|
Regional Wilderness Stewardship Training Course in Gatlinburg, TN | |
Dates: Monday November 14, 2011-Thursday November 17, 2011
Location: Gatlinburg, TN
Target Audience: Field-level decision makers and key staff.
Cost: None
For more information, including registration directions, visit our website. | |
|
|
Wilderness Links | |
"Connect"
The Wilderness Professional's Social Network
|
|
|
Two Online Courses of Study Launched
The Carhart Center has launched two more online courses of study: Cultural Resource Management in Wilderness and Paleontological Resource Management in Wilderness. Each course of study has three modules:
-
Fundamentals - Inventory and Monitoring
- Evaluating Scientific Proposals
The courses include interactive exercises, case study applications, and suggestions for work products you can apply to your own wilderness. Each module can be taken at any time that matches your schedule, and whatever speed is best for your preferred learning style -- but plan on at least 4 hours to complete each course of study.
These courses of study are designed to introduce cultural resource specialists, paleontological resource specialists, wilderness specialists, other interested subject matter specialists, and wilderness managers to:
-
the special requirements of wilderness pertaining to these areas of science and resource management; and -
the important contributions cultural and paleontological resources can make to wilderness character.
These courses will not train wilderness specialists to be archaeologists or paleontologists, nor vice versa. But they will help start the dialogue between these disciplines that are necessary for quality mutual stewardship of these resources.
If you are new to wilderness management or have been at it for a while, you are certain to find something of interest and use to you. The courses are free and currently available to all employees through the Eppley Training Site, and to DOI employees through DOI Learn. We are working to offer the courses through AgLearn, and will announce that availability when possible.
For more information, contact Chris Barns at 406-243-4625, or email him.
|
|
Steve Archibald Joins the Carhart Team
 | | Steve with granddaughter, Zoey, in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness |
We are pleased to announce that Steve Archibald is the first person in the history of the Carhart Center to staff our long-desired Wilderness Education & Outreach position.
Steve will work on, among other things, fine-tuning Wilderness Investigations (WI), a suite of subject-integrated lessons that encourage inquiry and investigation about wilderness among 5th -8th graders. He will conduct training sessions and workshops for teachers, volunteers, and other staff in how to implement WI. Other responsibilities include expanding the Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program( see the next article for more information on this tremendous pilot program). We're incredibly fortunate to have someone of Steve's experience and credibility.
Steve has been a classroom teacher, place-based outdoor educator and workshop facilitator for over twenty years. He has taught in regular single grade public school classrooms, in multi-age one-room schoolhouses, in charter schools, lab schools, private schools, environmental education centers and universities. He has been married to his friend Toni for 40 years, has four grown children, and eight grandchildren. He and his wife live in the mountains of southwestern Montana where Steve has developed professional curriculum for various educational organizations and operated his teacher workshop business.
Before becoming a teacher, Steve co-owned and co-managed a thriving hardware/lumber business in the Pacific Northwest. While on the faculty of Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Steve wrote the Journeys place-based education curriculum. He has served as a board member of the Montana Environmental Education Association and the Montana Natural History Center. He has done contract work for Montana Audubon, Montana State University, the University of Montana, U.S. Forest Service, Bitter Root RC&D (and many other organizations), and leads teacher workshops on topics related to place-based education.
Our thanks to the National Conservation Training Center and interagency funding for making this position possible. Currently, it is only a 1-year opportunity with the potential to be extended up to four years. We know Steve will make the most of it! |
|
A Reflection on the
Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program
 | | An Outdoor Explorers Tribal Wilderness Workshop near the Mission Mountains |
When I accepted the position as Wilderness Education & Outreach Intern at the Carhart Center in October 2010, I knew that I wanted to create something substantial. Something that would make a tangible difference within my community. I had been in Missoula about a year, fell in love with the amazing landscape, and found a group of passionate University of Montana students just as smitten as I with Montana wilderness. The energy was there, but I wasn't sure what to do with it yet. After attending a "Reconnecting Children with Nature" workshop in West Yellowstone, MT, learning of the growing disconnect between children and the outdoors, the simple yet beautiful idea dawned on me -- get kids outside.
Fast forward a few months and many mission statement drafts later, the Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program was created. Granted, the program was infantile with wobbly legs, but its soul was strong and steadfast with a dedicated group of supporters. The Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program provides outdoor learning and recreation experiences to underserved children in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Missoula program through the leadership of University of Montana students, Montana Wilderness Association, the Carhart Center, and many other federal and nonprofit organizations. Outdoor trips include: snowshoeing in the Rattlesnake Wilderness and Recreation Area, whitewater rafting, participation in the Clark Fork River Cleanup, and a tribal wilderness workshop near the Mission Mountains. The Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program believes in a holistic approach in wilderness education, exposing children to a variety of outdoor landscapes and recreational opportunities. This approach allows children to build upon their past experiences, increasing their confidence in outdoor skills and establishing a strong land ethic for all outdoor spaces, including wilderness.
In addition to building outdoor skills and confidence, an important aspect of the program is relationship building and providing positive role models who emulate outdoor stewardship behavior, the power of higher education, and the opportunity for careers in natural resources, for children. The combination of adult and university student mentors provides a wide array of perspectives for children. The trips also provide valuable experience to university students interested in pursuing outdoor education or natural resource careers. Feedback from our pilot trip participants has been overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to expanding the program to other university campuses.
While my stint as an intern at the Carhart Center will be ending soon, I'm certain the future for the Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program looks bright. Future trips include overnight camping at Glacier National Park and a rocking climbing session near Missoula. Without a doubt this program gave me more than I could ever offer it -- a chance to try something new, confidence in my abilities, and an opportunity to share the Montana with which I fell in love. Thank you to the Carhart Center for taking a chance on me and never looking back. Without your faith in my vision and abilities, this program would have never survived. The key to our success has been strong local partnerships and committed individuals willing to take on leadership roles. Our hope is that other agency employees across the nation will create similar partnerships within their communities for the benefit of children and nature. A guide to recreating this program in your city is currently being drafted and will soon be available on wilderness.net. To learn more about the Outdoor Explorers Mentoring program visit, http://outdoorexplorers.wordpress.com/.
For Wilderness,
Jennifer Lutman |
|
If you have any questions, comments, or want to suggest a topic for the newsletter, please feel free to email us. We'd love to hear what topics are most interesting to you so we can focus on them. Until next time!
Sincerely,
Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center |
|
|
