Outdoor Recreation Skills   Rec 202          Spring 2005

 

Meeting Time:              Mondays 1:10pm-4:10pm

 

Place:                           Room 142 Wimberley Hall  (Unless announced otherwise in class)

 

Instructors:                  Steven Simpson

136 Wittich Hall

785-8216

simpson.stev@uwlax.edu

 

 

Office Hours:               10am-11am Wednesdays; 9:30am - 10:30am Tuesdays

             

 

Readings:                                 Harvey, M.  1999.  The National Outdoor Leadership School’s Wilderness Guide.  New York: Fireside.

 

Leopold, A. A Sand County Almanac.  Any edition is acceptable.

 

Cornell, J. 1989.  Sharing the Joy of Nature.  Nevada City, CA:  Dawn Publications.

 

Van Matre, S.  1990.  Earth Education.  Warrensville, IL: Institute for Earth Education.

 

Robbins, C., Bruun, B., and Zim, H.  1966. Birds of North America.  New York: Golden Press.

 

 Other readings on reserve in library.

 

 

Readings:                     Readings for the semester are listed in the class schedule with                                                                 corresponding topics.  It is the student’s responsibility to have all

readings done prior to the date listed on the class schedule.

 

Course                         The course is an introduction to a variety of outdoor recreation and

Description:                 environmental awareness pursuits.  One of the course’s primary purposes

is developing outdoor recreation skills, while the other primary focus is to

enhance environmental awareness.  The class objectives are to 1) acquire and/or enhance basic knowledge in at least six locally available outdoor activities, 2) acquire a basic understanding of three local ecosystems (forest, river, and wetlands), and 3) develop a personal philosophy of the relationship with the natural world.

NRPA Standards and Evaluative Criteria

8.05 Knowledge of the interrelationship between leisure behavior and the natural environment.

8.16 Ability to organize and conduct leisure programs and services in a variety of settings.

 

Tentative Schedule

The schedule listed below is tentative, dependant on the weather.  The list consists of mostly outdoor activities.  Class on these days will be held outdoors rain, snow, or shine so dress accordingly every Monday.  On days where weather may cause potentially hazardous conditions or is so severe as to ruin any chance for a pleasurable experience, class will be held indoors.  The instructor has alternative indoor activities for such an occurrence.

 

Come to class prepared to spend the majority of the class outdoors.  Dress for the weather and specific activity.  Regularly bring rain/snow gear to class. Students are encouraged to bring binoculars, bird book, camera, etc…

Date	Topic	Equipment	Readings
Jan. 24	Introduction		Simpson and Cain; Owen Matrix on 202 web page
Jan. 31	Leopold/Minimum Impact		Sand County Almanac/
Feb. 7	Lashing		Owen
Feb. 14	Environmental Education I		Van Matre, pp. 1-48
Feb. 21	GPS, map and compass	Walking shoes	Harvey, Ch. 8
Feb. 28	GPS (Hixon Forest)	Walking shoes
March 7	Mid-term
March 14	No Class (spring break)
March 21	Environmental Education II	Walking shoes	Cornell, pp. 1-47
March 28	Practical Exam I
April 4	Practical Exam II
April 11?	Night Hike	Walking shoes
April 18	Decorah Peak	Walking shoes
April 25	Canoeing	Clothes that can get wet     Flashlight, old clothes change of clothes,	http://www.canoeaugusta.org/;  http://www.ehow.com/list_1076.html, then under canoeing and kayaking, read forward paddle, pry paddle, draw stroke, and hut stroke
May 2	Caving	garbage bag,bike helmet	Caving sheet on Rec 202 web page

Grading

     Mid-term Examination                                    50 pts.

     Skills Testing                                     50 pts.

     Final Examination                                    20 pts.

     Personal Philosophy Paper                     50 pts.

 

Midterm Examination                                                               Monday, March 7

The midterm examination will be a written examination covering the assigned readings, class lectures, and field lessons.  It will be a combination of short answer and multiple choice.

 

Final Examination                                                          Wednesday, May 11 at 2:15pm    The final examination will be a written examination in the same format as the midterm.  60% will be on material since the midterm.

 

Skills Testing                                                             March 28, April 4

Skills testing will be a practical examination where students will be asked to complete basic outdoor techniques and skills covered during the semester in class.  Included will be safe starting of stoves, canoe strokes, map and compass, and knots.

 

Philosophy  Paper                                                  Early Submission,April 11;

                                                                             Final Submission, April 25

This class introduces a number of outdoor skills in three local ecosystems.  Through the experiences the student has while participating in these activities, discussions, assigned readings, journal entries and any other relevant experiences, the student will be required to define and defend a personal relationship to the natural world.  This should be a double-spaced typed document 4-10 pages in length.  A loss of 5 points for each day late.  Grading will be based upon:

 

            Clarity and depth of philosophical view…….....20 points

            Flow, grammar, quality of prose……………….20 points

            Use of field trips and readings…………………10 points

           

Participation

Class participation of activities is mandatory.  Students may miss one excursion without penalty. Each missed excursion after one will result in a reduction of five points (night hike is exception).