 As NOLS celebrates the
40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act in the U.S.,
we also celebrate the wilderness areas that serve
as our classrooms in other parts of the world. Learning
to be a steward for wild lands is an important NOLS
lesson no matter where you take your course, and
NOLS’ international locations are doing more
than ever to share the school’s wilderness
ethics with the farthest reaches of our planet.
Mexico
- NOLS has been supporting efforts to privately
protect the Conception Bay Peninsula, a rugged
strip of land that sits right out the front door
from the main facility at NOLS Mexico. NOLS provides
logistical support to teams of scientists studying
this unique peninsula for conservation projects.
- As this remote part of Mexico opens up to tourism,
NOLS is also involved in educating rural communities
about Leave No Trace conservation practices, codesigning
a certificate program at a university that teaches
responsible use of tourist resources.
- NOLS
Mexico runs programs for Mexico’s National Park
Service (CONANP) to train park rangers in recreation/tourism
impact monitoring. In this program, NOLS helps
CONANP determine goals and objectives for their
tourism management programs.
- NOLS
Mexico supports
a small environmental education center that focuses
on teaching school children about marine mammals,
water conservation, natural protected areas,
recycling, and Leave
No Trace. The center works
directly with the local school system and brings
multiple classes of students a day to the program,
often more than 400 students a week.
Australia
- In the “land down under,” NOLS is a
founding partner and the major contributor over the
past three years to Leave No Trace Australia. This
outreach effort has grown to a national program,
with three LNT Master courses offered in 2004. NOLS
also received a grant from the Australian Federal
Government for translating and adapting the LNT curriculum
to the Australian environment. NOLS actively works
with local land managers on LNT issues as LNT principles
are becoming more of a nationally accepted program. “Our
efforts with LNT are our way of giving something
back to the environment and the people of Australia,” says NOLS
Australia Director David
Summers.
Patagonia
There’s a long list of NOLS wilderness stewardship
programs in Patagonia, a positive sign that these ethics
work in any language and setting. NOLS has earned a
reputation in the area as a leader in the environmental
and education industry, both in public as well as private
institutions. Here are some highlights:
- Real, on-the-ground
experience is always the best teacher. That’s
why NOLS Patagonia is now offering Spanish courses
that take educators and students into the wilderness
to learn LNT, or No Deje Rastro. These Spanish
courses include mountaineering and sea kayaking
courses for outdoor educators, school teachers,
tour guides and senior high school students in
Chile.
- NOLS Patagonia works with both the Minestry
of Education in Chile, as well as the Chilean
Forest Service, to distribute outdoor education
materials and develop park ranger training
that emphasizes wilderness ethics.
- For the third
year, NOLS is working with the Chilean Trail Initiative
to provide advice on experiential education
and the environmental impacts associated with recreation.
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