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Feeding animals grass: A new innovative concept or 'reinventing the wheel'??
So... grass-fed beef, kind of reinventing the wheel, eh? True, yes this is true, but maybe taking a few steps back could be beneficial in this day and age. The concept is simple; keep animals on grass/hay and out of feedlots, for the duration of their lives. There is then no need to ship in feed or ship animals to feed, henceforth using fewer resources in their developmental process. Ample benefits accrue from the grass fed process, some for the environment, farmers, animals, and humans.
I would love to delve into all those specifics but due to the vastness of the topic I will direct those with interest to the website http://www.eatwild.com, is a phenomenal resource. Not only does it state facts on the benefits of grass fed but it also is a resource to find local purveyors.
It was through that website that I found Cameron Ranch ( http://www.cameronranch.com), outside of Riverton. One of the other interns, Mitch, and I, went out to visit Pete Cameron and check out his operation last week. Pete has been in the ranching business for 30 years. Throughout those years he has raised cattle, sheep, horses, dogs and cats — and shared his life with ranch guests. If nothing else, it is really nice to put a face behind the food in which you eat.
Through computers, mass shipping, etc., many of us have never associated a human being with the food we eat. Due to operations like Pete’s you can go out to place in which the cattle are raised, meet the producer, stay in his bunkhouse, chat poetry (or whatever), and then go home the next day with beef that sells for around $3-4/lb (you can’t find it much cheaper at the grocery store).
June 30, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Scandinavia Combo Courses are off!
NOLS Scandinavia combo courses (SCA) 1 & 2 left yesterday for their first section- hiking and sea kayaking respectively. The courses will be gone for two weeks, only to return to the NOLS Scandinavia base for a quick switch and head out for another two weeks!
SCA #2 group shot: ready to depart!
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June 28, 2009 in Rocky Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
NOLS in our Community
Both Tim Wilson and Missy White, former and current NOLS employees, are working to provide the Lander community with fresh and local produce/food products, through their CSA’s. When one goes to the grocery store, as we all do, to get their weekly means of sustenance, how many of us think about the distance the food has traveled and what kind of carbon footprint it has left? To buy local is to support those small time producers in one’s community and to put money back into the place in which you reside.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is gaining popularity as a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Farmers offer ‘shares’ to the public. The 'share' consists of a weekly box of produce or other raw farm products. Interested consumers purchase these shares and then are provided, by the farmer, with their box, each week of the growing season.
Tim’s CSA, Fat Flamingo Farm, offers 15+ shares a season. They grow anything from potatoes to melons. Along with the produce the farm also raises cows, sheep, chickens, and a few turkeys. (Pictured to the right is Fat Flamingo's usage of some old, broken NOLS tent poles.) Missy sticks with just the produce. The amount she can produce, in the limited space of her in town backyard, is absolutely amazing. Her spatial utilization is key. She not only uses her two beds but also has begun to try a hanging tomato plant growing method under a trellis system on her patio.
June 23, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Carbon In The Life of a NOLS Student
Since 1965 NOLS has been teaching minimum impact/low maintenance camping and traveling techniques. Students travel into the backcountry with the essentials to thrive and after coming out of the field, no student has seriously recommended adding paper towels to their gear list. Comparing the classic Wind River Wilderness student with their front country counterpart, you can easily see a remarkable difference between consumption in the field and consumption in the front country. After checking out this data, you may decide to forgo the paper towel for a re-useable cloth next time a drink spills on the counter.
Water:
The average U.S. Citizen uses 250 liters of water a day
The average NOLS Student uses 5 liters of water per day
Most people in the front country use 50 times more water than a NOLS student does in the field.
Energy:
The average U.S. Citizen uses 33 kilowatt hours of energy per day.
The average NOLS student uses .02 kilowatt hours of energy per day.
Most people in the front country use 1650 times more energy than a NOLS student does in the field.
Trash:
The average U.S. Citizen produces 4lbs of trash per day
The average NOLS student produces 1/10th of a lb of trash per day.
People in the front country produce 40 times more trash than a NOLS student does in the field.
CO2:
The average U.S. Citizen produces 20lbs of CO2 every day through vehicle emissions.
The average NOLS student produces a 1/2 pound of CO2 every day through stove emissions.
People in the front country produce 40 times more CO2 than a NOLS student does in the field.
photo courtesy of Amy Rathke
June 22, 2009 in Environmental Initiatives, Public Policy, Rocky Mountain | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The NALE Arrives Back to Lander!
The Naval Academy Leadership Expedition course, 5/26/09, arrived at NOLS Rocky Mountain yesterday, back from 24 adventurous days in the South-Eastern Wind River Mountains.
The NALE course was designed through NOLS Professional Training, which organizes custom courses for various businesses and organizations. NOLS Pro is proud to work in conjunction with the Naval Academy to help provide this successful leadership expedition.
The course consisted of hiking in the Wind River Range, learning backcountry skills, and leadership training. Most of the travel was above 10,000 feet, and students experienced diverse terrain including boulder fields, steep slopes, steep snow, and river crossings. Students practiced tolerance for adversity and uncertainty as the South-Eastern Winds accumulated up to 40 inches of snow during their expedition!
The expedition provided excellent opportunities for leadership training and team building. The students worked together and reached the summit of Wind River Peak at 13,192 feet! Students also practiced responsibility and tested their skills during their independent student expeditions.
The course was a huge success as the students experienced amazing backcountry views and even more amazing weather throughout their 24-day expedition.
Congratulations to the NALE students and instructors for yet another successful trip to the Winds!
June 19, 2009 in Rocky Mountain | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Three Jolly Good Fellows
According to the Wilderness Medical Society's website, Academy Fellowship is awarded to "those who have achieved a demanding set of requirements validating their training and experience in Wilderness Medicine for the assurances of patients, clients, and the public at large."
Having three Fellows among their staff (and jolly, good ones, at that) is another thing that sets WMI apart from other wilderness medicine schools. That's something that nobody can deny!
June 17, 2009 in WMI | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New HQ Interns Land in Lander
Hey everyone, I’m Libby! I am an anthropology major at the University of Minnesota and a NOLS Baja Ocean Semester ’07 graduate. I am the new Alumni Department intern at the NOLS Headquarters in lovely Lander, Wyoming where I write for the alumni newspaper The Leader, help with alumni trip planning, bag rations for departing groups, and give alumni talks after students return from the field. I have high hopes to have another NOLS-inspired adventure next spring either by kayaking the full length of the Sea of Cortez, or doing the NOLS Year in the Sonoran course.
Hey, I’m Rachel! I am an undergrad student at Colorado College studying English and journalism. I am two-time NOLS grad. I took an Idaho Backpacking and Rafting course in 2006 and the Alaska Backpacking and Sea Kayaking course in 2007. I am the new publications intern and this summer, I will be writing for and designing the summer issue of The Leader and helping with the 2010 course catalog in addition to other smaller projects around HQ. I hope to do the NOLS Rock and River course sometime in the future.
We are just starting to settle in here in Lander and to the NOLS lifestyle. The weather is beautiful and we can’t wait to get up into the mountains. Keep a lookout for the upcoming issue of The Leader which features a delicious cheesy hushpuppies recipe contributed by a NOLS grad and tested by us!
Cheers!
June 17, 2009 in Alumni | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
WMI Grad Makes Good
We think our alumni are top-notch folks. But don’t just take our word for it, read on to see how NOLS’ wilderness medicine education helps qualify medical professionals.
Bob Foster, a graduate of the Wilderness Medical Institute’s “Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals” course in 2008, recently became Fremont County Idaho’s new Emergency Services Director.
Foster ‘s goal is to “provide high quality emergency care to EMS patrons and high quality training to EMS volunteers” in southern Idaho- including Driggs (home to NOLS’ Teton Valley Branch).
Be sure to check out the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute website for updates or to choose a training option that's right for you.
Congratulations to Bob Foster!
June 16, 2009 in Alumni, Teton Valley, WMI | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
NOLS Wind Pants are "Out of this World"
Outdoor adventurers aren’t the only ones seeking the comfort of NOLS’ trademark green and blue nylon wind pants—NASA recently released The STS-125 Official Flight Kit Manifest—a list of 108 items that space shuttle Atlantis has recently been unpacking from their last epic voyage outside of Earth’s boundaries. Rolling in at #44 (ironically, this is also NOLS' 44th anniversary year!) were “Green and Blue Nylon Pants”—coming from none other than the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, WY.
On board Atlantis was four-time NOLS grad John Grunsfeld. Way to represent, John! Read more about John and the relationship between NASA and NOLS in the upcoming issue of the Leader.
(NASA Photo)
June 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hello To All and To All a Hello!
Greetings from the newest staff members at NOLS Rocky Mountain! Mitch from Fall Semester in the Rockies ‘08, Meredith the nomad back after eleven years, and myself (Ally) hailing from Long Island, NY are already energized by our surroundings and have hit the ground running with our Internship plans.
Within the next ten weeks we will be organizing a community outreach program, along with various projects that will without a doubt keep our summer here action packed.
June 12, 2009 in Rocky Mountain | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
