Describes numerous benefits of ropes courses including (1) increasing self-esteem; (2) promoting physical fitness; and (3) fostering group cooperation. Traces the history of ropes courses. Emphasizes safety through construction standards for ropes courses outlined in "Safety Practices in Adventure Programming" by Priest and Dixon. (KS)

Maple Leaf Outdoor Centre (Ontario) has added year-round outdoor education facilities and programs to help support its summer camp for disadvantaged children. Schools, youth centers, religious groups, and athletic teams conduct their own programs, collaborate with staff, or use staff-developed programs emphasizing adventure education and personal…

Discusses ways in which outdoor leadership preparation differs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada based on questionnaire responses of 169 selected experts. Examines skills (technical activity, organizational, environmental, instructional, group management, problem solving) and attributes (motivational,…

Describes a summer trip taken by 2 teachers, a parent, and 11 boys aged 14 to 16 to the Sayan Mountains of Siberia. The group was from a small private secondary school in the backwoods of Canada. A Siberian mountaineering club from Irkutsk led the group to the summit of Munku Sardik. (KS)

Outdoor education staff in Toronto developed definitions of outdoor education, environmental education, conservation education, experiential education, environmental studies, adventure education, and global education. Predicts influences on outdoor education, lists implications of those influences, and recommends directions for outdoor educators…

Personal narrative links elements of a dog sledding trip with the transformational curriculum model as applied to outdoor education. Describes the physical, mental, and spiritual challenges of a seven-day winter camping and dog sledding trip, during which students learned responsibility through experience and natural consequences and realized the…

This paper discusses ways to link components of the adventure education and environmental education systems in Alberta, Canada. The province of Alberta has developed an Environmental and Outdoor Education Course of Studies which reflects an integrated, experiential approach to connect the personal needs of adolescent youth to the society of which…

A professor of outdoor and experiential education reflects on the development of group relations and on lessons in outdoor ethics learned during a canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic. Written to celebrate a transforming experience, this paper illustrates the experiential learning and individual development that can result from intensive outdoor…

The Camping Out experiential education program in Ontario (Canada) helps prepare youths (age 14-21) to deal with issues of sexual orientation and to practice building healthy, open connections that acknowledge the diversity of gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities. The camp offers a year-round followup support program. (SAS)

Leaders working in the outdoor adventure field are faced with making critical decisions that keep students, clients, or customers safe from the perils of risk-related activities while enabling them to benefit from these experiences. The knowledge and competency necessary to analyze and manage risk is integral to those providing outdoor adventure…

Written with the hope of improving communications within the outdoor/environmental education network, this catalogue lists 158 school boards or organizations and 40 camps in Ontario. It is organized by region and contains the following information for each group: Type of program (organized, incidental, residential, school based, elementary,…

In 1974 the course "Outdoor Education" began at the University of New Brunswick for student teachers in training. Since its inception 125 students have laboured, learned and enjoyed the course whose 3 primary goals are to help student teachers (1) choose aspects of the environment to enlarge the scope of a subject, (2) focus attention on…

Field notes written by students and guides during an eight-day university credit course in canoeing and wilderness living are presented as a dialogue to illuminate the spiritual experience of self-realization and well-being that comes to many students during the trip. (SV)

A study examined experiences of nature among eight adolescents during a 12-day wilderness trip. The trip generated feelings of good will toward nature but no increase in environmentally responsible behaviors. Group norms emphasized social interaction and constrained attention to nature. Outdoor educators should consciously plan for transfer of…

Interviews and surveys of 98 students and 7 instructors in Outward Bound Canada found that specific aspects of course activities, the physical environment, instructors, and participants influenced course outcomes. As role models, instructors made a greater contribution to student interpersonal skills than most other course components. Implications…