NOLS and Newark, New Jersey

Today started out with a visit with Rick Hunt and Bob Silverman of SharedBook. SharedBook is a cool web-based company that allows people to collaborate and create "memory books". Among current clients are Little League Baseball and Yosemite National Park.Individuals or teams can go online and, using a template that contains some of the book's content, create a book that also includes their photos and prose. It is a very neat product and could be a great thing for each NOLS course. The course could collaborate with their best photos, journal entries, maps and other mementos that they want to share to keep their NOLS course alive after they return home. I'm looking forward to working further with Bob to see if we want to pursue this. Rick and I met each other through BzzAgent and had a quick opportunity to say, "Hi!" at the Word of Mouth Basic Training conference last month.

Rivendell Scholars Program

This afternoon I headed over to Newark, New Jersey for the 12th annual Rivendell Scholars presentation. Since 1994 the Rivendell Foundation has been sponsoring teachers and other youth leaders on NOLS courses. There are now about 40 NOLS/Rivendell graduates working with youth in Newark as a result of this scholarship.

Two-time NOLS graduate Ken Goldman is a Rivendell Foundation trustee and was the one who came up with the scholarship concept originally. He is an active proponent of NOLS and each year carves time out of his busy schedule to personally recruit candidates for the scholarship. As always, Barbara Grreenberg of the Rivendell Foundation did a fantastic job making arrangements for the event and following-up on things and was a gracious MC for today's presentation.

We had a nice turnout for today's event with about 20 people in attendance. Bryan Lee, with the Greater Newark Conservancy, brought six of his high school interns along as well. It was great seeing that our work with teachers is also getting to the students and getting them turned on to NOLS as well. Many thanks go to Robin at the Conservancy for her efforts to get the NOLS word out in the schools.

One of my favorite elements of our yearly sojourn to Newark is getting to hear from our NOLS/Rivendell Scholars. This year we had four graduates attend. It always great to hear their stories about their courses and how it applies to their work in Newark.

This year's event was bittersweet. Since 1994 we have always been able to count on seeing Phil Costello from Project U.S.E. While not  a NOLS grad, Phil has always been an articulate spokesperson for the power of outdoor education. Through Project USE he has been a tremendous support for our Rivendell grads once they got back to Newark. Phil recently passed away after a tough battle with cancer. I really missed seeing his smiling face and supportive words today. Phil was a great man and a legend in New Jersey's outdoor community.

I can't wait to see the applications from this years candidates for a Rivendell Scholarship. This program is truly one of the great outreach programs that NOLS is involved with.

Tomorrow I head home after a bit more than a week spreading the NOLS gospel. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Lan Diego. 'Til Thursday!

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Palmer Resurfaces in NYC!

Sorry to be such a slacker. Thanks to Joanne for hopping in to take the "What's the Buzz" baton. As Joanne mentioned, last week I was in Baltimore for the Educational Travel Conference. While we were new to the conference everyone who worries about their travelers was talking about NOLS. I was a presenter at two sessions. The first was on emergency protocols were I was teamed up with the CEO and operations director for Elderhostels. I focused on field response to a crisis and they focused on the headquarters response. We had about 100 people attend the session.

On Friday I was involved in a session entitled "Articulating Risk". It was a free-ranging conversation that focused on how to talk about risk both to participants and to the media. I think it was a great session, but we only had about 30 in attendance. In numerous other sessions NOLS was held up as the industry leader in risk management.

I was a bit frustrated by some of the overall direction of discussion concerning risk management. There was tendency to cast the conversation only in terms of liability and insurance. These are obviously important, but there is also the ethical imperative. If we are taking people out of their element we have to do our very best to help them understand the risk involved and give them the tools to manage the risks involved.

Today I'm in New York. I met this afternoon with Shannon Heyward and Daisy Hu at New Balance Performance Outerwear. They updated me on their launch this fall and we talked about opportunities for NOLS and NB to work together. Great products are in the works.

Tomorrow I'll be meeting with folks at Sharedbook.com to hear more about their product and plans. In the afternoon I'll be in Newark doing a presentation for Newark school teachers who are interested in taking a NOLS course this summer. A NOLS graduate sponsors 4 full-tuition scholarships each year for Newark teachers who will add elements of their NOLS education to their classes in Newark. This is my tenth year recruiting for these scholarships. It is one of my favorite tasks of the year.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Where in the World is Bruce Palmer?

Usually the Commander in Chief of the NOLS News blog, there has been an eerie silence since Bruce Palmer, NOLS Marketing Director, slipped quietly out of the office this week.  So where in the world is he?

My radar found Bruce in Baltimore, Maryland participating in the 2006 Educational Travel Conference. The conference is being hosted by the Educational Travel Community, "a community of leaders worldwide, dedicated to advancing experiential learning through travel," so says their website: http://www.travelearning.com/

This is the first time NOLS has attended the conference and Bruce is representing our risk management angle.  Overall he will participate in two panels on this topic that is vital to the NOLS mission.  Yesterday he presented on "Handling Emergencies on Tour: Crisis Management Protocols"  and today, "How to Articulate Risk: And Communicate it to your Travelers", is on the agenda.  For the complete details on the content check it out at the "Risk Management & Communications Track Agenda" on http://travelearning.com/conference/conference_agenda.php 

NOLS has over 40 years of experience managing risk in wilderness environments and hosts the Wilderness Risk Managment Conference in partnership with Outward Bound and the Student Conservaton Association: http://www.nols.edu/wrmc/

We'll look forward to what Bruce has to say about the event when he returns next week!

-Joanne Kuntz, Publications Intern

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N.O.L.S. Patagonia Expedition - a photoset on Flickr

Link: N.O.L.S. Patagonia Expedition - a photoset on Flickr.

Some new NOLS photos up on Flickr. A few pretty cool ones!

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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NOLS Olympian on Cross-Country Skiing Relay Team

Link: NBCOlympics.com - Women's Relay - Medvedeva-Abruzova leads Russia to relay gold.

Today the U.S. Cross Country Ski team finished 14th, about 3 minutes off the gold medal pace, in the 20 km Relay. NOLS grad Sarah Konrad skiied the 3rd leg for the Americans.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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NASA astronauts, now NOLS grads, chat with ‘NOLS in the AM’

At 8:30 this morning, recently minted NOLS grads sat down before roughly 60 NOLS staff members in the Headquarters lounge for a talk about their nine days in the Wyoming wilderness.  With Lander’s fresh snow glaring outside, NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Ed Lu, Clayton Anderson, Robert Thirsk, Koichi Wakata and Rex Walheim discussed their recent experience; from learning the value of leadership styles, the similarities of exploration in the mountains and space, the joys of backcountry cooking and what it’s like to “drop trow” when it’s -20 degrees out.

The six astronauts - four Americans, a Canadian and a Japanese - claimed their NOLS experience fit perfectly into NASA training.  Lu, comparing their backcountry trip to NASA simulation training, said NOLS was valuable for the reality of the situations, “instead of pressing a reset button, you really are held accountable for your actions.” Wakata, a Japanese astronaut who has spent the last 13 years training in the US for an eventual role on the International Space Station, compared the intensity of the experience of space travel with that of the winter mountains, saying it’s such a sensory overload, “you almost feel as if you are in a dream.”

None of the astronauts denied the hardships of their experience.  Anderson claimed his fellow coursemates “learned a few new words” while he experienced the frustration of learning to ski in the backcountry.  Williams spoke of the difficulty of sleeping in a quinzhee while sandwiched between 2 snoring men.  Like many who have experienced a NOLS course, the hardships were now discussed positively and with humor.  Anderson said he had gone from anxiety to frustration, then into a feeling of rising confidence and finally satisfaction.

The astronauts conferred on the excellence of their instructors, Steve Whitney and Ian McCammon, whom they called a picture of “ultimate competence.”

Freshly showered and finally warm, the astronauts were looking forward; Williams ready for a vacation in the tropics, Thirsk anticipating a weekend with his family and Wakata excited for a meal of fresh sushi.

Chris Morris, NOLS intern

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SOE Journal: Two Feet

"I have 2 feet that have raced in many races
and kept steady running paces
They have stepped over around and under the hearts of men
but before this month, have never gone where I have been

I have 2 legs that i put one in front of the other - left, right
And gasp in awe with every sunrise, sunset and every star lit night

I realize there is a mentality a hiker must have.
It's not about being the strongest, fittest or forgoing a bath.
It's about living in the now for each second always wanting more."

-Cristina "Gonzo" Gonzales

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SSW1: Journal Entry

While on the course, students are encouraged to keep a group journal. This particular entry is from the first semester's second day in the Galiuros from Suz Quave.

"I'd like to highlight a few accomplishments today - Carter proved himself a useful chap - finding all of our water for the next day and a half; JJ, Llyzz and Jonathan for making a meal without alterations for Llyzz's vegan diet; Toliver's incredible idea to hike to the top of the hill and catch a glimpse of the rock pile up there and instead discovering the most breathtaking view that I've seen in some time.

We're constantly in the process of making new memories without even realizing it until you look back on the day. So my challenge to us all is to keep up this community that we've started forming and learn from each other."

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NOLS Training in Uganda Featured

Link: New Vision Online : UWA trains 30 guides.

A quick article on a Ugandan website describing the training NOLS provided for mountain guides in Uganda. The training was funded by UNESCO, USAID and the World Wildlife Fund.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Konrad's Shooting Woes Continue

NOLS Grad, Sarah Konrad, finished 75th in today's 7.5 km Biathlon event. She missed 8 targets, three more than any of the other competitors. Sarah, the first U.S. woman to make two Olympic teams, is probably really looking forward to moving to her Cross-country events and leaving the rifle behind.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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