Friday April 26, 2024
Outdoor Action Summer Sustainability Internship Program
Start date: Summer 2011
Hours/week:Â ~40 hours a week for 12 weeks (longer hours at the end of the summer)
Pay: based on an hourly rate ~ $6,00 for the summer which includes on campus summer housing stipend.
The Outdoor Action Program one summer internship position. This is a fully-funded summewr program to research all aspects of the Outdoor Action Program to determine what is necessary to make the program a model for sustainable outdoor education programs. The following areas will be the prime research targets.
Trips
- Researching options for trips that involve activities directly related to sustainability.
- Expanding the Organic Farming & Biking trips
Education
- Expanding the training of Outdoor Action Leaders in Leave No Trace practices and developing an integrated curriculum
- Bringing faculty members out to trips to talk about sustainability
Food
- Revising the menu for the trips to be based on local and/or sustainable products and collecting data on where the food comes from to provide this as part of an education curriculum on the trip.
Transportation
- Bus Transportation – use of alternative fuel buses
- Vehicle Rental – use of hybrid or alternative fuel cars
- Researching biodiesel vehicles and generating our own biodiesel fuel from Dining Services waste cooking oil.
Equipment
- Identifying and purchasing alternative water purification methods that do not use toxic chemicals.
- Purchasing alternative fuel cooking stoves (potentially bio-diesel) and generating the fuel from Dining Services waste cooking oil.
- Develop a green purchasing plan for equipment (backpacks, sleeping bags, etc.) including using our purchasing power and influence to encourage manufacturers to develop environmentally sustainable products.
Recycling
- Reducing packaging through bulk food purchasing
- Enhancing recycling of trip waste through the use of biodegradable plastics
Other Programs
- Sponsoring outdoor trips during the academic year that focus on issues of climate change and sustainability (e.g. Earthwatch)
- Annual Speakers Series – that brings prominent figures in outdoor leadership and sustainability to campus
- Developing educational programs and resources around human-powered commuting alternatives for University staff.
The student research will form the basis for implementing changes to the operation of this fall’s Frosh Trip Program including the development of a new curriculum on sustainability for OA Leaders to teach to incoming freshmen.