The weather is gorgeous. The air has that springtime smell, and everyone on campus is just itching to get outside and bathe in it all.
Naturally, the Outdoor Program knows its cue — what better time to give students an easy ticket to experiencing some of the priceless environmental resources that surround them?
The Outdoor Program is using the upcoming Earth Week festivities to get its message out there: to introduce novices to the great outdoors, to empower students to group together and to care for nature that is taken for granted far too much.
“Once students get out there and hike in one of the few unlogged areas around Eugene, it makes them wonder why more areas were not saved,” said Darcy Davis, a leader in the Outdoor Program. “We hope to get more UO students involved in the protection of the environment.”
Davis helped coordinate environmental awareness activities for Earth Week. She, together with the Earth Week Alliance composed of representatives from four other environmentally active campus organizations, worked hard to get the student body’s attention and inform them of the Outdoor Program.
The group’s office sits in the corner of the EMU, and inside is the “trip wall,” a billboard listing all the potential excursions for the week. It’s really as simple as signing your name to a clipboard, and you’re set to travel.
A couple of trip leaders — who could be any students — volunteer their expertise and take on the organizational duties of the trip. Got an urge to go rafting on the McKenzie River? Just contribute money for gas and food, attend a brief pre-trip meeting and sign your name under a poster that may read “Tuesday — Rafting: Anyone interested in playing hooky?”
Davis pointed out the advantages for students who travel with her organization.
“It’s so much easier and less expensive,” she said. “With us, a day of rafting on the McKenzie may cost $15. Try to do it with a tour group down there and you could spend $85.”
This non-profit organization stresses that they are not a club but merely an establishment that brings together students who have an interest in the outdoors. Still, strong bonds are made among the students, which is why Davis and the Outdoor Program have become so involved in ecological awareness and Earth Week.
For those who want to get their hands dirty and make a difference in honor of Earth Day, the group hosts trips to the coast for projects like the Oregon Beach Cleanup. Scheduled for May 4-7 is the popular Rogue River Cleanup, sponsored through donations from local businesses. Students ship trash up and out of the river and its banks. Although the sign-up list for the 10th annual event filled up quickly, don’t be discouraged — the Outdoor Program sponsors countless other projects similar to this one.
The Outdoor Program had a table set up at the EMU Amphitheater along with other environmental groups advocating Earth Week, and Davis said the environment is her passion. To her, success with Earth Week would mean “getting more students to learn about the issues, drawing in outsiders and really causing them to discuss things.”
So, enjoy the spring, enjoy the weather, enjoy the outdoors — hey, it’s almost Earth Day. The Outdoor Program just doesn’t want you to take it for granted.
