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Through wilderness stewardship programs, service projects, or trail crews, college outdoor programs can help land management agencies with their maintenance needs and provide student participants with rewarding service learning opportunities. Trail crews are usually composed of volunteer outdoor enthusiasts who take part in a multitude of technical and nontechnical work projects. In particular, trail crews are heavily utilized to reopen badly damaged trails after harsh winters. This paper uses Penn State University's Outdoor Program as a model to explore the steps in developing a trail crew component to a college outdoor program. These steps include: (1) establishing a solid working relationship with a local trail organization, state or local park, or state forest; (2) locating and securing a sufficient number of high quality trail tools (borrowing tools from agencies, buying the most needed tools over time, soliciting donations from local stores); (3) developing funding (avoiding costs, grant writing, fee-based workshops); (4) developing safety guidelines; and (5) staff training. Included is a general outline of the training requirements for apprentice leaders, assistant trip leaders, trip leaders, and trail crew instructors in Penn State's Outdoor Program. (SV)

This guide describes how to establish successful trails, outdoor classrooms, or other environmental education improvements on rural and urban school grounds. Teachers are encouraged to promote the environmental project as a solution to an existing problem and to include all parties and stakeholders that can benefit from a coordinated environmental education effort. Some of the 15 projects described are nature trails, composting demonstrations, wildlife feeders, timber measurement plots, wildlife plantings, outdoor classrooms or amphitheaters, and historical activities. The guide describes how to establish need, document purpose and intent, and organize interested parties. Successful projects depend on many partners. Resources include labor, material suppliers, and funding sources, and when the first two are lined up, the third is easier to get. Forest Service, Farm Service, and Extension personnel can help in determining where school boundaries are and which areas may lend themselves to environmental projects. Safety, liability, trespassing, and maintenance issues are discussed. The integration of outdoor projects across grade levels and curricula is stressed. Fourteen award-winning environmental education curricula for grades K-12 are presented that cover aquatic life, forest stewardship, wildlife, water resources, waste management, and outdoor leadership. Ordering information is provided. Also included are books of interest, North Carolina organizations that are potential resources, national organizations, and North Carolina educational state forests. (TD)

This teaching guide provides basic information on training outdoor leaders for a wilderness course at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander, Wyoming. The first chapter, "Teaching at NOLS," overviews teaching fundamentals and describes teaching techniques such as the use of demonstrations, modeling, formal classes, inquiry, teachable moments, debriefing, story telling, and games. The remaining chapters include: (2) Outdoor Living Skills, which covers backpacking, campsite selection, tent and fly pitching, sanitation, stove use and care, nutrition, fire building, fishing, and other skills relevant to outdoor education (3) Mountain Travel, focusing on travel and hazard evaluation skills such as trail techniques, map reading, hazard evaluation, risk management, route finding, compass navigation, and river crossings; (4) Leadership and Teamwork, which outlines information for teaching outdoor leadership and judgment skills related to expedition behavior, student teaching experiences, and expedition planning; (5) Environmental Studies, covering topics related to land management practices, natural sciences, physical sciences, and environmental ethics; and (6) First Aid, covering basic skills such as patient assessment, soft tissue injuries, cold injury, dehydration, shock, altitude illness, and emergency procedures. Each instructional topic includes a general statement related to the relevance of the subject, educational goals, specific course information related to educational goals, effective teaching methods, and a list of resources for locating additional information on a topic's key points. Appendices include tips for student leader exercises, a list of effective leadership habits and skills, and strategies for fostering initiative among student leaders. (LP)

This paper describes how a school district in Maine implemented an outdoor education program centered around National Trails Day (a day of awareness of outdoor recreational areas in the United States). The program combined classroom learning with an all-day hike on the Appalachian Trail by 240 seventh-grade students. Numerous teachers, school administrators, and parent volunteers also participated in the program. Goals were to expose students to hiking and outdoor activities and careers and recreational areas a close distance from their homes; to improve students' self-concept through group work and goal setting; and to develop cross-team and cross-school relationships through group work toward a common goal. Classroom activities included a slide show presentation by an Appalachian Trail "through" hiker, (from Maine to Georgia) an outdoor career awareness day, topographical map reading, wilderness first aid, and journal writing. For the all-day hike, students were divided into groups of 10 or less and assigned to a district employee and parent volunteer. During the hike, students were assigned duties such as reading and marking topographical maps, writing in a hike log, collecting objects to be used in art projects, and collecting insects. Includes materials needed, program costs, and suggestions for program implementation. (LP)

One of a series of documents produced by a nationwide network of early childhood education specialists, teachers, parents, and Head Start staff, this nature trail guide for exploring the outdoors is intended as a supplemental teaching aid for teachers or parents. The guide identifies and illustrates the most predominant and readily observable species found along trails and ponds of the western United States. An added feature of the guide is a brief geological history of the area, as well as a rock identification list. The document concludes with a list of tips for teachers and parents. Activities may be adapted for use at any grade level. (LH)

Each fall, the Department of Natural Sciences at Calhoun Community College (CCC) integrates a field trip to the Great Smoky Mountains into two of its biology courses. Two preliminary class meetings culminate in a 4-day visit to the park. A fee is charged to cover accommodations, breakfast each day, two picnic lunches, and transportation. Course requirements include: (1) reading reports of research conducted in the Great Smoky Mountains; (2) writing a report summarizing the field activities conducted and the ecological aspects highlighted during the trip; and (3) collecting a sampling of plants and data from a hardwood forest. Field trip activities include nature hikes, wildlife observation, and leisure time. This student fieldtrip handbook contains a general itinerary of trip activities, lists staff responsibilities and group assignments, reviews specific course requirements (i.e., a two-page summary of activities, lists of facts learned, descriptions of weather conditions, tree sampling methods utilized, completed field data sheets, hike summaries, wildflowers observed, and a course evaluation), presents tips for effective photography, and includes a section on Rocky Mountain plant ecology which reviews six forest types and the plant species found in each forest. A plant ecology conversion table, plant study data sheets, plant sampling data guidelines, area maps, and a field study program brochure are included. (GFW)

Though public nature trails have been in use since the late 1800's, their use on school grounds for educational purposes is a relatively new concept. The nature trail is an important tool for teaching environmental awareness and appreciation. It provides experiences for observing nature firsthand with all senses employed. It is a resource that is available to the entire school and is applicable to all curriculum areas. The purpose of this booklet is to provide information for teachers, administrators and students on how they may plan and develop a nature trail at their school. Locating the trail, trail construction, trail interpretation, and maintenance are covered in section 1. Section 2 focuses on art, science-math, language arts, and social studies activities which could evolve from classroom use of the nature trail. Section 3 provides ideas and examples of trail topics such as a marsh trail, historical trail, wood trail, and geology trail. Examples of outdoor demonstrations and charts are also included in this section. Section 4 is a list of environmental education sources and aids including associations, books, magazines, films, and resource people. The booklet concludes with a list of outstanding nature trails located in North Carolina. (Author/TK)

Designed to allow youngsters aged 10 to 15 to experience the challenges and problems environmental investigators might face making an environmental impact study, the trial version of the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trail Module focuses on aspects of construction-related environment problems. Four activities are included in the Module: (1) "Trail Impact Study", in which participants plan a safe, convenient footpath that will have minimal impact on the site; (2) "Cardiac Hill", in which participants use pulse rates as a guide to finding the maximum steepness for a trail along which hikers can walk comfortably; (3) "Hold a Hill", an activity to determine how steep a trail can be before excessive erosion occurs; and (4) "Trail Construction", finding the best construction technique for the site. The individual, water-proof folio for each activity includes activity explanation, preparation, materials, action, discussion, and follow up. Other materials are an overview of the Module and OBIS, and an equipment card indicating how to make inexpensive metric materials for measuring slope. (SB)

This Unified Sciences and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) unit challenges students to develop an outdoor area to help others appreciate nature. The challenge is general enough to apply to many problem-solving situations in mathematics, science, social science, and language arts at any elementary school level (grades 1-8). The Teacher Resource Book for the unit is divided into five sections. Section I describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of USMES "challenges." Section II provides an overview of possible student activities with comments on prerequisite skills, instructional strategies, suggestions when using the unit with primary grades, a flow chart illustrating how investigations evolve from students' discussions of nature trails problems, and a hypothetical account of activities in a grade 5/6 combination. Section III provides documented events of actual class activities from grades 4, 4/5, and 7. Section IV includes lists of "How To" cards and background papers, bibliography of non-USMES materials, and a glossary. Section V consists of charts identifying skills, concepts, processes, and areas of study learned as students become involved with the activities. (JN)

The educational and recreational programs of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are carried out to help achieve the overall mission of the FWS, which is to provide federal leadership to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuous benefit of people. A set of standards and related questions were developed to evaluate FWS interpretation and recreation (I&R) programs in terms of the FWS mission objective. This handbook, designed to be used with these standards and questions, explains the rational for the standards/questions, identifies resources for additional study, and offers suggestions for bringing an I&R program into compliance with applicable standards. Information is provided in three major sections which focus on planning, evaluation, and development. A list of the standards and questions is included. Each question is accompanied by one or more sources of additional information. These sources include sections in this handbook (identified by paragraph number), FWS policy and procedure issues in the "Interpretation and Recreation Program Management Document," information in the FWS "Refuge Manual," and information from other sources. (JN)

Describes activities that utilize the school grounds as a context to study environmental problems. Activities include surveying the grounds, map making, tree identification, study of plant and animal life, soil studies, and conservation and beautification projects. (MDH)

Describes several soil educational displays developed for park and nature center trails. Displays include full-scale soil monoliths displayed along the trails with explanations on why and how the soils are different, and micro-monoliths exhibiting the different soil types. (MDH)