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The 1964 Wilderness Act was legislated to protect and maintain a portion of the nation's remaining wild areas as they were during pre-settlement times. In part, the intent was to provide the opportunity for primitive forms of recreation in surroundings where wilderness can be experienced on its own terms. However, overuse and related resource degradation have resulted in the loss of the primeval character of many wilderness areas, decreasing the opportunity for solitude. Solitude is specifically mentioned in the Wilderness Act as a critical component of wilderness. A study explored the effects of wilderness experience programs (WEP) on feelings of purism, privacy, and tolerated encounters. Pre- and posttests were administered to 42 college students who participated in a short-term WEP (about 5 days) and 64 participants in a long-term WEP (10-plus days). Pretest data did not show a relationship between participant concern for solitude and the number of encounters participants would tolerate and still consider their trip a wilderness experience. However, posttest data indicated that following a field experience, participant concern for solitude was significantly related to unwillingness to tolerate encounters with others in the wilderness. These results suggest that WEPs emphasizing wilderness education may effectively influence course participants to become a more educated wildland user constituency and to support use limits and other resource protection measures. (TD)

People with disabilities have long been hindered from participating in outdoor recreation activities such as fishing and boating because of structural and social barriers. Within the past decade, significant progress has been made toward including people with disabilities in outdoor recreation programs and improving access to related facilities and lands. Important terminology, federal legislation, and leisure studies related to people with disabilities are summarized. Using appropriate terminology conveys a sense of inclusion for programs and facilities. People-first terminology is positive and humanizing because it focuses on the person rather than the disability. Understanding and meeting legal requirements for access to programs, facilities, and services by people with disabilities will further ensure an inclusive environment. Guidelines for outdoor education and outdoor recreation programs include training staff, having a certified therapeutic recreation specialist available as a consultant, collaborating with special educators, providing support staff, including persons with disabilities on the staff, and involving persons with disabilities in the design and implementation of programs. Finally, research on people with disabilities shows they have the same motivations and educational needs as others participating in outdoor recreation activities. By using assistive devices and some additional planning, boating, fishing, and stewardship education programs can become inclusive and provide benefits to all segments of the population. Exemplary programs are identified, and research recommendations are discussed. (Contains 41 references.) (TD)

The Calista Elders Council (CEC) is a nonprofit organization representing the 1,330 Yup'ik elders 65 and older in the Alaskan Yup'ik homeland. The CEC seeks to preserve and transmit Yup'ik values and traditions through a five-fold plan that includes youth culture camps. An old summer fishing camp on Nelson Island became the site of a youth culture camp. The CEC pushed for this camp because of the decline in welfare services and the need for youth to know how to live as people did in the past, without relying on the cash economy. During the day, campers learned traditional subsistence activities. Evenings were reserved for "elder time." The culture camp provided a modern means for the traditional training of young people to be good listeners and, in their turn, become speakers of truth. The emphasis on talk reflects the indigenous view of how young people should learn and elders teach. Elders presented instruction in group settings and engaged in serious moral discourse dealing with appropriate behavior. Their long descriptions contained vivid metaphors to help young people retain what they said. Instead of individual qualities, the elders emphasized the importance of ongoing relationships. Elders did not just talk about Yup'ik culture, but displayed their unique view of the world in all they said and did. They addressed not only what young people needed to know, but also how they were expected to learn it. The elders taught youngsters how to learn. (TD)

Out Doors Inc. is a community-managed mental health organization in Victoria (Australia) that provides psychosocial rehabilitation to adults with mental health needs through outdoor adventure and other recreation experiences. This paper focuses on Out Door Inc.'s Going Places Program. The program, which ranges from 1 day to 4 months, is based on the belief that play, recreation, and outdoor adventure help to integrate mind, emotions, and body and are valuable parts of a holistic approach to personal development and mental health. Participants apply on their own and are not "referred." The 4-month program is a closed group of 12 men and women aged 18 and upwards, broadly fitting the category of being disabled by mental illness. Six levels of increasing challenge accommodate people's generally low levels of fitness and confidence. The focus is on abilities rather than disabilities, with a heavy reliance on the experiential learning model. Participants aim to be more self-sufficient, and the transfer of learning to their daily lives is an important program theme. Going Places makes it clear that it is not part of the medical system; it does not provide "treatment" or "therapy." This helps to ensure psychological safety, since many clients associate the word therapy with compulsory treatment, loss of personal dignity, and the therapist's exertion of power over them. Going Places shares common ground with those who do "adventure therapy" but its position acknowledges one of the main demands of people with mental health needs: that professionals work together to provide continuity of service and choices in a way that respects people as the experts in their own lives. (TD)

This paper describes the development of an outdoor education camp that assists young people in recognizing new responsibilities and celebrating transition into young adulthood. Using the concept of initiation, the camp marked the beginning of a process which involved adolescents in developing an identity as young adults, increasing personal responsibility, and strengthening personal and group support networks. Students entering upper secondary school participated in the "rites of passage," an initiation process which took place during a 5-day camping trip on the southwest coast of Australia. Key components were based on traditional practices and included the role of elders as guides and mentors, the symbolic journey, physical and psychological challenges, the creation of a vision of self and place, responsibility for self and others, support through networks, reintegration into the school community, and the sharing of experiences through school publications. The outdoor education initiation process could be applied to other settings, including work with troubled youth. (SAS)

This paper describes the Pressley Ridge Day School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) for emotionally disturbed/behavior disordered children and youth between the ages of 6 and 21. The physical plant, staff, programs, curriculum, and student eligibility and population are briefly described. Using the philosophy and Re-Education Model developed by Nicholas Hobbs and Campbell Loughmiller, Pressley Ridge operates an experientially-based curriculum component as an additional education resource and treatment intervention. Within the classroom, experiential education staff use experiential approaches and activities to help students build a group culture using group process. Twice each school year, students and teachers from each classroom (with assistance from an experiential education facilitator) plan and execute a 5-day camping trip to the school's own campsite. Group process contributes greatly to the quality of student experience at camp. Back in school, students' camp experiences are applied in positive ways to improve group functioning in the classroom, school, and community. The purpose of this program component is to utilize shared group experiences to foster individual growth through development of group identity and cohesiveness. The camping experience is briefly described. (SAS)

Explaining what outdoor experiential education is can be problematic, as a variety of terms are being used to identify a wide range of outdoor experiential learning methods. This paper proposes the metaphoric model of an umbrella to explain the relationships existing among these terms and their respective outdoor experiential learning methods. The shank of the umbrella represents the term outdoor education. From the shank, eight different ribs branch off, representing specific outdoor experiential learning methods. These methods are environmental education, earth education, wilderness education, outdoor adventure pursuits education, challenge education, adventure education, and two left unnamed to indicate the flexibility of the model. The canopy of the umbrella, which joins the ribs together, represents the term experiential education, a process common to all the methods. Finally, the handle represents camping education, a term often used to identify school camping programs. Each of the terms is defined in a manner that explains its position in the model. Contains 17 references. (Author/SV)

This paper defines a spiritual youth camp as a consciousness raising group. The camp, founded in 1956 as a community church camp, has been independent of any religious denomination since disassociating from the founding community church in 1986. Communication processes are described as they relate to primary aspects of the camp experience. Primary aspects include the role of religion, utopian influences, self-examination, effects of the camp founders/directors, diversity, and camp activities. (Author/EH)

A collection of essays on Chinese heritage community language schools in the United States addresses these topics: the schools, their curricula, and organization (Theresa Hsu Chao); school administration and management (Chao, Lydia Chen, Edward Chang); academic curriculum (Pay-Fen Serena Wang); non-heritage Chinese learners: practices and implications (Ming Lee); extracurricular activities (Suray H. Lee, Chang-Yu Miao); Chinese language summer camps for students (Cathy E-Ling Chai); short-term professional development for teachers (Yu-Ming Peng); obtaining credit from local school districts (Rae Shae Chen); awarding credit through testing: the case of the San Francisco (California) Unified School District (Ju-Ching Liu); issues and recommendations for improving Chinese language schools (Shu-han Chou Wang); optimizing unique opportunities for learning (Martha Wang Gallagher); and forging a link: Chinese heritage community language schools and the formal education system (Xueying Wang). (MSE)

A study conducted a nationwide evaluation of 15 residential camp programs designed for children, youth, and young adults with mild to severe disabilities. The study involved 2,184 campers (ages 7-19) with disabilities and was undertaken to further validate evaluation instrumentation, evaluate residential camp programs for children with disabilities in major regions of the country, and implement a dissemination plan to communicate project results nationwide. Results from the study indicate that campers made notable achievements in effective and recreational/living skills as judged by impartial observers, their counselors, and their parents. Nationwide, campers of varying ages, disabilities, and ability levels demonstrated high levels of enjoyment and participation in most program activities, and were affected positively by the camp experience. Campers with more severe disabilities were able to perform recreation skills at relatively high levels of independence. Campers also made positive gains in the camp setting in various areas of personal development that were carried over to the home and community setting, including communication, independence, and self-esteem. Lastly, the combined results of all measures revealed that increased independence was the predominant outcome for the campers. Implications of the findings are discussed, including the benefits of organized residential camping. (Contains 47 references.) (CR)

This report presents data collected during 1989-90 for the Adventure Program Incident Reporting Project, a joint project between the Wilderness Risk Managers Committee and the Association for Experiential Education. The project provides a means to educate interested parties about the risk management implications of different adventure activities, a comprehensive incident database for use in statistical analysis and trend analysis, and a central reporting forum for incidents in adventure programming. Programs were asked to estimate actual hours of participation by clients and staff for specific activities and for client groupings. The report also requested detailed information on each incident including a brief narrative. The first section of the report includes definitions of terms and models that were used for analyzing data. Section 2 provides descriptive statistics on incidents reported in the database. The 55 programs providing data included private and public instructional organizations, psychiatric hospitals, universities, county parks and recreation departments, camps, schools, 4-H programs, and court service programs. A total of 832 injuries and illnesses were reported, of which 433 were deemed serious injuries. Other data describe clients, activities, types of injury or illness, primary causes of injury or illness, injury rates, injury by time of day, and reinjury profiles. The last section includes narratives describing both near-miss situations and injury-producing incidents during games and initiatives, ropes courses, rock climbing, caving, cycling, snow skiing, canoeing, whitewater paddlesports, hiking, camping, backpacking, and transportation. The appendix includes information on the incident reporting project and a copy of the incident report form. (LP)

There is much research suggesting that cultural biases or attitudes are difficult to change. This study assumes that the reason for the difficulty is that such biases are deeply rooted in a variety of situational and individual sources that must work simultaneously for change to occur. In searching for a way to conform to this requirement, a situational authentic cultural simulation (or culture camp) was developed. Subjects in an experimental group (198 predominantly white females aged 8 through 17 at a residential camp) spent 2 days in a simulated Mexican village. Those in a control group were taught about Mexican culture using traditional teaching methodology, including hands-on experiences. Both groups showed a similar increase in their knowledge of Mexican village culture, but only the experimental group showed a significant reduction in cultural bias. Four tables and four figures present study data. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/SLD)

Developed as part of a study which attempted to integrate students with severe disabilities into regular recreational and leisure activities, this report focuses on integrating summer camps in the Greater Waltham (Massachusetts) area. It documents how a segregated camp for children and teens with disabilities can be closed down and the campers integrated into existing summer programs. It also describes how an age-appropriate program can be implemented for a large number of people simultaneously, how families and agencies can work together to plan a new program, and how such an integrated summer program can be cost effective. The process of developing the integration plan is detailed for both the first and second years of change. For each year, the report includes planning procedures by the Greater Waltham Association for Retarded Citizens and community groups, coordinating among the city camps, meeting with parents, developing staffing plans, training counselors, and planning transportation. A chart offers budget comparisons over 3 years. The process of change was accomplished in 2 years and has been accepted by all groups as successful. Tables provide such information as "Tips for Enhancing Integration" and "Daily Guide for Sending Children to Camp." (Contains 16 references.) (DB)

The National Indian Youth Leadership (NIYL) model was created to develop leadership skills for Indian youth to perform their future roles in the family, school, tribe, and nation. The model not only instills leadership skills and values through hands-on learning opportunities, but also challenges youth to apply those skills through projects they design and implement in their communities. A key element of the model is an 8-10-day intensive camp experience. Young people who will be in Grade 7 or 8 the following school year attend camp with adult and high school volunteers from their home communities. Camp staff are carefully screened to select positive role models. Camp routine is very structured and includes immersion and community building, physical fitness conditioning, spiritual awareness, development of environmental awareness and ethics, values clarification, adventure activities to develop self-esteem and leadership qualities, improving communication skills, health education, decision making, skill activities, "processing" experiences, and a community service project. During the following school year, students meet regularly for activities and training sessions and are involved in community service and improvement projects. This manual describes procedures for planning and managing a camp program, outlines ways that the NIYL model emulates traditional Indian values and child rearing practices, and provides references and resources. (SV)