ISDSI Instructor From Thailand Takes Wind River Wilderness Course

As an instructor with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (ISDSI) in Thailand, Rodjana "Toto" Nasor is used to backpacking through the jungle, crossing rivers, and spending large amounts of time in the wilderness. However, after almost five years of working with U.S. college students, she wanted to experience the great American wilderness. What better way than through NOLS?!

Toto first became acquainted with NOLS when she took a Wilderness First Responder course through the Wilderness Medicine Institute  in Thailand last summer. She then completed a Wind River Wilderness course this July and is spending the next few weeks in various departments at NOLS to help out, learn, and be a part of the NOLS community for a short time.  Toto is from the Karen ethnic group, one of the "hill tribes" of Northern Thailand.  She has a BA in Sociology and Anthropology, and is an instructor on the Political Ecology of Forests course at ISDSI. After her stint at NOLS, Toto is going to be visiting Kalamazoo College and the University of Denver.

Toto weighing and bagging a collection of food and spices in the Rations Room at NOLS Rocky Mountain 

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NOLS Environmental Sustainability Initiative Update By Jen Lamb, NOLS Public Policy Director

The sustainability initiative is off and running, primed by substantial input from instructors, administrative staff members and board members alike! Currently led by the public policy department, the initiative is focused on three areas: 1) completing a school-wide assessment to establish a baseline for improvement in the future, 2) continuing to collect and evaluate input from employees around the world, and 3) beginning to shape goals that will drive the school’s efforts to achieve higher levels of sustainability.

We’re excited about the assessment process, which is just getting started. Pure Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in sustainability, will visit headquarters and three NOLS locations (the Southwest, Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain) in August to evaluate our facilities and systems and collect data and information that will allow them to give us a snapshot of our current environmental footprint. All of our other operating locations will participate in the audit by phone and email.

The assessment will evaluate our energy use and emissions, water consumption, food and rations systems, solid waste and recycling, building design, toxic materials management, equipment purchasing, travel policies, and mission and values. After developing a good sense of how we operate, Pure Strategies will provide school-wide recommendations about how we can most effectively and efficiently reduce our footprint. We are likely to learn a lot and then have good information and experience that we can pass along to our students in the form of new curriculum. Stay tuned!

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Back to her roots

Barely a week after Leah Schwartz graduated with a BA in English from Stanford University, she found herself bustling around the NOLS Rocky Mountain branch prepping for her 16 and older Wind River Wilderness course. As a student at Stanford, she dually participated in the Outdoor Education program and performed in Shakespearean plays (as Lady Macbeth nonetheless!). While Leah is not a NOLS newbie, having taken a Semester in the Yukon in the summer of 2005, this time she will be joining instructors Muthoni Muriithi and Victor Garcia-Perez as an instructor intern. This selective program allows stellar NOLS alums to aid a course in preparation to becoming an instructor. A native of Wyoming, Leah is excited to be returning to her roots. She has a passion for working with students and being part of their outdoor learning experience....and can't wait to show them how to make a mean curry spice popcorn!

Leah Schwartz hangs out in front of the NOLS RM branch.

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Gap year: Students broaden their experience of the world | ScrippsNews

Link: Gap year: Students broaden their experience of the world | ScrippsNews.

"Ben Schweers, 22, explored the Mexican wilderness for three months in a program run by the National Outdoor Leadership School, which uses outdoor activities to teach leadership skills. After graduating at the top of his class..."

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Um... Not so much

Typically, Fridays at the NOLS Rocky Mountain Branch (RM) will bring a more relaxed, dare I say mellow, work atmosphere.  There is time to share weekend plans and propose social gatherings for after hours, there is time to reflect on a week of hard work and dedication to our beloved school, there is time to organize and prepare for next week's hard work and dedication to our beloved school.  This past Friday, um... not so much time to do all of that.

Last Friday, the RM saw the arrival of six courses returning from the field.  The courses included a Wyoming Backpacking Adventure course for 14 and 15 year olds, three of our original Wind River Wilderness courses, a NOLS/Orvis Wilderness Flyfishing course, and a Naval Academy Leadership Expedition course.  Needless to say it was one of the busiest de-issuing days we are likely to have all summer. 

In true NOLS fashion, exceptional Expedition Behavior was exemplified by all employees, as even though it was Friday, everyone stepped up to the plate and took care of business. Issue room and rations department worked on de-issuing personal and group gear, the cook staff fed the hungry mouths of campers not having eaten BBQ in over a month, the office staff worked on organizing paperwork and completing graduation packets, the program supervisors debriefed instructors, and the interns did their best to help out where they were needed.

It is those times when the RM staff comes together that make it such a pleasure to work for NOLS.  Not many organizations can say they experience the same sense of unity that when work needs to get done, everyone jumps into action with equal enthusiasm and excitement.  In the end, it is all about the students.  It is all about a commitment to the belief that NOLS can change lives.

As the next generation of alumni return daily, the reward for all the hard work that we do here at the RM is seeing the look of empowerment and joy on the faces of students returning from the field.  The exhausting Fridays are never so bad when you know that it has all been worth while.

Shout out to all of the other branches.  NOLS Bus, continue to update us with the mustache report.  Keep on blogging!

Wyoming Backpacking Adventure Course 6-21-07

Wind River Wilderness Course 6-21-07

NOLS/Orvis Wilderness Flyfishing Course 6-21-07

Naval Academy Leadership Expedition 6-25-07

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NOLS TVB Going Strong!

Phew! The TVB is gearing down for a bit of a break for the next 5 days, but that's not to say that there hasn't been a lot going on here! As the WFR students finished up their course and headed back home, the in-town staff here at NOLS TVB got right back in the game and welcomed 2 adventure courses to town: ADO 7/17-1 and ADO 7/17-2! The courses are going hiking for two weeks in the Wyoming Range and the Pallisades, respectively. We also have the students from the NOLS/Orvis Wilderness Fly Fishing course staying the night as they pass through on their way back to Lander -- it sounds like they had a GREAT time! (After a month of fishing and backpacking with some of the best instructors, curriculum and gear, how could you not have a good time?) For the next week, though, many of the in-town staff are heading to various locations across the country in search of fun and adventure, so things will (hopefully!) be pretty quiet around the branch. But don't despair! Until the next entry is published, you can get your NOLS TVB fix on our Flickr! website: http://www.flickr.com/groups/nols_teton_valley/ !

Students and instructors from ADO 7/17-1 -- it's a good thing they'll be getting lots of orienteering practice in the field...

ADO 7/17-2 getting ready to drive to the Pallisades!

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Spicin’ up the Gulch!

There is some European flair in the Gulch this summer. Antonella Cavallo came over from Lizzano, Italy (located in the southern part of the country) to work for two months as a seasonal rations assistant in the Rations Department of NOLS Rocky Mountain (RM). Armed with a degree in Logistics and Production Engineering, Rations Manager Claudia Pearson is right on when she says that “Antonella has been a gift this summer.”  Antonella came to Lander to learn about NOLS because “there are no outdoor schools that match NOLS leadership skills in Europe" and to experience a new environment like Lander’s small town charm. After the summer she hopes to attend the University of Karlsruhe in Germany for a master's program in Industrial Engineering. Best of luck Antonella!   

Antonella shows us her tools in the Gulch.

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You’re On My List!

  Flowers outside NOLS HQ 
  Originally uploaded by BradChristensen

2007 has proven to be a busy year here at NOLS and 2008 is shaping up to be just as intense. For the Admission Office this means answering questions regarding our wait lists for full courses.

So what does it mean to be on a wait list? Simply put, it means that a course is at present fully enrolled, but should a space become available you will be given the opportunity to jump on that course. And there is a great reason for why we have wait lists: life happens. Students may be enrolled and ready to go when suddenly something pops up in their lives that prevents them from attending the course. When this happens we call on the students who have been on the lists to fill the space.   

Course preference is another reason we use wait lists. On the NOLS application form prospective students can indicate which courses they would like to go on in order of preference. Sometimes students are enrolled in a course that was their second or third choice and wait listed for their first choice should a space become available.

Whatever the scenario, most courses go out with at least one student who spent time on the wait list, so don’t be discouraged. And while some of our courses may be filled and currently using wait lists, courses in the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008 still have some spots available.

As always, the most important thing you can do to secure your spot is to get an application in as soon as possible. So apply today!

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Give me some solar

NOLS Rocky Mountain (RM) is gaining ground on the NOLS green initiative.

The RM has received an $80,000 grant from Rocky Mountain Power to build solar panels on the roof! NOLS is the first Wyoming recipient of the Rocky Mountain Power grant and we could not think of a better organization (yea, NOLS!) or place (Lander, with its endless supply of sunny days) for a partnership. Construction on the solar panels is slated to begin in October 2007.

Photo by Brad Christensen

This is what the NOLS RM might look like with new solar panels.

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Battle of the Backpacks

This weekend Lander hosted the International Climber's Festival.  Friday's Trade Fair at City Park brought big name sponsors from across the country and a plethora of climbers. NOLS and the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) shared a busy booth as they spread the good word of NOLS, sold an array of WMI shirts, and did a backcountry pizza demo. While the dyno competition was by far the most popular event of the day, the NOLS backpack sack race did not disappoint. The three rounds leading up to the final heat were intense. With fast hops and awesome technique, Brian Graham of Evergreen, Washington emerged as the winner. He was bestowed a NOLS chalk bag and mug.

The final round of the NOLS backpack sack race.

Sporting a NOLS t-shirt at City Park.

The NOLS table looks so neat at the trade fair.

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