NOLS Announces New Institute

LANDER, WYO. - January 14, 2000 -- In response to a high demand for well-trained outdoor professionals, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) has launched the Professional Training Institute. The institute will provide seminars, customized training, consulting services and program reviews to outdoor educators and programs around the globe.

"We're doing this to increase the standards," says John Kanengieter, director of the NOLS Professional Training Institute. "NOLS is seen as the leader in wilderness education, the more we help other organizations, the more professional the industry becomes."

The customized training service sends NOLS educators to an organization to provide training in topics ranging from specific wilderness skills to leadership and teamwork, Leave No Trace principles and wilderness first aid. Kanengieter believes this customized training service will benefit wilderness programs and camps, as well as organizations such as land management and government agencies that are not directly linked with outdoor education but use various skills in backcountry settings.

Individuals have the option of joining a NOLS skills seminar and the institute will offer Leave No Trace courses as well. The Leave No Trace (LNT) program brings responsible land use principles to the nation's outdoor recreationists. It provides tips and techniques for minimum impact backcountry recreation.

Kanengieter believes each of the Professional Training Institute's offerings will enhance the overall quality of the outdoor industry. "Folks really look to us as being the leaders in the industry," he says "NOLS has been around for many years and has a tremendous amount of experience educating wilderness users. I am excited to be part of an educational program that can now pass this knowledge on to other professionals."

Founded in 1965 by mountaineer and educator Paul Petzoldt who saw a need for "methods of using, while preserving, our wilderness." as a private non-profit school, NOLS operates wilderness field expeditions during which students are taught wilderness skills and safety, practical conservation, and the fundamentals of outdoor leadership. The school's alumni total more than 50,000 graduates worldwide. NOLS' international headquarters is in Lander, Wyoming, and the school runs 14 to 95-day courses from nine branches: Alaska, Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Teton Valley (Idaho), Yukon (Western Canada), Mexico, Patagonia (Chile), and .

National Outdoor Leadership School
288 Main Street
Lander, WY 82520-3140
(307) 332-8800
fax (307) 332-8811

Contacts:

John Kanengieter
(307) 332-1262

Tom Reed
(307) 332-8800 Ext. 2299
NOLS Headquarters