Paper History: Presented at the Association of College Unions, International Conference.   Seminar #27 (a part of the "Move to the Great Outdoors" block). San Francisco, California, March 17-21, 1973.

Editor's Note:  This one of the first papers which describes the operational components of a new approach to outdoor recreation programming, now known as Common Adventurerism.

An outdoor program offers wide based opportunities for physical, emotional, and mental learning experiences in outdoor settings. These opportunities have a simple organizational base which is oriented to a human need for contact with nature where the individual can have real roles in decision making processes. A group of these individuals involved in any outdoor program activity become "common adventurers".

I. INTRODUCTION

A. DEFINITION OF A COLLEGE OUTDOOR PROGRAM

All the programs we have seen attempt to offer opportunities for a wide variety of physical, emotional and mental learning experiences in the wilderness or out-of-doors.

1. These learning experiences are physical because they direct an individual toward sensory and muscular coordination and development. Non-mechanized activities are preferred because they provide life-lasting physical benefits and are in keeping with the wilderness.

2. The same learning experiences usually have emotional overtones because there are elements of fear, anxiety, accomplishment, and ecstasy as well as possibilities for planning, seeking, and finally attaining highly personalized adventures.

3. Finally, these experiences are mentally meaningful to the individual because they help him learn how to cope with complex changes in the natural environment. They help a person become aware of general ecology and how individuals and human societies may coexist with nature.
 

B. KNOWN CRITERIA FOR SUCCESSFUL OUTDOORS PROGRAMS

1. Coordinator - Outdoor Life Style

A college outdoor program coordinator must practice outdoor activities and have broad educational interests. Neither professional guide status nor academic certification is necessary or even especially desirable for this role. The prospective coordinator should be a student or a young man or woman who is interested in current innovations in education and has a great desire to learn about and share outdoor experiences.

A young person is desirable because he or she will be able to identify easily with the participants, and is less likely to become an authority figure.

Furthermore, an interest in current educational innovations will serve to enhance those learning experiences which students expect and desire. Obviously, the coordinator should be rewarded with salary, credit and support from the student union. All of the existing successful programs have a coordinator who is fully accepted as a college staff member.

2. Simple Organizational Format

An operational description of all successful outdoor programs includes a very simple organizational format. A club-like structure is unsatisfactory because of its constitutional confines, codified power structures, exclusive membership and atmosphere. An explanation of the simple structure of successful outdoor programs is included in the following paper.

3. Objectives

Outdoor program objectives should be well defined. Without clear objectives, students, participants, coordinator and the college in general are unsure about the needs or the direction of the program. Each program must continually expand and reevaluate its own objectives to allow a wide variety of opportunities for learning.

4. Coordination Between Schools

Physical, emotional and mental learning experiences in natural environments are just becoming understood by those of us interested in the concept of outdoor pursuits. The integration of these three learning aspects of the outdoors is an exciting and revolutionary development in education.

Regional and nationwide cooperation in the ACU-I , aimed at sharing ideas and programs, will stimulate more understanding.

Examples of cooperative group efforts which already exist include regional and national outdoor program workshops and the Cooperative Wilderness Adventures, for which a brochure is published twice yearly, that incorporates wilderness outings throughout the West at all times of the year. One aim of these continuous programs is to inspire programs at other schools. New activities and programs of this type are being developed by the ACU-I Outdoor Program, Committee.
 

II. DESCRIPTION OF OUTDOOR PROGRAMS - A SIMPLE VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

It would be an undertaking of huge magnitude to deal with all of the theories of human nature values and so on. We won't try! Rather a simple, but very understandable set of assumptions allows us to coordinate the general activities of an outdoor program.

1. All problems related to the outdoor program are simple, understandable, and can be solved through common sense and cooperation. This assumption in practice leads to quick decisions based on present and predicted needs. The outdoor program tries to short-cut hurdles that complicate decision making. Therefore, the certification of leaders who later act as authoritarians is always rejected. Similarly, any attempts to bureaucratize the program are rejected.

2. We assume that since human beings evolved by adaptations to nature in the past, they can learn appropriate responses to nature in the present. At first, most of us are too dependent upon technology to respond appropriately when radically confronted with a "harsh" environment. its an example, most of us are conditioned to turn on a heat or go to a warm room if it gets cold outside. It is just as easy to put on more clothes or increase activity for warmth. People who have had opportunities to learn many responses to cold weather are better able to cope with that type of change. Outdoor programs provide some of these opportunities.

3. An individual is fully capable of making his own decision in natural environments where he has chosen the activity and situation. Leaders do not have to make decisions for others, nor is there a need for set decision making procedures in outdoor program activities. Everyone expressed his opinion and decisions are made which satisfy all members of a group. Every participant is a common adventurer, one who has aligned himself with others of similar interests.

4. If we are right in our assumptions that:
 

a. All problems are capable of being solved in a simple manner;

b. Humans are capable of learning and responding to environmental changes;

c. Individuals are fully capable of making their own decisions;
 

Why, then is it necessary to organize and develop Outdoor programs? Remember, this is a problem and the answer should be simple. We feel that opportunities for people to participate in independent outdoor activities have been grossly neglected in our present culture. The outdoor program format attempts to provide a wide variety of individualized environmental encounters and experiences not found in our current educational systems. (Remember the Definition above). If opportunities for outdoor activities are available people will come willingly, they will learn outdoor skills readily and will soon be able to act safely in the natural) environment. In addition, they will be able to do this independently of any public or commercial outdoor schools (or outdoor programs ) because their skills and judgment will already have been practiced. We feel that the outdoor program provides a viable format in which many outdoor opportunities may emerge; this format is described in the following pages.
 

B. BASIC FORMAT FOR OUTDOOR PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

1. Many college outdoor programs developed from outing clubs where a small group of mostly students gathered at weekly meetings to discuss and plan weekend trips.

The University of Oregon Outdoor Program began its career in April, 1967, in a basement room of the Erb Memorial Union as a participant-initiated, rather than Union-initiated activity program. This form of genesis proved of lasting value to the Program. The participants provided a solid, reliable framework for the organization and a storehouse of energy for the fledgling program.

In July of 1970, the Idaho State University outdoor Program came into being. The outing club concept was no longer serving the needs of wilderness living people. Officers, memberships, dues and bureaucracy were limiting the Outing Club's ability to function as a flexible, free moving unit. on both campuses participants decided that if the program remained limited to a "club" operating for the benefit of an exclusive set of members, the new outdoor program would follow earlier examples and perish as a club's membership varied or found themselves too pressed by other activities.

2. Ultimately the student founders of the new programs hit upon a happy solution by attaching a large bulletin board to one wall and inventing the "trip sheet", which allowed all participants in one trip to become common adventurers. A trip sheet was to be completed and posted by anyone who wished to share ideas, transportation, or companionship for a wilderness experience. Normally, a few trip sheets were posted for weekdays and an increased quantity and variety were posted for the weekend. The range of trips resembled a pyramid whose base was composed of day hikes, beach outings, day long ski tours, and picnics. The point of the pyramid represented the occasional river or mountain expedition of a grand scale.

3. The benefits of trip sheet organization were many. Something was available for everyone since everyone directly planned the program by posting trip sheets. At this point, when participation greatly increased, a full-time coordinator became necessary to aid in creating vacation trips and summer outings of longer duration. When appointed the full-time coordinator was able to administer publicity equipment acquisition and maintenance, and initiate new programs activities as well.

The UO and ISU experience in the outdoor program indicates the coordinator is most valuable in a supportive rather than commanding role. The program feels the assumption of an authoritative role by the coordinator would chill the free flow of student enthusiasm and become an inadequate substitute for the spark of self-motivation.
 

C. OUTDOOR PROGRAMS AT U.0. AND I.S.U.

Schools or persons wishing to develop outdoor programs may wish to follow the process which occurred at the University of Oregon and Idaho State University. Briefly put, it boils down to the following points:
 
1. The organization must be simple. The traditional club set-up, executive power structure and authoritarian policy statements are not needed and tend to complicate an outdoor program unnecessarily. A structure which encourages heterogeneous participation is best.

2. A wide range of activities must be encouraged. Both indoor and easy outdoor sessions can provide a base for learning skills. A program should attempt to encourage year-round activities both near campus and in distant places.

3. A program must not be exclusive. At U.O. and I.S.U. students, townspeople, high school students, and any visitors may participate on an equal level as trip coordinators or participants. We have not developed a badge system to certify the qualifications of participants. We assume that all people will be honest about their level of skill, especially when they understand they are responsible for themselves.

4. The program must be economical for participants and for the school. Only basic administrative materials are provided, such as brochures, calendars, tools, instructional equipment, etc. Every participant pays for any expense he incurs. For example, everyone pays his share of food, transportation, and group equipment. He also provides his own equipment.
 

Cost-benefit analyses at both schools reveal that for every dollar invested in an outdoor program at least $9.00 and as much as $30.00 are returned in benefits. In contrast, federal government projects showing a return of more than $2.00 are considered to be exceptionally profitable.
 

D. OBJECTIVES

We feel that the following objectives are necessary for a strong outdoor program in a college or university.
 
1. Provide a place where people with similar interests may meet. The outdoor program serves as a place on campus where people may propose trips or activities to others. It is a place where they may gather free from pressures imposed by some structured circles, plan and initiate all kinds of wilderness activities, and find people who share these needs and feelings. People use this facility to put up trip sign-up sheets, check maps, sort and pack equipment. They use the craft center next door to rent, buy and construct items of equipment. The program has a collection of maps and books and may occasionally rent films as well.

2. Teach and Lead Others. Not everyone is capable of leading, but some may have these traits latently. By developing confidence in certain skills, a participant in the outdoor program may soon wish to "turn on" others to his newly found joy in, say ski touring. Thus, a teacher and leader emerges.

3. Provide Co-educational Group Outings. All of the activities in the outdoor program are offered to men and women alike. Both participate in all stages of trip planning and preparation.

4. A participant must be able to select trips and activities according to his interest and ability. This is the crux of the program. People must have the option to choose outings that correspond to their interest and ability level.

5. The outdoor program must teach basic skills. Many activities are potentially dangerous and require some knowledge on everyone's part. By offering teaching sessions in activities such as rock climbing mountaineering, camping, kayaking, canoeing, rubber boating, survival, and ski touring, the program is assured that participants have had the opportunity to learn at least the basic skills and safety precautions necessary for a pleasant outing, People tend to pass on their newly acquired skills to other interested newcomers. This revolving instruction perpetuates itself and leaders emerge naturally.
 

It is not an objective of the outdoor program to structure situations where people are forced to pit themselves against nature. Ideally, participants will gradually learn skills to help them surmount problems they confront in the wilderness. When a participant learns in this fashion the confrontations are usually positive, the adventures highly exciting, and the experiences ecstatic. Because learning is positive, a person yearns for and seeks further wilderness adventures.
 

E. "COMMON ADVENTURER" LEARNING AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION

The self-actualization available to participants assumes a variety of forms. Primarily, the student sets out to master wilderness skills at the rate compatible with her/his own ambition. Many activity courses in formal curriculum settings set the student upon a formal series of step-by-step skill progressions. The outdoor program has refrained from systematizing instruction for a number of reasons crucial to its educational philosophy.
 
1. The outdoor program believes a participant must have a total commitment to certain of the undertakings. The student arrives at such a commitment only through an internal process. For example, the program would be grossly at fault in requiring students to undertake strenuous and often hazardous summit expeditions or to run the rapids of major Western rivers. However, if the participants through an internal process, became committed to such undertakings, the program sustains that commitment through the resources at its command.

2. The student alone is able to judge adequately his or her skills and ambition. Also, they tend to seek the advice or more experienced participants.

3. The value of any wilderness experience derives from taking opportunities to experience the ecstasy of self-responsibility and self-realization, which cannot be instilled from any outside source.
 

Through the outdoor program, students may gain a realization of their relationship to the natural environment which cannot be learned through abstract sources. This is not to say that the program finds no value in symposiums or formal classes concerning the increasing problems of man's alienation from his natural environment. Symposiums, seminars, slide shows, and talks by noted wilderness users can motivate a student to understand wilderness and their place within it. However, the actual wilderness experience is the concrete learning mechanism. The particular understanding which the student seeks must be experientially based. Such an understanding will have a profound influence upon the way he views the use of the remaining natural areas. Thus, experiences in the outdoor program may have a sociological, psychological and even political effect. A student who comes to know the wilderness on a first hand basis is far less likely to dissipate its resources than one who regards the wilderness as only an intangible, abstract realm with which he or she has no valuable interaction.

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