As part of a 5-week special topics course in exercise science this summer, 8 students accompanied Dr. Jennifer Hurst on an eleven day field excursion trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming. While in the parks the class did several hikes, including some students who hiked 18 miles roundtrip through Cascade Canyon to 9200 foot high Solitude Lake where there was still 5 feet of snow on the ground! Students also whitewater rafted on the Snake River and completed a one day rock climbing instruction course where they learned repelling and belaying skills. Other activities included a tour of the National Museum of Wildlife Art, wildlife watching at dawn, and learning about Leave No Trace Principles while in nature. The group tent-camped while in the parks and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other around the camp fire. The focus of the course was using physical activity to explore the students’ relationship with nature and learning about the National Parks from a multidisciplinary perspective. Each student developed a creative project that represented their relationship with nature using pictures, video and journal writings they collected during the field excursion. This summer marked the first offering of this course and Dr. Hurst looks forward to offering it again next summer.
Videos of the adventure can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEIj9fOxH8w and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ5ZB-MG2Jo&feature=player_detailpage