The University’s Outdoor Program isn’t just a means for planning day hikes or overnight rafting trips, it’s also a resource for students to plan the international experience of their dreams.
Suzanne Hanlon, the program’s assistant coordinator, said she likes to think of the Outdoor Program as a catalyst for students to plan all kinds of excursions from bicycling in Tibet to sea kayaking in Thailand.
“We see ourselves as the resource to make it easier,” she said.
Students can use the program to plan their own excursions or to initiate trips that would include other students and community members. Hanlon said while any student can join an excursion, it can be difficult for some to afford and plan for the trip.
However, the Outdoor Program Greenberg Expedition Fund can help shoulder some of the students’ financial burden. Expedition groups that are planning extended or international trips can qualify for up to $1,000 to fund costs such as equipment, film, access fees and safety gear. To qualify, students must demonstrate that their expedition abides by the program’s philosophies. For example, trips must focus on the back country, self-reliance and non-competitiveness.
Senior Brad Schallert, the program’s trip initiator advocate, said few people have taken advantage of the grant money in the past few years, and he encourages students to check it out.
“That’s a really nice perk,” he said.
Students also can rent equipment through the program, such as backpacks, rafts and tents, according to the program’s Web site at http://outdoorprogram.uoregon.edu.
“We’re just a really affordable program,” said junior Tess Weaver, the events coordinator. “It’s the cheapest gear rentals in town, hands down.”
Throughout the year, the program also offers clinics that teach skills such as rafting, rock climbing or mountain bike maintenance. Students also can become qualified trip initiators, which means they can post and plan their own trips for others to join. The next trip initiator clinic will be in June, and updates will be posted on the Web site.
Schallert said many of the student staff working with the program have experience traveling abroad, which makes them good resources for other students planning excursions.
“It’s a nice forum to meet people who have a lot of international experience,” he said.
Schallert, who has studied and traveled abroad — separately from the program — in India, Tibet and Nepal, said staff members can provide input and give ideas for excursions, or they can connect students to other people with knowledge of particular countries and regions.
He emphasized the importance of planning ahead and said students should give themselves up to six months to plan large-scale trips. He said this foresight makes coordinating trips easier among people who may not know each other well.
One of the most important aspects of the trips planned through the program is the group dynamic focus, Schallert said. Everyone works together during the planning stage and the trip itself.
“You rely on each other,” he said. “You’re in it together until the end.”