Campaign NOLS: Explaining Our Core Values, Part 3
NOLS’ core values are at the heart of our institution. Leadership, community, safety, excellence, wilderness, and education inspire everything we do. We share a commitment to these values; they define and direct who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
We believe that education should be exciting, fun, and challenging. With this in mind, our courses are designed to help people develop and practice the skills they need to live, travel, and play safely in the outdoors. On our expeditions, people learn by accepting and meeting real challenges. Our instructors are educators, not guides. They are committed to inspiring students to explore and develop their understanding of wilderness ethics, leadership, teamwork, natural history, and technical skills.
Rachael Abler practices her self-arrest in the Twin Sisters region of the North Cascades.
Rachael Abler on Education
In 2011, after pursuing a Master’s degree in recreation, I started making calls to numerous collegiate outdoor recreation programs. I found myself hearing one thing that would help me make it in the industry from each and every coordinator, director, graduate assistant, intern, etc.: NOLS. At that, my mind was made up. NOLS, here I come!
The Pacific Northwest Outdoor Educator Course allowed me to develop technical skills in mountaineering and rock climbing while growing as an outdoor educator. Like many people, I was at the point of my life where, after obtaining two college degrees, I did not have much disposable income. But, thanks to the NOLS scholarship program, I had the opportunity to spend 30 days in the backcountry learning who I was, what I was capable of, and transforming myself into a better person for the rest of my life.
Rachael on Mt. Baker, overlooking Mt. Shuksan.
The outdoor experiences throughout the course of my life have allowed me to become the person who I am today, and I hold the strongest regard for the 30 days spent on my NOLS course. It is easy in our technological age to go through life without placing ourselves in situations that allow us to see our true potential. I believe there is nothing more powerful than immersing oneself in outdoors and that there is nothing like making personal accomplishments in some of the most beautiful places in the world. Without such educational experiences, how can anyone possibly know what they are capable of?
NOLS is responsible for impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the globe. Whether the impact is teaching leadership and teamwork qualities, exposing people to new worlds, or offering career advancement opportunities with wilderness medicine, outdoor educator, and instructor courses. No matter what the case, the result is always the same—NOLS changes lives.
Rachael and her coursemates in the Twin Sisters Region of the North Cascades, with Mt. Baker in the backgorund.
My own ability to attend a NOLS course is attributed to the philanthropic efforts of those who came before me. As a donor, I am honored to join the fraternity of individuals who place value in continued education and outdoor leadership development for all who have the drive to pursue it. It is a privilege to give back to the organization that gave so much to me through support of Campaign NOLS. My hope is that many more future leaders and educators can reap similar benefits.
The view from Mt. Baker.
Rachael Abler is a 2012 Pacific Outdoor Educator graduate, scholarship recipient and a donor.
To learn more about Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values or to donate, visit giving.nols.edu.
Permalink | Posted by Larkin Flora on Apr 2, 2013 in the following categories: Alumni, Campaign NOLS, Curriculum, Pacific Northwest
Campaign NOLS: Explaining Our Core Values, Part 2
NOLS’ core values are at the heart of our institution. Leadership, community, safety, excellence, wilderness, and education inspire everything we do. We share a commitment to these values; they define and direct who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
NOLS is an international community composed of talented individuals who care deeply about what they do. We value diversity, integrity, and personal responsibility while recognizing that our strength lies in teamwork and commitment to our mission and each other. We appreciate creativity, individuality, and passion among our staff and as an institution. We take our jobs seriously and pursue our mission with enthusiasm, and we cherish our sense of humor and our ability to laugh at ourselves.
Sadie Sarvis (left) and coursemate enjoy the pictographs in Desolation Canyon during their river section.
Sadie Sarvis on Community
My NOLS experience was truly life changing. I learned how to make my voice heard, deliver constructive feedback, embrace hardship and the unknown, be intentional, and live minimally. I learned to appreciate each moment; that the past and future are only thieves of today. I hold all that I learned close to tackle the next adventure.
I found NOLS through a guidance counselor at my high school in Portland, Maine and decided on a semester course because I wasn’t as engaged in my coursework at high school as I might’ve liked. Life is too short and wonderful to spend time doing something you’re not excited about; there are too many amazing things to experience!
My course taught me the value and power of community. Everyone tried to be fair-minded, open, compassionate, respectful, and helpful. We worked hard at effective communication and conflict management, which paid off incredibly well. I will never forget the power of expressing even the smallest frustration to maintain a healthy relationship. By the end of our course, we completed tasks efficiently and relied on each other for support.
Sadie and coursmates pose in front of NOLS headquarters in Lander, WY after graduation.
In the backcountry you can’t let things “brew.” Although this is common in the frontcountry, it is not healthy or productive. Since my course, I am more aware of myself as a function of the whole community of my school, workplace, and teams. I understand that when everyone is decent and respectful, we can accomplish more.
I think everyone should experience outdoor education. One of the hardest parts of the course was raising enough money to be able to participate, and I could not have done my NOLS course without a scholarship. I have never seen myself, or anyone else, grow in leadership skills, competence, self-awareness, judgment and decision-making, risk management, and expedition behavior in such a short time. Everyone deserves to experience that.
Sadie Sarvis is a 2011 Semester in the Rockies graduate and scholarship recipient.
To donate or learn more about Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values visit giving.nols.edu.
Permalink | Posted by Larkin Flora on Dec 3, 2012 in the following categories: Alumni, Campaign NOLS, Curriculum, Leadership, Rocky Mountain
The Wilderness Laboratory: Research Run Through NOLS Rocky Mountain
You can learn a lot when you take a NOLS course- hard skills, such as navigation, backcountry cooking, and river-safety, and soft skills, such as leadership, teamwork, and communication. While these lessons have made NOLS famous, the school gains even more information through different research studies on our courses. Dr. John Gookin and the NOLS Research and Curriculum Department conduct studies each summer on courses running out of the Rocky Mountain Branch. Below Dr. Gookin provides some details on a few of this summer's studies.
Ironman Body Composition Scale- We use this scale to measure our students' and instructors' weight, body fat, and muscle mass in the arms, legs, and torso. It also measures their BMR (basal metabolic rate), and metabolic age. We take these measurements before and after the course for a ROCL (our month long rock climbing course), a SIC (NOLS instructor course), and a NALE (Naval Academy Leadership Expedition).Past studies have shown that everyone increases physical fitness (as measured by BMR) on their NOLS course, and that most students lose some fat. We have also found that some people add muscle while others lose it. We're doing this work now to look for a pattern of who adds muscle and who loses it on expeditions. This is a spinoff of the NOLS energetic study being done by Cara Ocobock, a doctoral student at Washington University.
Below, Outfitting Specialist JD Merrit tests out the Ironman Scale.
Social Climate Scale- A survey that students take in the field, this scale measures the social climate on our courses. Social climate is like EB (expedition behavior) at the group level through a sociological lens. NOLS hypothesises that a better social climate correlates with greater learning. Ben Mirkin, a doctoral student at the University of New Hampshire, is conducting this study.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in NOLS/Naval Academy Students- This study measures heart rate patterns related to stressful situations to see if this changes after a NOLS experience. The hypothesis for this study, proposed by BUDS, the US Navy SEAL School, states that people who successfully complete the NOLS program remain calmer and more effective under stress. This study gives an objective measure of stress repsonses that can accept or refute this hypothesis. A team of kinesiologists and sport psychologists, who do similar work with the NFL, are executing this study, and it is funded by the US Navy's Operational Stress Control project.
Ill-Structured Problem Solving- This study uses brief essays about how to handle dilemmas to measure six different factors which contain context specific factors, like how the width of a river may be more important in some contexts than others, depending on other loosely related factors. This study hypothesises that NOLS helps students improve in solving ill-structured problems. The staff of the US Naval Academy is conducting this study and it is funded by the US Navy's Operational Stress Control project.
The mission of the NOLS Research Program is "to support, develop, and disseminate knowledge that contributes to education, to the preservation of wildlands, and to the quality of the experiences of those people who visit wildlands." All of these current studies certainly align with this mission, and NOLS is excited to continue to support this mission by using our wilderness-based classroom and curriculum for further learning on a growing number of diverse fields of study.
Permalink | Posted by Matt Leslie on Aug 6, 2012 in the following categories: Curriculum, Rocky Mountain
ACS 6/21/12 switch from hiking to sea kayaking
Late last week we welcomed ACS 6/21/12 back from their hiking section in the King Leopolds. In fine spirits, highlights on their hiking section included the amazing campsites with stunning waterfalls as well as a day spent swimming through a remote gorge/canyon.
Students spent the final 5 days of the section hiking in small groups independant of instructors, consolidating their risk management and leadership skills.
The group were excited to head onto their sea kayaking leg and spent time at the NOLS base switching gear before heading to the local caravan park for a well earned shower and rest.
The trip to Dampier Archipelago is 10hrs, after which they met their two sea kayak instructors to head out for another adventure.
The group is now self sufficient until Thursday 2/Aug when they start their journey back to the NOLS base for final course wrap up and graduation.
Permalink | Posted by Cassandra Colman on Jul 23, 2012 in the following categories: Alumni, Australia, Curriculum
Summit Addresses Environmental Issues
After spending much of the first day of the Faculty Summit discussing leadership skills, teaching techniques, and ways to foster inclusion, the second day began with a reminder to faculty: you have an incredible opportunity to inspire a new generation to care about the environment.
Dan Garvey delivered the morning’s first presentation. Garvey’s humorous approach softened the otherwise sobering discourse about ethical failures and their catastrophic impact on the environment.
Dan Garvey addresses NOLS faculty. Photo Credit: Brad Christensen
Next, George Luber delved further into the theme of environmental consciousness with a thorough presentation of the changes occurring in the environment and, consequently, in the health of Americans.
George Luber explains the numerous changes occuring in the environment. Photo credit: Brad Christensen
Although Luber’s statistics were staggering, he, like Garvey, urged NOLS faculty to take the information and act, rather than allow it to be paralytic in its seriousness. For example, he suggested appealing to the self interest of students, whose appreciation for wild places grows during a NOLS course.
“Instead of pointing out all of the weeds, get in the garden,” deplored Garvey.
For videos of talks, forums, and workshops at the NOLS Faculty Summit, please visit NOLS.tv
Permalink | Posted by Alison Hudson on May 17, 2012 in the following categories: Alumni, Curriculum, Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, Instructor News, Leadership
Inspiring Alumna: Morgan Dixon opens Faculty Summit
Yesterday morning was the start of the 2012 NOLS Faculty Summit. Scott Robertson and Executive Director John Gans kicked off the event with a brief welcome to the nearly 160 faculty members assembled at the Sinks Canyon Center. Over the three days of the Summit, faculty will participate in a variety of forums and workshops focused on professional development, community building, and inclusion. The highlight of the first day was Morgan Dixon’s opening address, which set the tone for the summit by inspiring attendees to spread lessons from NOLS to a greater audience.
Dixon, an alumna of the Pacific Northwest Trip Leader, began with a line by poet Linda Hogan.
“The body’s purpose is to use life up,” quoted Dixon.
Photo credit: Brad Christensen
Although this line aptly synthesizes the philosophy of many NOLS faculty members, it is far from a reality for the majority of Americans.
“How many people in out country use the body in that way? This is a crisis for all Americans. This is why the lessons NOLS espouses are just so important in these times,” explained Dixon.
Fostering healthy lifestyles in less privileged communities is so important to Dixon that she created the GirlTrek movement. GirlTrek uses walking, the most basic component of any NOLS course, to foster healthy lifestyles amongst African American women and girls. As Dixon emphasized, role models play a critical role in the success of this program
“When I got back my NOLS course, I sent pictures to my friends. The response was far greater than I expected. That one photo of [an African American woman] in the wilderness was more important than years of work,” said Dixon. “People could suddenly imagine being in a freer place.”
Photo credit: Brad Christensen
Dixon ended by reminding attendees that many people will never have access to the NOLS experience, but that the lessons from the field can be brought into the frontcountry, into cities, to inspire healthier lifestyles and more role models. This is how the group under the tent will become more diverse.
Permalink | Posted by Alison Hudson on May 16, 2012 in the following categories: Alumni, Curriculum, Instructor News
Wilderness Leadership in the Harvard Business Review
We at NOLS operate on the firm believe that leadership can be learned. The people we instruct, from teenage students to business executives and everything in between, believe the same. Marc Randolph, among numerous other renowned members of the world of business, was quoted saying so in the April issue of the Harvard Business Review:
“Marc Randolph, a cofounder of Netflix and a NOLS graduate, strongly believes in stepping up to leadership this way. ‘On a hike, it’s a constant process of not being sure, taking a shot, and finding out one, 10, or 100 minutes later whether your decision was a good or bad one,’ he says. ‘That’s what you face in the business world, especially as an entrepreneur.’”
To read more of this thorough examination of the NOLS curriculum as it applies to the business world, written by our own Diversity and Inclusion Manager Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin and Director for Leadership John Kanengieter, pick up the April issue of the HBR, or check it out online.
Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin
Permalink | Posted by Casey Dean on Mar 23, 2012 in the following categories: Curriculum, In The News, Leadership, Professional Training
NOLS stands out in research
NOLS is the leader in wilderness education because of years of experience, thousands of experts, countless hours of internal education, and cutting edge research. The research NOLS conducts enables us and others to constantly improve and adjust our teaching styles, expedition planning, and more. For example, a visually impressive set of data is this word cloud:
These are the words over 2,000 NOLS graduates used in response to the exit-survey question, “What did you find most rewarding about your NOLS experience?” The bigger the word, the more frequently it was used. Of course, additional findings came of this survey, but this was an immediate and easy-to-grasp result.
The NOLS research team, which collaborates with University of Utah, attended the 11th biennial Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Research Symposium Jan 13-15 and presented the findings of five studies. Watch a video of NOLS Curriculum and Research Manager John Gookin and NOLS Research Project Manager Mandy Pohja giving overviews of the following research.
Developing Lifelong Learners: Enhancing Dispositional Enjoyment of Learning through Optimal Engagement in Adventure Education Programs
In the spring of 2010, 47 college-aged students enrolled in three semester-long summer NOLS courses were invited to participate in this study. Based on experience sampling forms about two randomly assigned hour-long blocks each day over four week-long periods (one before, two during, and one after their course), researchers saw significant shifts in optimal engagement during and after courses.
“There is good reason to believe that immersion in adventure-based semesters can help foster the underlying nutriments of enjoyment and interest in learning, which are necessary to create lifelong learners.”
Measurement of Challenge Type and Intensity in Wilderness Education Students
Prior to this undertaking, no scales to measure self-perceived challenge level existed. Scientific inquiry of the patters of challenge and growth may appear to merely affirm folk wisdom, but documentation establishes baselines for future experimental studies, NOLS researchers noted. What this undertaking generated was a three-pronged model of challenge—intrapersonal, interpersonal, and program and environment. Ultimately, as NOLS researchers wrote, “This connects this work to performance under stress, which has been identified by NOLS alumni as the leading skill they associate with their wilderness education experience, then use for their entire lives.”
Understanding the Contribution of Wilderness Based Educational Experiences to the Creation of an Environmental Ethic in Youth
Students of 30-day or longer courses completing the course quality survey last year were asked, among other questions, if their NOLS experience made an impact on their environmental ethics and how. Data suggests NOLS courses have a positive impact on environmental ethic. “Students report that they are more aware of how the natural world works, have an increased self-awareness related to sustainability, and believe they learned how to apply Leave No Trace skills in their lives beyond the program,” the study states.
Energy Demands of Wilderness Education Students
In the “biggest, most intensive study we’ve ever done at NOLS,” as Gookin said, delved into energy expenditure, morphological changes, fitness changes, and caloric intake on NOLS courses.
Though much of the data is still being processed, a number of take-away applications have already surfaced. Not surprisingly, students increase cardiovascular fitness on courses, but an energy deficit shows up. “Dietary logs show that students typically had food available but did not eat the rations, probably because they were busy with activities,” the study notes. “This shows that nutrition on expeditions has barriers beyond simple logistics. Proper nutrition includes ration logistics, nutrition education, cooking education, adequate supervision, and an atmosphere that promotes healthy lifestyles.”
A final exciting note was that this study was unlikely to be the last of its type. This research demonstrated to researchers that courses can use simple tools to monitor energy balance, enabling them to run programs that are both challenging and healthy.
The Importance of Program Quality in Youth Development: Program Quality Indicators as Predictors of Outcome Achievement Among NOLS Participants
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perception of quality and participant development. The results show that the qualities most predictive of overall participant development on a NOLS course are empowerment, prioritization of safety, and the presence of role models. NOLS believes it is important to focus on point-of-service qualities that can be affected by programmers.
For more information on these research programs and more, visit our research site.
Permalink | Posted by Casey Dean on Feb 9, 2012 in the following categories: Curriculum
Pioneers with Pool Toys
This weeks blog is brought to you by instructor, Mike Bueno:
Packrafting in Alaska has become the hot new trend in wilderness exploration these past few years. With the enormous amount of public lands and lack of roads leading into the backcountry, wilderness travelers have turned into pioneers of a new sport following a classic form of travel: the rivers. Alaska rivers have turned many travelers, hunters and NOLS courses away from some terrain--but not any longer. With the advent and wide acceptance of the packraft, these once inaccessible areas have become the new weekend adventure. This year, NOLS Alaska was proud to offer the first 30-day packrafting course.
A Packrafting Party in the Alaskan Wilderness.
The grey, brown glacial flow of the Susitna River gently carried our fleet of 16 packrafts downstream. Yellow paddle blades flashed as they rose out of the water and fell back towards the waters surface. Distant snowy peaks of unnamed mountains glistened in the sunlight. This was it: the first Packrafting course run by NOLS. Years of behind-the-scene work had finally culminated into a packrafting course being formed, staffed and put into the field.
The proposed route was to take our course down three different rivers via boats mixing in hiking on mountainsides carpeted in tundra. With over 200 hundred miles to cover, the beginning of the course felt more like the first ever NOLS packraft adventure race than a standard NOLS course. In the first week we boated about 65 miles and hiked over 20 miles to get our re-ration.
After leaving the slow, constant downstream ebb of the Susitna River, we hiked for 10 days through the southern Talkeetna Mountains and dropped down onto the Talkeetna River. Unfortunately, the Talkeetna River was a raging mass of flooded glacial melt water and strainers lined the gravel braids, hanging out into the surging mass of water heading downstream. Instead of floating downstream as planned we embraced the versatility of packrafts and stuffed the boats once again in our packs.
With a few more days on foot, the chance to get back into the river was finally insight. We took the opportunity to push our students to clinic and build quality paddling skills. These boating skills would be invaluable to handle what would come downstream and in the following days. Over the next few days boating, the group was relieved to take a break from hiking and put their new skills to the test on the swift current and braided channels of the Talkeetna.
Progress downriver was slower than expected and the clock was still ticking. We were at the half way mark of the course but it was no time to take it easy. We still had miles of ‘schwack to tackle on foot as the race continued. Finally, after three weeks of early mornings and late nights, it felt like we were going to reach our destination on time. With a few days of mellow hiking up high on the tundra, we were ready to head down to the final portion of our journey, Clear Creek.
Employing our newfound skills, we floated down the remainder of Clear Creek and slipped out into the main flow of the Talkeetna River towards our final destination. The first NOLS packrafting course was a success. Through a combination of hiking and floating rivers our course covered over 200 hundred miles of wild Alaskan terrain in 28 days. More importantly, the expedition began with a group of students who were previously unable to paddle or backpack efficiently and ended with competent campers and wilderness travelers versed in land and river travel.
Permalink | Posted by Sarah on Aug 3, 2011 in the following categories: Alaska, Curriculum
Hot Risk Management Topic: 15 Passenger Vans
From Instructor Dave Yacubian at a recent NOLS Risk Management Training (RMT):
We were discussing transportation in the RMT today, and an interesting discussion ensued surrounding the requirements for Class B licenses in California. There was an instance where a rental car agency mistakenly provided a 15 passenger van for rental when the organization had rented a 10 passenger van. The staff member did not realize the difference until after driving students 3-4 hours out of town.
The discussion covered the fact that removing seats from a vehicle to accommodate fewer passengers does not change its classification, at least in CA, and in this case the staff member would be required to have a Class B license.
Additionally, what role does the rental agency have in renting the incorrect vehicle? We suggested instituting very specific vehicle checks prior to exiting rental car lots, and reflecting this in you transportation policy.
To learn more about topics like this, see our upcoming schedule of Risk Management Trainings.
Permalink | Posted by Brian Fabel on May 19, 2011 in the following categories: Curriculum, Professional Training, Wilderness Risk Management Conference
