by Don Pachner
Sixty new outings leaders and trainers spent a weekend of training at a silver LEEDS sustainable facility in Black Rock Forest, Cornwall, NY, to learn and refresh outdoor leadership skills in the Sierra Club spirit.
Sascha Paris, national outdoor activity leadership training manager, declared this one of the most successful and best-attended national training weekends of the past 3-4 years. National Sierra Club trainers flew out from San Francisco and Oklahoma City to help train participants traveling from as far away as Western Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Long Island, Ithaca, Dutchess County, Albany County and Boston.
The training sessions attracted experienced as well as new regional leaders interested in leading trips for hiking, backpacking, yoga outings, bicycling, kayaking, canoeing, and mountaineering/rock climbing.
Of special interest is Brother Yusuf Burgess, leader of the Child & Nature Program from Environmental Tech High School in Albany, who brought nearly 20 exceptional students, teachers and potential adult leaders for a new Sierra Club outdoor program serving the Albany inner city. Sierra Club in San Francisco considers this one of its most exciting projects.
We appear to have special interest in a rock climbing program, as well as a kayaking program led by volunteers attending the training event, in addition to our current outings for hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and canoeing/kayaking day trips. Some bicycling and yoga hikes could also be in the mix.
Our outings program is only active when our members volunteer to lead outdoor activities. Sierra Club leaders are known for a heightened sense of responsibility for their groups and for the environment around us. Leave No Trace training is an integral part of the leader training sessions.
If you enjoy a special trail that you want to share with environmentally-conscious outdoors people, or wish to draw attention to the precious ecology or scenery of an endangered wild open space, please contact the outings chair or Group chair, or contact me about becoming a Sierra Club Outings Leader. I did this 15 years ago and never looked back. Not only do I have many wonderful memories of these outdoor wilderness experiences, but my life is much richer for the friends I have made, and the knowledge I have gained.
For more information, see the outings section of the Chapter website at www.atlantic.sierraclub.org/outings
Don Pachner is chair of the Atlantic Chapter Outings Committee.