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Leadership School held at White Memorial

By Diane Johnson

Last weekend, White Memorial was teeming with people with a common passion - playing outside. Whether it was biking, paddling, or hiking in the woods, all of the folks in the AMC leadership class shared a desire to build new skills and learn how to introduce others to new outdoor adventures. From orienteering fundamentals, to team building, to first aid and crisis management, the range of exercises for AMC's newest trail leaders provided insight into the many challenges hike leaders must be prepared to tackle. Of the twenty two participants, each brought different levels of experience and expertise in outdoor skills. Through out the weekend, we learned from each other and a team of expert instructors, how to plan and prepare to guide larger groups of folks on various outdoor adventures - from hiking, to backpacking, biking, to flatwater excursions. The course materials came alive in role play exercises throughout the weekend and the instructors were each superbly qualified with extensive experience to draw upon.
I've participated in several AMC hikes and now I'm looking forward to contributing to the AMC’s program by volunteering to co-lead and lead some hikes myself. I also work with other organizations as a high adventure program manager and found the AMC training was very well organized and helpful - everyone, no matter how much experience they had before the class - left with new skills and new levels of confidence in their outdoor leadership abilities. I'd highly recommend this course for anyone interested in sharing their love of nature with larger groups - you'll learn a lot, have a lot of fun, and meet some kindred spirits. I'd highly recommend this course.

 

 

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