) PROGRAM REQUIRED- In order to receive a grant pursuant to section 31102 of this title, a State shall conduct an annual safety inspection program for commercial motor vehicles, including motor carriers transporting not fewer than 9 and not more than 15 passengers (including a driver), that receives approval from the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3).

While much of the legislation is admirably designed to improve safety in commercial buses the proposed requirement in Section 7 that Commercial Driver's Licencense (CDLs) be required for drivers operating 9-15 passenger vehicles across state lines will have significant implications for outdoor programs across the United States. Many outdoor programs have moved away from 15-passenger vans to 10-12 passenger vehicles and up to now have been exempt from CDL requirements since their primary business is not 'transportation for hire.' Should this law pass in its current form many programs would be unable to provide enough CDL-qualified drivers to operate. This is especially true for college and university programs that often utilize student drivers.

The proposed requirements for annual safety inspections outlined in Section 10 of the bill could also have cost and other implications for outdoor programs.

A number of groups including American Camp Association, America Outdoors, the Trade Association of Paddlesports and others have commented on the bill, most taking the stand the the bill is overly broad and that the requirements as stated would have a significant negative impact on outdoor programs around the country.

OutdoorEd.com wants to encourage all outdoor professionals write your congress person now to recommend ammendments to the bill. It's very easy. The first step is to identify your Senators. Go to www.congress.org and find the GET INVOLVED section in the middle of the page. Enter your zip code to find your Senators and how to contact them. You can use the online Web Contact form to contact your Senators directly.

The following language has been suggested. It can be modified to address the specific needs of outdoor programs, outfitters, camps, and college outdoor programs.

The Honorable (insert name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator ________________

I am writing to express concerns about provisions in S. 554 which require enhanced Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDL) for drivers of 9 to 15 passenger vans operated by small businesses that cross state lines. The proposed legislation requires a CDL and vehicle inspections even if transportation is incidental to the purpose of the business. This new regulatory requirement will make it very difficult for small businesses like mine to find drivers with CDLs. The legislation also requires increased training and testing requirements for CDL drivers. Ironically, a business providing similar services in competition with mine whose vans do not cross state lines will not be required to obtain CDL's for van drivers.

We believe many small businesses such as ours are being caught in a regulatory net cast for other transportation providers, where transportation is the primary purpose of the business. The CDL requirement, with its more stringent testing requirements, may force some outfitters and guides providing recreation services out of business.

Therefore, I am urging you to support provisions that exempt outfitting and guiding businesses from the CDL and inspection requirements where transportation is not the primary purpose of the business. For example, our primary service is providing outfitting and recreation services. We transport our customers to an area where the services are provided and sometimes cross state lines to do so.

Below, please support inclusion of the following modifications to the legislation.

Section 7 B - MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE PASSENGER-CARRYING ENDORSEMENT.

At the end of the paragraph insert: In establishing such regulations, the Secretary shall not require a driver to have such an endorsement where the transportation of passengers by motor vehicle for compensation is not the principal line of business of the motor carrier providing the transportation service.

Section 10 - COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION PROGRAMS

(a) (1) at the end of the paragraph insert

(a)(1) Annual Inspection Program please add: In establishing such regulations, the Secretary shall not require a motor carrier to have such an inspection where the transportation of passengers by motor vehicle for compensation is not the principal line of business of the motor carrier.

Thank you for your support for small business. I look forward to hearing from you about this matter.

Sincerely,

Professional Development For Outdoor Educators

Rick Curtis — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:40:00 GMT

Fall is coming and for many of us, particularly in college and universities, our busy season is starting. In just a few weeks I'll be sending out almost 1,000 students on 6-day backpacking trips across the east coast. In order to help other people develop their programs I've posted the Outdoor Action Program Leader's Manual for our outdoor orientation program. The complete manual is available for you to adapt to your program and is available at the Outdoor Ed Community at Outdoor Orientation Program Leader's Manual.

Conferences

Fall is also conference time, one of the major ways that outdoor educators expand their skills. I'd like to encourage all of you to take advantage of three of the most valuable conferences this fall.

Wilderness Risk Management Conference: October 14 - 16, Durham, NC - The core objective of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) is to offer an outstanding educational experience to help you mitigate the risks inherent in exploring, working, teaching, and recreating in wild places. The full workshop listing and registration information is avaliable online at WRMC Conference Home Page.

Association for Experiential Education Conference: October 29 - November 1, Montreal, Canada - Each fall, more than 900 attendees come together at the Annual International AEE Conference for professional development and networking. Join us in Montreal if you want to effect change in your work, your life, your community and beyond. You'll leave the conference with the tools, information and inspiration to make a positive impact in the world through the philosophy and principles of experiential education. Visit the AEE International Conference Home Page.

Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education Conference: November 5 - 7, Minneapolis, MN - The AORE annual conference brings outdoor recreation professionals and students together for networking, professional development and information sharing activities and opportunities. The conference includes educational sessions, skill workshops and certifications, keynote addresses and peer networking opportunities at a unique conference site each fall. For more information about 2009 AORE conference workshops, presentations, keynote speakers, social gatherings, lodging, rates, and more, visit the AORE 2009 Conference Home Page.

When someone you know dies in the wilderness, it's not always the end - National Geographic Adventurer article by Andrew McCarthy

Outdoor Ed — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:33:00 GMT

On June 26, 1996 a tragedy took place on a NOLS course in the Absaroka Range in Wyoming. It was day 24 of the course and a group of students, including Katy Brain were on their final expedition. During a stream crossing Katy and another student were swpt downstream. One student was able to struggle back to shore. Katy drowned in the river. The incident had a profound impact on NOLS. Andrew McCarthy, one the the instructors on the course returns to the site of the tragic accident twelve years later. He talks about the incident in the August/September issue of National Geographic Adventurer magazine.

Teaching is Listening, Learning is Talking

Jay Roberts — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:47:00 GMT

Teaching is listening, learning is talking. This wonderful rule of thumb, from the educator and writer, Deborah Meier , reminds us that real learning comes, in large part, from being actively involved in the educational moment. Experiential educators have long known this and frequently advocate for teaching that involves the learner and does not, as Paulo Freire famously described, treat students as empty "banks" in which to deposit information. I once heard a feisty school superintendent from Texas describe this method as the "sit, get, spit, and forgit" model of teaching and learning.

While many in progressive education have believed active learning to be far more effective, definitive scientific evidence has been difficult to come by. There are mountains of educational studies, research, and journals advocating for this method or that, and educational conservatives and progressives both have virtually unlimited amounts of data from which to cherry-pick evidence to support their particular pedagogical approaches. There have been very few studies that have risen above the fray to clearly and succinctly shown significant, generalizable results. Until now.

One of the most respected scientific journals, Science, recently (and without much media attention), published a study that, in its simplicity, is astounding in terms of its significance. "Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions," published in the January 2nd edition of Science (vol. 323) is one of those simple research studies that yields powerful results. In the study, researchers used in-class "clickers" (imagine the "ask the audience" function in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) to have students answer a conceptual question in class. Then without revealing the answer, the researchers had the students discuss their answer with a neighbor and then "re-vote" after the peer discussion time.

As might be expected, the number of students clicking on the correct answer increased following the peer discussion. We might expect this because students who originally missed the question might be lucky enough to sit next to "Mr. Smarty Pants" who helped them figure out the correct answer. OK. No big deal right?

These researchers took it a step further. They wanted to find out whether peer discussion, in and of itself, increased conceptual understanding irrespective of a student sitting next to Mr. Smarty Pants or not. So, after they asked the first question and performed the peer discussion and re-vote, they asked a second question. This question was what they called "isomorphic" in that it was related, conceptually, to the first question but it required conceptual transfer from the original question. At no point during this exercise was the correct answer to the first question revealed (thus controlling for the Mr. Smarty Pants scenario). The results were astounding.

The number of students who answered the first question correctly increased after peer discussion (again, as expected). But, the number of students who answered the first question wrong, then changed their answer to the correct one after peer discussion also tended to answer the second, isomorphic question correctly. Even more significant, students who got the first question wrong both times still improved on the second question (over random guessing). So what does this all mean and why is it significant enough to appear in Science?

This study shows, very simply but very powerfully, that students learn more and they learn better through talking. Student peer discussion, rather than a waste of time or pedagogical "fluff" as some conservative educational theorists have long argued, significantly improves student conceptual understanding. Indeed, much more than getting the right answer from Mr. Smarty Pants, the students that got question one wrong twice benefited from literally "talking it out" in order to understand new concepts. As the researchers themselves say, "We speculate that when [these students] discussed, they were making sense of the information, but were unable to apply their new knowledge until presented with a fresh question on the same concept."

This simple study provides strong evidence to something experiential educators have long advocated. Students must be involved in their own learning. The educational process must be active and social, not passive and individual. Rather than "seat time" and time "on-task" as the dominant currency of classroom practice, it's high time we start listening to our students (and letting them talk more to each other) to improve academic perfomance. Teaching is listening and learning is talking.

Why you should care about "twittering"

Jay Roberts — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Twitter? Tweeting? Twibes? Come on, you say, isn't all that stuff ridiculous? No, it isn't. Used in certain ways, twittering is an amazing tool that allows you to "map the discourse" of any particular topic or field that you may be interested in. Used properly, twittering gives you access to people, topics, and resources that can help you create virtual communities and networks, generate new ideas, and anticipate trends. If you are involved in the outdoor, environmental, and/or experiential education fields, twittering, done right, has amazing potential. I have been "twittering" for awhile now and here is what I have learned along the way.

First, twittering is much more than the update function from Facebook on steroids. Sure, you can use it that way (e.g. "I am now going out for coffee," "I just got on the plane," "lying on a beach in Puerto Vallarta" ) but to use it purposefully, you need to be more careful and deliberate. Download (for free) a twitter application platform (like tweetdeck http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/). This allows you to set automatic search functions for anyone tweeting on a topic of interest to you and also display tweets in a quickly scan-able format. My search terms are: experiential education, environmental education, outdoor education, education, and climate change. You can also combine terms into one search (outdoor + experiential education). Once this is set up, it literally allows you to see who is tweeting on those topics from all over the world-- pretty cool! I have used tweets and links I have found from tweets in my research, my classes, and to scan for recent events and news that I ought to be aware of in my fields of interest.

Don't follow just anybody. Make sure they are tweeting purposefully about the topic(s) you care about. The last thing you need is some joker who tweets every five minutes about picking his nose. Post thoughtfully. Just as you should not follow the joker above, don't become the same said joker above. When you have a question, find a cool website, or have something you want to get out there into the tweet-o-sphere, go for it!

Join a "twibe." A twibe is a special interest group on Twitter (it's a brand new function). I started one called "Experiential Education" http://www.twibes.com/group/ExperientialEducation. These can be sites for networking, information sharing, and mobilization on matters of importance to the twibe.

If you are a business or organization, you can also create your own organizational twitter profile. This lets you update folks about events that you may be hosting, new products you wish to feature, or get out any other news. If you are good and you get lots of followers, it can be a tremendous marketing tool. The Wilderness Program at Earlham has a twitter profile and we use it to announce special events to the community. It's a whole lot easier than updating a web-page and more efficient than Facebook.

The experiential/outdoor field cannot be resistant to technology (in fact, any cursory look at the latest gear shows that we are in fact quite the opposite). Yet, sometimes, we get caught in the mindset that computer-based technology somehow diminishes the Good life. This is not necessarily so. In fact, used properly, places like outdoored.com, blogs, and yes... twitter can advance the field by more effectively and efficiently linking communities of interest in ways we couldn't have dreamed of even 10 years ago.

So go on, step out of that comfort zone and fire off a tweet or two! http://www.twitter.com

Is "Smart" the new "Green"?

Jay Roberts — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:16:00 GMT

Watching and listening to "the discourse" on environmentalism in the popular press has been fascinating over the last five years. The sheer number of descriptors used to try to "brand" environmentalism for the 21st century seem to increase right along with our carbon emissions. Who are the losers in this game?

1. "Preservation/Conservation." Too "retro" and old-fashioned. Seems against "progress."

2. "Environmentalist" Too exclusive and cliche. Brings to mind birkenstocks, beards, and patchoulli.

3. "Organic." See above. Plus, what happens to "organic" when canned beans from China sold at Walmart are "organic"?

4. "Wilderness." The post-modernists took this one down. An environmental ideal without humans in it, hmmm....

5. "Sustainable Development." A classic oxymoron. Like "military intelligence." Or, "fresh frozen."

6. "Bio-regionalism." Sounds like something a professor cooked up in "ye olde ivory tower."

The winners?

1. "Sustainability." Lop off the "development" part and it sounds much better! Who cares if no one knows what it means!

2. "Eco." You can put the prefix in front of anything. "Eco-schools," "eco-parks," "eco-design," etc.

3. "Local." Appeals to our American, Mom-and-apple pie roots.

4. "Green." It cannot be as easily stereotyped as "tree-hugging environmentalist." And corporate America is on board.

But my sense is that all these may lose out to perhaps the best, most powerful, all-inclusive descriptor that has recently emerged. "Smart." Who doesn't want to be "smart"? A recent IBM advertisement brought this home to me. It featured scientists and engineers all over the world talking about "smart cities," "smart traffic flow," "smart energy grids," etc. "Smart" ties into our technological and scientific fetish. It implies that we don't need to stop progress, we just need to be "smarter." It appeals to innovation, to capitalism, and to optimism. It also appeals to our "flattened" world. This is not a euro-centric ideal. We can imagine "smart schools," "smart cars," "smart urban planning." And, importantly, it is hard to stereotype and pigeon-hole. If you are not "for" smart cars and cities what are you for, "dumb" cars and cities? Finally, it is not tied to the "environment" per se which avoids the "tree hugger" issues. Republicans, democrats, libertarians... we can all agree to be "smarter" about our designs, our living, and our consumption patterns.

Of course, there will be critics. "Smart" doesn't imply much humility. And, it seems awfully anthropocentric. But, we need visions, ideals, and a language that appeals not to the fringe but to the all important "radical center." Being "smart" may mean using the best of technology and innovation but it need not exclude the wisdom gained from more traditional cultures or long forgotten ways of being and thinking. A perfect example of this can be seen in the short film about the Druk White Lotus School in Ladahk, India http://bit.ly/ivdn0. Now that school, that vision, is "smart" in every sense of the word.

Words matter. Foucault once said that "language is power." Creating an inclusive, open, and inviting social movement is, in the end, the "smart" thing to do.

Education, Climate Change, and Obama's Failure of Imagination

Jay Roberts — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:37:00 GMT

OK, so we get it...don't we? Climate change is human-induced and the increasing amounts of greenhouse gases we are putting into the atmosphere have a direct effect on global temperatures. This has serious and long term consequences for all life on this planet. Al Gore made this clear in Inconvenient Truth. Our new president seems to be on board (chalk one up in the "win" column for environmentalism). But not so fast. Here is the thing: why is it that when we talk of solving the climate crisis the conversation never (or very, very rarely) turns to our schooling system? President Obama is quick to call education one of the three top priorities moving forward (what journalist Jonathon Alder coined "HEE" -- Health Care, Energy, and Education). But when he talks of education his rhetoric consistently slides into the economic purposes of school. We need to improve our schools in order to compete with China and India for the "jobs of the 21st century." Perhaps this is true. But while it may be a necessary condition, it is not sufficient. How might we educate for human flourishing? We all know that economic valuations do not tell the entire story (if someone offered you 1 million dollars for your daughters' left arm would you sell it?). Education and schooling cannot just be about producing better workers. We also need better citizens, better stewards, better change agents.

So, why don't we talk about schools when we speak about the agenda of initiatives needed to tackle climate change? It is something we all (at least in the US) experience for 12-16 years of our lives. Schools are one of the strongest social institutions of enculturation we have. Through schools, certain values, assumptions, and behaviors become normalized. So the big question is: how does our current schooling system contribute to the climate crisis? There are a precious few writers and thinkers who tackle this question. David Orr is one of them. In Earth in Mind he famously states: "Toward the natural world [Education] emphasizes theories, not values; abstraction rather than consciousness; neat answers instead of questions; and technical efficiency over conscience.... My point is simply that education is no guarantee of decency, prudence, or wisdom... It is not education, but education of a certain kind, that will save us" (p. 8)

Tackling the climate crisis is an "all hands on deck" initiative. It will involve all spheres of human activity: policy, economics, philosophy, religion, science, etc. But we cannot leave out education. We don't come to a relationship that we have with what David Abrams called the "more than human world" out of a vacuum. We learned the sense of alienation we currently experience. But the good news is, we can unlearn it. We can imagine new ways forward. We can start again. It will take adding an "E" to the three "R's". It is no longer sufficient for us to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic divorced from the environment. "Eco-literacy" must be our new educational ideal. Because, it isn't more education, Mr. President, but education of a certain kind that will save us.

Race, class, climate change, and outdoor education

Jay Roberts — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT

A recent post on climate change and race (http://tinyurl.com/b6fzp7) brings up an issue that really needs to be on the forefront of outdoor and environmental education moving forward. It is becoming increasingly clear that climate change will become the defining issue of our times. Just as with civil rights in the 1960's, this will require sustained and imaginative work on the part of our education system (both formal and informal). Recent surveys show that the percentage of citizens claiming that the "science is mixed" on human caused climate change is on the rise. Worse, even among those who believe it to be a human-caused problem, there is a high percentage who don't feel that it is an immediate threat (http://tinyurl.com/cc6uuo). Clearly, we have not just technological and scientific work to do, we have educational work to do. I call this the importance of both "outer" work (the work of technical problem solving that comes from policy changes, technological advances, scientific research, and economic modeling for example) and "inner work" (the work of education, of faith-based institutions, community organizing, etc.).

Outdoor, environmental, and experiential education specialize, it seems to me, in this "inner work." And yet, we continue to be a very exclusive culture group. We rely on images of humans-in-nature that typically involve the lone white male standing on the mountaintop staring into vastness (check out any current outdoor magazine for examples). The market for outdoor lifestyles demonizes Walmart while selling clothes, equipment, cars, and other "green" commodities that are unreachable by a large percentage of the US population (not to mention the developing world). We amplify the false dichotomy between "wilderness" and civilization (see: http://tinyurl.com/ac7cav) . We sell expeditions and experiences to sublime and far away places so that we can leave the city and suburbs behind to experience solitude or learn about the natural world. Does this sound like a model that invites a larger coalition to meet the present and future challenges of climate change?

People like Marjora Carter (http://www.majoracartergroup.com/) understand this. Until and unless the outdoor and environmental education fields truly examine how we might be ethically and morally bound to actively work toward limiting human suffering and not just simply promoting middle class leisure, we are complicit in the climate change problem no matter what our personal politics or lifestyles. It is time for us to face, full on, the issues of environmental justice. The conflicts between race, class, and our common constructions of the field can no longer be ignored. It is not a question of destroying the good work that many have done and continue to do in the name of outdoor and environmental education. De-construction is not destruction. It opens up space for an essential component of the inner work needed to address climate change: solidarity.

How can we extend our projects to link with other projects? How can we form broader coalitions-- maintaining (and shifting) our identity while connecting to others? The emerging back-to-the-land movements around permaculture, community gardens, and bio-regionalism provide one such place. Place-based education offers some intriguing ways forward. There are surely others. If we are to address the clear and pressing problems of the "inner work" of climate change we must heed Einstein's classic maxim: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

Self Esteem and Mountaineering

Outdoor Ed — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:15:00 GMT

by Paul Auerbach, M.D.

reposted with permission from the Medicine for the Outdoors Blog

The journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, published by the Wilderness Medical Society, always has a number of very interesting articles of significance to the layperson outdoor medicine enthusiast.

"Students Experience Self-Esteem Improvement During Mountaineering," by Saeid Bahaeloo-Horeh and Shervin Assari (WEM volume 19, pages 181-185, 2008), was a study of 54 students from different universities in the city of Tehran, Iran who participated in a mountaineering program. Using a self-esteem scale, the participants were measured before and after the mountaineering activity. By the measures used, it was discovered that their self-esteem was improved. Interestingly, the self-esteem correlated with the degree of bodily pain reported, and was also correlated with an improvement in mental health and depression. It did not correlate with age, gender, marital status, prior personal or family history of mountaineering, prior history of mountain sickness, or reaching the summit (of mount Damavind).

The authors note the historical belief that sports activities build self esteem. However, this has never before been quantified for outdoor or wilderness activities. Their findings make sense, from the perspective that positive achievement should lead to an improvement in self-esteem and how one views oneself.

It is intriguing to note that there may be a lessening of depression, or tendencies towards depression. It is not possible from this study to ascertain how long this effect might persist. Many outdoor educators have observed that persons who suffer from clinical depression often do not find a significant improvement in mood by participating in outdoor recreation, and may even be disappointed by the experience when their depression is not lessened by their activities. The logical way to think about that observation against the findings of this study is that there are many variables to a situation, such as the cause and severity of depression (or any mental illness), the specific effects of an activity, the physiology and emotional state of individuals, and so forth. However, it is encouraging to note that a sense of accomplishment from a relatively brief mountaineering program can have such a laudatory effect on how a person views him or herself. Furthermore, without a positive correlation related to reaching the summit, it is fair to say that it is the activity, or "the journey," that is important.

Saeid Bahaeloo-Horeh, MD; Shervin Assari, MD

Introduction.—Despite ample evidence in the literature of the correlation between sports participation in general and self-esteem, there is a dearth of information regarding the probable impact of specific sporting activities on self-concept. We, therefore, sought to assess the effect of mountaineering on self-esteem and its correlates in university students.

Methods.—This longitudinal study recruited 54 students (male 26%, female 74%) from different universities in the capital city of Iran, Tehran. The students participated in a mountaineering program in Mt. Damavand in July 2006. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), SF-36, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were completed by all the participants before and after this activity. Their demographic data and mountaineering experience were also collected.

Results.—Mean RSES after climbing was significantly higher than before the experience (24.78 ± 2.4 vs. 23.67 ± 3.3; P = .002). Self-esteem was correlated with bodily pain, and its improvement was correlated with mental health and depression (P < .05). Self-esteem and its improvement were not significantly correlated with age, sex, marital status, prior personal and family history of mountaineering, past history of mountain sickness, and reaching the summit (P > .05).

Conclusion.—This study showed that participation in a single mountaineering program improved students' sense of self-esteem. We suggest that taking up this activity might have benefits for students with depression.

New Zealand Journal of Outdoor Education - Call for Manuscripts

Outdoor Ed — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:31:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce the 2008 issue of the New Zealand Journal of Outdoor Education and the call for manuscripts for the 2009 and 2010 issues.

The 2008 issue includes:

Outdoor Education: Opportunities provided by a place based approach.Mike Brown
Situational leadership for developing group culture Chris Jansen
Weaving the threads: challenges encountered while educating for sustainability in outdoor education David Irwin
An Economic Impact Scale for Outdoor Health and Safety Management W Guy Scott & Helen M Scott
Sense of Community Among High Mountain Travellers in South America Mary Breunig &Timothy S. OConnell

The 2009 issue will be a standard issue and we are now accepting submissions. Contributor guidelines are included below.

2010 Special Edition on Place-based approaches to Outdoor Education

The NZJOE will present its first special issue in 2010. This themed issue will focus on research and practice related to place-based approaches to outdoor education.

It has been suggested that our experiences of places are fundamental and inseparable from our lived experiences of the world (Park, 1995; Wattchow, 2006). Place is not merely the geographical location of activity, rather it is a means of understanding the overlapping realms of individual, cultural and natural phenomena in human experience. This issue is interested in exploring outdoor educations role in understanding place and the potential for addressing issues of placelessness.

This special edition aims to provide a fresh perspective on approaches to outdoor education which take situated and place-based aspects of education as a central tenet of learning, knowing and acting. Presentation of exemplary programmes, critical examination of emerging issues, and new perspectives that contest or extend existing theories and practices are welcomed.

Papers from New Zealand based students, researchers and practitioners are particularly welcomed along with papers from overseas contributors that specifically address issues of relevance to New Zealand outdoor adventure education theory/practice. Papers with a focus on Maori perspectives of place and connections with the land in outdoor education are particularly welcomed and encouraged.

Manuscripts should conform to the requirements laid out in the Notes for Contributors in this issue of the journal. Enquiries regarding this special issue should be addressed to the guest editor.

Contributions should be submitted no later than November 2009 to the Guest Editor: Dr Mike Brown at michaelb at waikato.ac.nz

Park, G. (1995). Nga Uruora: The groves of life. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
Wattchow, B. (2006). The experience of river places in outdoor education: A phenomenological study. Unpublished Doctorate, Monash University, Melbourne.

Contributor Guidelines

Manuscript Submission

1. Writers should submit an electronic copy of their manuscript by e-mail attachment in Microsoft Word or RTF document format to Dr Shayne Galloway, Editor, New Zealand Journal of Outdoor Education, School of Physical Education, University of Otago, at: shayne.galloway at otago.ac.nz

2. The journal follows the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition (2001), particularly for the citation of references and the format of the reference list. Articles should be 1500 to 5000 words in length, formatted for A4 paper including an abstract of no more than 150 words, and 3 to 5 keywords that describe the main topic. The manuscript should be typed in size 12 Times New Roman, double-spaced, on one side of the page, with page numbers included.

3. The title page should include the title of the paper (no longer than 12 words), authors name and institution and a physical address, phone number, and an email address for correspondence. A word count for the manuscript is required. A brief biographical statement is also required (50 words maximum).

4. The abstract should follow the title page and include the title of the manuscript, but NOT the name of the author(s). The abstract should summarize the main points of the article, and be no more than 150 words in length.

5. The manuscript must follow APA (5th edition) guidelines. Headings, tables, figures and photographs etc should be formatted accordingly. Each should be referred to in the text and be numbered consecutively. Footnotes should not be used unless necessary.

6. New writers are encouraged to use a peer review process with their own academic colleagues as informal referees before submitting a paper for consideration.

Manuscript Processing

1. All manuscripts will be acknowledged when received, without obligation for publication.

2. A manuscript is sent to members of the Editorial Board to read as part of the blind peer review process. They will make comments on the paper in terms of its appropriateness for the journal, quality of the literature, methodology (where appropriate), analysis, conclusions and originality. They will also provide constructive feedback on effective writing to emerging writers. This report will form the basis of acceptance, rejection or required modifications to a paper before publication.

3. Authors will be advised within two months of the date of submission of the results of the review process.

Is Wilderness a Useful Environmental Ideal Anymore?

Jay Roberts — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:07:00 GMT

I recently came across Brian Merchant’s blog about 7 classic American “Green” works of literature here: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/read-american-environmental-classics.html. In the list: Walden by HD Thoreau, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, the Lorax by Dr. Seuss, and Stegner’s Wilderness Letter (see: http://wilderness.org/content/wilderness-letter).

It made me think of what we rely on as our environmental “ideals” in the fields of outdoor, environmental, and experiential education. Like Merchant’s list above, my guess is that our field would be filled with the usual suspects: Thoreau, Muir, Abbey, Leopold, Carson, etc. It’s a fine list, to be sure, but with significant limitations. First, it is filled, with the exception of Carson, with archetypal “dead, white guys.” But more importantly, I am not sure we have fully wrestled with what historian William Cronon famously called “The Trouble with Wilderness” in our field. What is the cost of relying on "wilderness" as our environmental ideal?

The American environmental movement (and, by association outdoor, environmental, and experiential education) has had a love affair with Romanticism. There are good reasons for this: the Romantic movement gave us Rousseau’s Emile, Emerson and Thoreau’s philosophy of transcendentalism, and many great works of literature and the visual arts. But, there is a darker side to this love affair. As scholars such as Cronon have made clear, the Romantic movement in many respects "invented" the idea of "wilderness." Rather than wilderness being something "real" out there in the world, it was created. The how's and why's of this are much more involved than a blog post but suffice it so say that the emphasis on sublime “wilderness” comes with a cost. By definition, it separates humans from nature by suggesting that wilderness is a place empty of human presence (see the definition in the 1964 Wilderness Act). And, as a consequence, only those places considered “empty” enough, “untouched,” and “wild” are considered sublime, special, and worthy of our protection. But history does not bear this out. In fact, we removed American Indian populations from areas of the west only then to designate them “wilderness.” In fact, it is a peculiarly American concept that views Nature as outside of and apart from Culture. In short, when we think of the environmental ideal as that classic picture of the lone white male standing on a summit staring out into vastness in Backpacker, Sierra Club, or Outside Magazines we lose the ability to define environmentalism as something everyone can take part in. But isn’t that the conundrum? Many of us like the special quality of wilderness as we see and experience it—its an exclusive game by definition.

But can we continue to afford such an ideal? Environmental problems are no longer simply about wilderness protection or even Carson’s concern with DDT and bird populations. It is everything—all encompassing with a guaranteed ability to affect everyone and everything—from the safety of our peanut butter, to the ability to access clean drinking water, to energy security, and, at the grandest scale, global climate change. All education, as David Orr wrote, is environmental education.

It is high time outdoor, environmental, and experiential fields deal with the Romantic legacy in our thinking about things like “wilderness,” “nature,” and what we consider to be transformative in terms of a relationship with David Abram’s called the “more than human” world.

It’s time for a new list of “Green” classics. Here are a few that would make my list: Martin Luther King’s Presidential Speech to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1967. I would include Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac and Richard White’s controversial essay, “Are You An Environmentalist or Do You Work For A Living?” Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring would certainly make it. Terry Tempest William’s Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place would make the short list as would David Orr’s The Nature of Design.

What might make your list?

How Do You Quantify Experiential Moments?

Scott — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:45:00 GMT

As a leader here at Drug Demand Reduction I am constantly being asked to validate our educational programs. As a prior fiscal officer I am knowledgeable of the ties our spreadsheets and numbers have that show the effectiveness of our programs on our Federal budget. We are constantly struggling to document and show on a spreadsheet what the impact is of an “Ah Ha” moment. I can give a 6 hour briefing with power point slides and statistics and all sorts of fancy spreadsheets and I have done just that with very little effectiveness. I know that there are many highly educated and experienced professionals that are members here at the Outdoor Ed community. Our staff and I are always in “sponge” mode when we have the opportunity to work with professionals in the field where we are currently employed. It was not always that way. My first training at High 5 was my “Ah Ha” moment. I came to High 5 with a closed mind and a poor attitude. There was just no way as an Aviator and Federal Officer I was going to run around chasing a rubber chicken. My direction to staff before we went to training was, “we are here to learn how to climb we are not going to do any of the Kumbya crap.”

By the end of the second day and this is going to sound just ridiculous’ my “epiphany” happened for me when I was chasing a rubber chicken! Now one of my life mottos is “You can learn a lot from a rubber chicken”, the power of that moment is still with me. Facilitation to me is an art and one of the most powerful teaching tools one can practice. I don’t know if there is an effective way to verbalize the impact and the life changing effects moments like those can have on a person, if there is I have not found it. I can tell you that we have seen first hand the power of our E3 camp and the life altering impact these moments have had on our students lives. E3 stands for Encourage, Encounter, and Experience. Experience being the end goal where a person can take away something that they can use for a lifetime. If I had to put a number on how many of these moments we have had this last fiscal year it would be ten. Ten out of the 385 participants may not seem like an effective program but the moments I am talking about were life changing and when they happen it is pure magic. All of the participants came away with greater communication skills, team building skills and we have never had a participant that did not have a wonderful learning experience. Our end goal is to try and facilitate the “Ah Ha” moments when ever we can as I believe that is the most powerful long lasting positive educational experience we can be a part of. I say be a part of because in my humble opinion we are only the facilitator that can help create this experience we are not the experience. The moments that I have helped facilitate have all been extremely personal and to be a part of these moments is not only an honor but they also have made me a better, leader, mentor and facilitator.

One event happened last year on our ropes course. The student that was involved was female from a rural community and was on the verge of being kicked out of the Alaska Military Youth Academy. In the words of her academy instructor she was not going to make it through the coming week. Her attitude and combativeness to fellow cadets and Cadre had burned every bridge possible and was on short-notice to being showed the exit door.

A key element in setting up these Ah Ha moments is observation on the part of the facilitator. I noticed a "hard" personality in one of the AMYA cadets, her obvious distrust and huge area of personal space was an indicator that I had to be very careful in leading her to a "eureka" moment. The potential for reinforcing her "walls" was much greater then having a moment where they came down and allowed her to grow as a person. Her personal space had such a large radius I had a fellow female cadet assist in all activities that involved a harness as being 2 feet from her was too close and resulted in aggressive posturing and attitude.

After several hours of trust building activities and reflection I determined it was time for her to have a one on one activity with me. The look in her eyes was one of fear, anger and distrust. I let her know that I was there for her and just trying the element was success. The point of the activity was not getting to the end of the "space loops" element. The real point of the activity we don't share with the participant. We want them to have that “Ah Ha” moment and if facilitated right sometimes it happens and when it does it is beautiful thing. She figured it out! She was so scared and it took a long time for her to finish the event and she did complete the whole element 30 feet up in the air. It was time to have 1 on 1 reflection time away from her peers and I could tell from the look on her face something dramatic had happened. (It is so critical to capture these moments) I asked her, how she felt and what did she think, she looked at me and said she was so scared and she could not believe what she had done, I dug deeper and asked, was it being 30 feet in the air, was she proud of completing the element because she was already successful just attempting it. No she said she was scared of trusting, scared of trusting me and she was proud that she had allowed herself to do so. As the tears welled up in her eyes she thanked me and said she did not trust people and had every reason not too. Her lip quivered and she said she thought she might be able to start trusting people again. I gave her an affirming nod and then there was a silent pause. As I was fighting back the tears I put my hand on her shoulder and said be proud you got it! You got what this training is all about. You figured out what many people never do. It's not hanging 30 feet up in the air or going down a zip line it is these moments and these "eureka's" that is the real value of this training.

One of the most challenging tasks we have to do is capturing these moments on a spread sheet. Putting a number value to an event like that is difficult. It is an important task for us to document these programs as National Guard Bureau senior leaders’ measure effectiveness with spreadsheets. Even in the civilian world with no child left behind and virtually all academic programs if you want to secure funding you had better have a spreadsheet that can validate your program. I don't have that "magic" number yet that can show the long term benefits of our training. I can tell you that Cadet went from being on the verge of being kicked out of the academy to graduating as most improved Cadet for the entire graduating class. Her "eureka" moment on that course she will remember for a lifetime. For those that have never had a "eureka" moment where you found your faith in yourself or faith in something much greater then yourself, well it is almost impossible to describe to them the power of those moments and how they can change lives. I will continue to try and document these programs with a number and relish the victories that students like these give us. That is what makes our program so amazing the power of change that these moments create. One of my favorite quotes I use with our staff comes from Mr. Jim Grout at High Five“When in doubt, give them your heart.You cannot fake this training as a facilitator you have to understand where these moments come from, encourage them, embrace them and share them to build a powerful, sustainable education program.

We look forward to all of the opportunities we may have in the coming years learning and sharing experiences with the professionals of this industry.

Sincerely Scott D Frickson
Army National Guard Drug Demand Reduction

Running 'Mega' Programs - Part 3

Outdoor Ed — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:13:00 GMT

Following up on the two previous Blogs on running Mega Programs. I've updated the MindManager Map and have published it as a PDF file so that anyone developing a large program can see all of the details of how we plan one of the largest college wilderness orientation programs in the world. The big thing I've learned is that 'the devil is in the details.' Scripting out your program in the finest detail makes sure that you won't miss critical things and means you won't waste lots of time 'reacting' to problems due to lack of planning. You can view Part 1 and Part 2.

You can find an Interactive PDF File of the MindManager Map - Here

If you have a copy of MindManager, you can download the complete Map - Here.

Putting the challenge course to bed for winter

Chris Ortiz — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:49:00 GMT

Many of you out there who manage a challenge course live in a climate in which we have this thing called winter or "the off-season" This is the time of year when it is no longer fun to be out climbing on the challenge course for the average participant. I do realize that there are many areas of the world in which challenge courses do not need to hibernate until the feeling comes back to the finger tips of the instructors. I also have worked for a number of programs who basically decide to just ignore that winter exist. You can often spot these programs by the oversized staples that allow for Sorel clad climbers to ascend the trees or by the brooms and shovels teathered 40 feet in the pines. If your challenge course is in a climate in which you need not worry about cold seasons or find the need to own a pair of pants that extends below your knee, you need not read any further, but if you have deal with a dreaded "off-season" I thought I might offer some tips for tucking your course in for a long winter's nap.

Let's be clear right off, you do not need to "take down" your course every winter. Is it a good Idea, yes for the most part. If you have the time in your schedule and possibly the knowledge of self belay systems... it will extend the life of your equipment and allow you the opportunity to do some in house inspection of your challenge course both on the winter take-down and the spring set-up. Not taking down your gear leads to 3 things; a longer time in between close visual inspection of your challenge course, potential for winter nesting in your equipment shed, and increasingly more difficult to open rapid links and other hardware. The choice is yours really but if you decide to put your course to bed for the winter... here are some things to think about.

Don't climb alone. When the time comes to take all your gear down...the days will be getting increasingly colder and the staff will possibly be getting increasingly less interested in climbing. Always try to climb with a buddy. You will likely be up in areas of your course that rarely get climbed on and struggling with wrenches and pliers to get stuck rapid links open, fatiguing yourself more than you may be accustomed to on a typical challenge course day. Mistakes happen to the most experienced climbers. It is nice to have someone around who can help you out of a jam or through you up a prussick in your time of need. At very least... have a cell phone handy to call someone in your time of need.
Now that we have that out of the way, lets look at your climbing ropes. When you are preparing to store you ropes for the winter, be sure that they are completely dry... especially if you decide to wash them at seasons end. More on that later. When it comes to locations for storage, consider a place that you can secure from moisture, extreme temperatures and critters. Moist basements - Bad... Hot attics - bad. Stacked on top of the lawn mower and next to the gas can - Worst! For the official word let me post a few notes straight from New England Ropes on the subject
- Rope Cleaning - A clean rope is less susceptible to internal abrasion from dirt and rock particles. To clean a rope, place it in a pillow case or mesh bag, then wash the rope in a mild detergent, like Woolite or Ivory Snow, on the gentle cycle. Always allow the rope to dry thoroughly out of direct sunlight. (My thoughts- in most situations, if you are taking good care of your ropes throughout the season, it is rare that you need to wash your ropes. If you do wash them... hang them loosely inside somewhere to thoroughly dry before storage.)
- Storage - Store all ropes in a cool dry place away from heat, excessive moisture, humidity, and exposure to UV and/or chemicals which can reduce the lifespan o f the rope. (Nuff said I think)
Harnesses fall into a similar category to ropes. I would clean and treat them almost the same as your ropes. So just read above and replace rope with harness.
Helmets are pretty easy too. Wipe them out with a clean cloth and if need be, some warm water and mild soap won't hurt. Dry them out and be sure when you choose a place to store them that critters can not get into this sweaty salty treat (speaking from the mind of a mouse there). Rubber bins with secure lids work for most of these storage needs. Maybe big clean trash bins for you folks with 20+ helmets.
Hardware (SRD, Pulleys, Rapid links, carabiners, Belay devices) The benefit of climbing up and taking down all that belay gear out ways the hassle, in my mind. When you bring it down, find a way to keep your hual cords together with your belay gear and labled so that when you go to set up next spring... there is little guess work to be done. Give the rapid links a good lubrication before you put them to away. A syliconized lubricant works great but most lubricants are fine if you are careful to wipe away any excess so it does not get onto your other equipment later on. Anyway, get it down, lube it and store it away.
Hawser laid 3 strand type ropes used on your course for hand lines swing ropes or lanyards are really your call. If they are easy to disconnect and bring in for the season, great, but don't go crazy here. You are not likely to add that much life to these ropes by bringing them in. Many of you already store this stuff when it is not in use for access reasons on your low elements. Store them like you would other ropes above. So if you can take them down easily, go for it. Otherwise... you will see them come spring and they will likely look like they do now.

So as the snow has officially flown in Brattleboro, VT, I need to get climbing. So if you are walking through the hills of Vermont and you hear Holiday music playing and the gentle clicking of metal on metal, don't look up for Santa, wave up to me in the trees... and bring some hot cocoa. As for my friends in Alaska, I know I am about 4 months late with this post... sorry, stay warm.