THE CONFIDENCE TO LEAD Learning and exploring in the outdoors

BY SHAUN KITTLE

The six-million-acre Adirondack Park is many things to many people. A striking landscape of towering peaks, rocky gorges, sparkling waterways, and mile after mile of unbroken forest, people take to this wilderness to find reflection, relaxation, recreation, and respite from a busy world. At North Country School and Camp Treetops, the Adirondacks are all of that and more. Here, this land is also a place for education; a dynamic, living classroom where we can learn as much about ourselves as the world around us. And it all begins with going outside.

At Camp Treetops, spending time in nature has been the way of things for 100 years. It’s a timeless tradition, one in which campers are immersed daily in the outdoors, both on and off campus, and learning about the flora and fauna is central to the entire Camp experience.

“Doing things in the outdoors, we don’t have to make up challenging things because they’re right there,” said Camp Treetops Director Karen Culpepper. “For some, it’s learning to swim. For others, it’s hiking a mountain or canoeing in a strong wind and realizing they can do it. Nature brings those challenges right to them.”

When Treetops counselors bring campers into the woods, they take full advantage of teachable moments, everything from mini field ecology lessons, to proper stewardship of the land, to building the skill set necessary to guide a trip. It’s all there for children to experience, explore, and embrace.

“We see kids gaining confidence—gaining confidence in themselves and in what they can do,” Karen said. “Maybe it’s an enjoyment or a passion for something. Once they have more knowledge, they’re more interested.”

North Country School’s philosophy is similar. Here, nature is the master teacher, a guiding star that weaves together disciplines like science, art, math, and music. Nature delivers endless opportunities for play as well, but the mountains can be intimidating, especially for those who are new to the outdoors.

That’s where the school’s new Outdoor Leadership Program comes in. The program allows students to take the traditional Outdoor Program a step further. Launched this fall, the first-year curriculum is modeled on the premise that a child can plan, guide, and make informed decisions during a trip, and the program is a way for students to gain the knowledge and confidence necessary to do just that. Along the way, students will earn CPR and First Aid certifications from the American Red Cross, become certified Leave No Trace trainers, and learn how to help people who are injured in the backcountry.

Jessica Jeffery was instrumental in developing the Outdoor Leadership Program, and she’s also the teacher. Jessica’s certifications include Wilderness Advanced Life Support, Wilderness First Responder through Wilderness Medical

Associates International, and First Aid/CPR instructor for the American Red Cross. She was on the Whiteface Mountain Ski Patrol for five years, and she spent seven years with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation working as a backcountry caretaker and serving on the Adirondack Trail Crew. Through her work, Jessica has rescued people in the backcountry, and has handled emergency situations that involved hypothermia, broken bones, and hikers lost in the woods. Now, she’s passing that knowledge on to her students.

“These students are learning the skill, and a lot of times they’re transferring it and teaching other students,” Jessica said. “Having a full understanding, enough to be able to educate somebody else, really builds leadership and confidence. Generally speaking, being in an environment where you’re not comfortable initially, but knowing you can take a step back and feel like you can take care of it, that you can be OK, is where we’re going with that.”

Eighth-grader Inyene first came to North Country School three years ago. She calls New Rochelle, NY, her home and her only prior experience being in the woods was a camping trip she and her mom went on when Inyene was six. The Adirondacks, a place where loons call into the night and rocks and trees outnumber people, was a whole other world. Inyene said she still doesn’t like sleeping outdoors, but activities like hiking and skiing are now a regular part of her life.

“I never thought I’d try things like skiing and rock climbing, but I’ve done both since I started coming here,” Inyene said.

Building on those outdoor pursuits, Inyene has learned important leadership skills like how to use a

OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM, 2020–21 SCHOOL YEAR

Fall: Backpacking, Land Navigation, Wilderness First Aid, Leave No Trace certification, and Intro to Rock Climbing

Winter: Avalanche Training, Winter Camping, Backpacking, and Trip Planning and Co-leading

Spring: Rock Climbing, Paddling, Backpacking, and Trip Planning and Co-leading map and compass, build a shelter, and respond to an injury in the backcountry. Leadership isn’t just for guiding trips in the mountains, though. During an Outdoor Leadership Program discussion on social justice and ethics, Inyene and her classmates noted that some outdoor gear companies do a bad job of representing people of color in their advertisements. Wanting that to be addressed, the students wrote letters to four of those companies.

“We were seeing all of the things they are doing wrong, the people they aren’t representing,” Inyene said.

Access to nature is also on Inyene’s mind. She wants other kids who live in cities to be able to experience the Adirondacks and, with help from her mother and NCS faculty, she is hoping to make that happen. If all goes well, kids from schools in the Bronx will have the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in the Adirondacks.

Eighth-grader Landon, from New Jersey, is a firstyear NCS student who isn’t new to the outdoors. When he was 11, Landon was in a program in North Carolina in which a group of kids hiked five days a week with 65 pounds on their backs. He’s comfortable in the woods, but many of the skills he’s picking up in the Outdoor Leadership Program, like how to navigate with a compass or perform CPR, are new to him.

Landon said he doesn’t know how much time he’ll spend in the mountains after he leaves NCS, but the desire to help others is something he has always carried with him. And his favorite part of the Outdoor Leadership Program, he said, is learning how to do just that.

“I think it’s pretty cool to learn how to do these things, and to learn how to help people when they’re struggling and need help,” Landon said. “I have had so many people help me. I want to be a firefighter when I’m older so I can help people, too.”