On Saturday, November 18, fifteen Maryland Sierra Club members attended the fall Outings Leader Training. The event was held at Howard County Conservancy Belmont Carriage House, which borders the beautiful Patapsco State Park.
Outings Leaders are an essential part of the Sierra Club, as they plan, advertise, and run the many outdoor activities such as hikes and bike rides that help our members explore and appreciate the outdoors. Our outings leaders are motivated to share their love for nature, and help others experience this same joy. Here is a little bit about some of the amazing Sierra Clubbers who attended the Outings Leader Training:
- Janet Gingold, Prince George’s Outings Chair believes getting outdoors helps people stay fit and sane. She wants to provide more opportunities for people to get outdoors, especially those who might be reluctant to do so on their own.
- Fiza Zahid, of Anne Arundel County, wants to become an outings leader to inform more people about environmental issues and get them involved.
- Catherine Li, from College Park wants to “bring more opportunities to the students on campus to go on outings, and be able to take friends and family on outings so they understand why I appreciate the environment”
- Paul Walker, a member of the Catoctin group, hopes to learn more about local flora and fauna. He would also like to lead, share, and inspire others about nature and conservancy.
At this training, members were educated on the required knowledge and skills that we strive for all our Outings Leaders to have. Current Sierra Club Outings Leaders also attended to help refresh, refine, and share their knowledge and skills. Topics covered included how to plan an outing, how to advertise an outing, how to handle the unexpected, and Maryland conservation issues along with a number of other subjects.
The morning started off with a fun introductory icebreaker, and was followed by a series of presentations from experienced Sierra Club Outings Leaders. We also watched the excellent How to Lead a Hike video. After lunch, we headed out for a hike in the beautiful Patapsco State Park. We were able to enjoy the beautiful fall colors (the rain passed us by!), while learning about conservation issues such as stormwater runoff, group dynamics, and how to deal with potential situations one might encounter as a hike leader.
Many of our crew also got the chance to practice being leads and sweeps while engaging in various role playing scenarios. At the end of the day, each new trainee was connected with a mentor to go on a guided hike to round out their training.
Most participants had already taken the OLT 101 online training, but gained new insights from the in-person experience.
Participants agreed this training was not only informative, but an overall good time. Paul found the interactions he had and the knowledge he gained from the experienced outings leaders to be invaluable. Fiza enjoyed being able to talk with others, share ideas of future outings, and get feedback. The major highlight for most participants was the afternoon hike where participants got the chance to apply their new knowledge. Catherine’s favorite part was reacting to the scenarios during the hike. "It made the training feel more real-life and will definitely be helpful during future hikes."
Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us for our Fall Outings Leader Training. We hope you all will have great experiences as future Outings Leaders, and that you will spread your love and knowledge of the outdoors with current and future Sierra Club Members! We are excited to have a nice new crew of outings leaders finishing their certification, and look forward to getting more folks out on the trail to Enjoy, Explore, and Protect!
To get more involved and become an Outings Leader, please fill out our short Volunteer interest survey and note in the comments section that you would like to learn about leading outings. If you have questions, feel free to contact the Outings Intern at outings.intern@mdsierra.org and see https://content.sierraclub.org/outings/become-leader.