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Student Lead Presentation Submissions due December 2, 2011

noemail@weainfo.org — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:00:00 GMT

2nd annual Student Lead Presentations Call for Abstracts 2012 National Conference on Outdoor Leadership Estes Park, Colorado February 18-21, 2012 Student Presentation Proposal Details: Each student presenter will be given a 45 minute time frame to present on the topic of their choice. Students must submit a presentation proposal which will be used to determine which students will be selected to present at the 2012 conference Proposals are due online by December 2, 2011 Presenters must register by the early registration deadline (December 16, 2011) or their spot will be given to another student Presenters are to submit their content to the Special Events Committee by January 17th, 2012 Presenters are expected to submit content to the Conference Proceedings after the conference by the designated deadline, April 1, 2012 Student presenters must choose a professional mentor who will serve as an advisor...

Accreditation Update

noemail@weainfo.org — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:00:00 GMT

The WEA Accreditation Council (WEAAC) is up and running on all cylinders. WEA Board of Trustees Vice President Chris Pelchat is the acting chair of the council and is focusing his energy on guiding the newly developed review teams through their role as members of the WEAAC and the review processes charged to the council.

The WEAAC is made up of 16 members divided into five separate review teams. A current list of WEAAC members and teams can be found on the WEA website at: http://www.weainfo.org/attachments/contentmanagers/2175/WEAAC%20Members.pdf

The WEAAC has completed reviews for the following organizations' Preliminary Applications for Accreditation:

Ohio University
Rare Earth Adventures
Ithaca College

These organizations have been provided feedback to consider as they move forward with completing their accreditation Self Studies over the next calendar year.

WANTED: 2012 Student Leader Award Nominees

noemail@weainfo.org — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:00:00 GMT

For the second time in the six year history of the Student Leader Award, the Board of Trustees, Special Events Committee, and WEA National Office are asking YOU to submit your nomination for this special honor.

The process to choose the Student Leader Award winner will be two-fold:

1. Nominations for the Student Leader Award will be accepted until Nov. 28 , 2011

2. The Special Events Committee will place all elegible nominations up for vote on the WEA site - voting will be open from Dec. 5, 2010 to Dec. 16, 2011.

Please double check that the student you nominate meets the award criteria below:

Student Leader is actively enrolled in the International Registry of Outdoor Leaders.
Student Leader has contributed significantly to the success of the outdoor leadership within her or his Affiliate.
Student Leader has benefited the WEA through volunteer service (conference, journal, committees, etc.).

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR STUDENT NOMINATION!

JOREL Volume 3(3) Published

noemail@weainfo.org — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/30/11 CONTACT: Dr. Andrew Bobilya, Montreat College, Editor-in-Chief (828) 669-8012 ext. 3412 / Email: abobilya@montreat.edu www.ejorel.com Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership publishes Volume 3(3) Bowling Green, Ky.The Western Kentucky University Research Foundation, the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education; and the Wilderness Education Association are pleased to announce publication of Volume 3(3) of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership. The Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership publishes quality manuscripts to disseminate the latest knowledge related to outdoor recreation, education, and leadership to help develop theory and practice. The journal seeks quantitative and/or qualitative research findings; conceptual or theoretical discussions; or program practices. Relevant topic areas (centered on outdoor recreation, outdoor education, or...

IROL Enrollment Open to the Public!

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:00:00 GMT

The WEA Board of Trustees approved a motion to open the enrollment for the International Registry of Outdoor Leaders (IROL). This means that individuals with no affiliation to a WEA accredited organization can now obtain an IROL portfolio on their own. Until now, individuals seeking entrance into the IROL had to go through a WEA accredited organization to gain access to the IROL and begin their portfolio. This meant they had to call or email different representatives until they found a program that would work with them on their portfolio which has proven to be a difficult venture.

Because most WEA accredited institutions are

academic programs, representatives did not have the time or resources to work with so many individuals seeking a non-academic route into the IROL. Opening the enrollment process allows individuals to apply for an IROL membership and begin developing their portfolio prior to finding an accredited institution to review their portfolio for OL certification. This is espcially beneficial to individuals who are currently working in the outdoor leadership industry and have a host of outdoor leadership training and experiences from which to draw up on to populate their portfolio.

At any point a person in the IROL wishes to apply for Outdoor Leader Certification, they now have the opportunity to share their IROL portfolio with representatives at WEA accredited organizations for review. This allows accredited institutions to compare the individual's portfolio with the portfolio requirements of their institution and determine if that person has fulfilled the portfolio requirements or identify areas for improvement in the portfolio.

Opening access for individuals to have IROL portfolios broadens the reach of the WEA and encourages a wider range of outdoor professionals to begin maintaining a professional portfolio and provides them a structured place to document their proficiency and field experience. Though access to personal portfolios is now open, Outdoor Leadership Certification can only be authorized by a WEA Outdoor Leader Accredtied organization.

2nd annual Outdoor Leadership Program Symposium 'Call for Abstracts'

noemail@weainfo.org — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:19:01 GMT

2012 National Conference on Outdoor Leadership Estes Park, Colorado February 18-21, 2012 Submissions to the 2nd annual Outdoor Leadership Program Symposium (OLPS) are now being accepted. OLPS is intended to provide a forum for practitioners and scholars to share issues and tips for programs in the outdoor field. The symposium will be held in conjunction with the International Conference on Outdoor Leadership, sponsored annually by the Wilderness Education Association (WEA). Why participate in the Outdoor Leadership Program Symposium? With the move to conference workshop tracks focusing on WEA's six core competencies, we wanted to provide an appropriate place and format for institutions to share their programmatic experiences and successes. We know there are many great programs out there who implement things differently. It is important that we provide an opportunity to provide opportunities to share among peer professionals. Programs have a...

Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium Call for Abstracts

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS for the 4th Annual Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium (OLRS) at the 2012 International Conference on Outdoor Leadership Estes Park, Colorado February 18-21, 2012 Submissions to the 4th annual Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium (OLRS) are now being accepted. OLRS is intended to provide a forum for practitioners and scholars to share recent and on-going research related to outdoor leadership. The symposium is being held in conjunction with the International Conference on Outdoor Leadership, sponsored annually by the Wilderness Education Association (WEA). The goal of this symposium is to help promote the development of evidence-based practice in the field of outdoor leadership. Submissions will be blind peer-reviewed and judged according to their relevance to the field of outdoor leadership as well as the basic quality of the research conducted. Presenters will have 15 minutes to present their research,...

Presidents Report

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:00:00 GMT

Dear WEA Members, It is truly an honor to serve as the new president of the board of trustees of the Wilderness Education Association. As a board member for the past several years it has been a real pleasure to have even a small part in important recent developments. I have been especially honored to serve with such a great group of professionals. I became a member of WEA in 1987 and have observed the development of professional outdoor leadership certification for almost a quarter of a century. In those twenty-five years, outdoor leadership has become increasingly diversified. Special interest organizations and trade groups have grown up around the adventure specialties that have emerged. WEA, however, continues to be the consistent voice advocating for professionalization of outdoor leaders. The continuing development and refinement of curriculum standards for the preparation of outdoor leadership professionals forms the core of the WEA mission....

WEA loses non-profit status with IRS

noemail@weainfo.org — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:00:00 GMT

WEA Members, Last week, the Internal Revenue Service posted a list of approximately 275,000 organizations that have officially lost their non-profit status with the IRS. The Wilderness Education Association was among those organizations listed. Why did this happen? In 2006 Congress passed the Pension Protection Act requiring most tax-exempt organizations to file anannual information return or notice with the IRS. Within this law it was written that organizations that have not filed their annual returns for three years in a row will automatically lose their tax exempt status. It was brought to the attention of the WEA that the association was in jeopardy of losing tax exempt status in late September due to a lack of filing form 990 from 2007-2009. Immediate action was taken with the WEA's accounting firm to reconcile the issue and all forms were submitted by the October 15,, 2010 deadline. The months following foun the WEA's tax forms for 2008...

Board of Trustees Roster

noemail@weainfo.org — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:00:00 GMT

This roster along with the WEA Bylaws and Board of Trustees Job Descriptions are available at www.weainfo.org/board/ Current Board of Trustees Roster: Executive Committee President: Mike McGowan (ml-mcgowan@wiu.edu) Vice President: Chris Pelchat (cpelchat@ithaca.edu) Treasurer: Jerel Cowan (JCowan2@uco.edu) Secretary: JD Tanner (tannerj@sanjuancollege.edu) Organizational Representative: Hugh Gibson (hughgibson@missouristate.edu) Members at Large/Committee Chairs Kelli McMahan - Curriculum Committee (Kelli_McMahan@baylor.edu) Rachel Collins - Research Committee (rhcollins@gmail.com) Kim Collins- Events Committee (kacollin@indiana.edu) Tim Street - Promotions Committee (tstreet@indiana.edu) Accreditation Council Liaison: Vice President

New Purchase Deal for WEA Members

noemail@weainfo.org — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:00:00 GMT

As an incentive for filling out the conference evaluation we partnered with the folks at OWARE who generously donated a lightweight tarp for one randomly selected individual who completed the event survey. We received a record number of responses to the conference evaluation and are pleased to announce the winner of the tarp.....

Pam Hawkins from Oklahoma State University!

As a benefit to the rest of the WEA membership Dave Olson at OWARE has generously offered the educators discount to all WEA members.

About OWARE

These products are handmade in the USA and we are pleased to offer you an opportunity to purchase tarps, bivys, gaiters, dufflebags, pack covers and more at a great discount.

Please log into the members page to view the pricing and order information!

2011 Board of Trustees Transition

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:00:00 GMT

As June approaches, the WEA Board of Trustees will have several members leaving and several new members joining to serve in the vacated seats. The WEA Board of Trustees is in place to guide the association to ensure that efforts are synchronized and in line with the association mission.

Exiting Members:

Jessie Rome and Ricky Haro have completed their elected terms with the WEA. Over the last three years, Ricky has played an instrumental role in efforts to update the WEA curriculum and implement the WEA Accreditation process. Jessie served on the WEA Board of Trustees for a one year seat and offered a unique perspective to Association issues and was a tremendous help with the operations of the International Conference on Outdoor Leadership. As volunteers receiving no compensation for their hard work, they have committed to giving of their time for the betterment of the association. it is with much gratitude that we say "Thank You!" as they step off of the Board.

Incoming Members:

We would like to welcome J.D. Tanner (San Juan Community College), Jerel Cowan (University of Central Oklahoma), and Tim Street (Bradford Woods, Indiana University) to the WEA Board of Trustees.

Returning Members:

Chris Pelchat will be rejoining the Board of Trustees for another three-year term. Chris' commitment to the WEA has provided consistency to the BOT and the Association through several transitions. His historical knowledge and commitment to the accreditation process is a tremendous asset to the Board of Trustees.

The determination of committee chairs and executive committee seats will be confirmed at the June 2011 Board of Trustees meeting. Michael McGowan will serve as President through the June meeting and will facilitate the position determination and voting/approval process.

4th Annual Outdoor Leadership Research Symposium Call For Abstracts

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Environmental Integration Research Resources Now Available

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT

The WEA Research and Publications Committee is working on creating resource pages connecting each of the six core competencies that make up the WEA curriculum to research articles and publications that address the topics. We are pleased to announce that the first section is live on the WEA website.

The Environmental Integration competency now has a collection of over 25 articles that can be referenced from the WEA website.

Thank you to Brad Daniel and Rachel Collins for their work on this project.

We look forward to providing more resources to you all soon!

Share your 2011 ICOL Photos!

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:00:00 GMT

We are looking for some great photos from the 2011 International Conference on Outdoor Leadership to use in our marketing efforts for 2012.

We are putting together some short videos and need your media (*along with your permission) to use it in our projects.

Please share your photos with us at http://www.weainfo.org/en/photos/search.asp?albumid=11

*Sharing your photo indicates your permission to use the photos in WEA/ICOL materials.

We can't wait to see what you captured!

Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership publishes Volume 3(1)

noemail@weainfo.org — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/2/11 CONTACT: Dr. Andrew Bobilya, Editor-in-Chief (828) 669-8012 ext. 3412 / E-mail: abobilya@montreat.edu www.ejorel.com Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership publishes Volume 3(1). Bowling Green, Ky. The Western Kentucky University Research Foundation, the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education; and the Wilderness Education Association are pleased to announce publication of Volume 3(1) of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership. The Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership publishes quality manuscripts to disseminate the latest knowledge related to outdoor recreation, education, and leadership to help develop theory and practice. The journal seeks quantitative and/or qualitative research findings; conceptual or theoretical discussions; or program practices. Relevant topic areas (centered on outdoor recreation, outdoor education, or outdoor leadership)...

Curriculum Committee Quarterly Report for April 2011

noemail@weainfo.org — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:00:00 GMT

It is an exciting time for WEA and for the Curriculum Committee! The Curriculum Committee is comprised of WEA members (both professional and students) charged with the task ofdeveloping and conducting oversight of evidence-based curriculum that enhances outdoor leader preparation. The curriculum is based on WEA's six core competencies which are central to the distinctiveness of the WEA, capture the mission and passion of the organization as well as provide structure and depth to the outdoor leadership preparation process. It is important to me as a Board Member and as Chair of the Curriculum Committee to reassure and affirm that these six core competencies reflect the rich history and original intent of the 18 point curriculum. It is our job as a committee then to continually strengthen and assess those competencies - for not only do they guide our work and the experiences of future outdoor leaders but they define and communicate to other what we believe to be crucial to...

Special Events Committee Quarterly Report for April 2011

noemail@weainfo.org — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT

The Special Events Committee (SEC) is a group of students and practitioners that are also members of the annual Conference Committee. Our charge is to plan and promote special events in conjunction with the National Office for the annual International Conference on Outdoor Leadership. Committee tasks include the following: Service Crew (management and staffing) Welcome Social Outdoor Leadership Program Symposium (OLPS) Student Lead Presentations (SLPs) Keynote Address Awards Ceremony Kitty Drury Memorial Scholarship for student leaders ICOL Conference workshop proposal reviews The OLPS and SLPs were new additions for the 2011 ICOL, in Estes Park, CO. With six practitioners sharing unique program presentations, applicable to others' outdoor programs in OLPS, and four Student Lead Presentations, we had a successful, productive first year of our new presentation opportunities for ICOL attendees! The need...

900 Miles, One Uhaul and a Cat....the National Office has Moved to Vermont

noemail@weainfo.org — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:00:00 GMT

Update your address book! WEA National Office PO Box 4554 Burlington, VT 05406 Phone: 802.448.1191 Email: nationaloffice@weainfo.org The last 10 years: The Wilderness Education has spent the last 10 years housed in various locations on the beautiful Bloomington campus of Indiana University. The support of individuals at the Indiana Memorial Union and Indiana University Outdoor Adventures have been essential for the WEA during that time period. The support of the IMU and IUOA provided the association a stable foundation from which to grow. As a result of that suport along with the hard work and dedication of the current and past WEA BOT, employees, interns, and volunteers, the WEA had grown to a place of independence from the university. In the last several years the finali tie to the university was rent and IT. Eventful winter: This winter was an eventful one in the National Office. WEA Executive Director, Mary Williams, became...

Research Committee Report 2011

noemail@weainfo.org — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:00:00 GMT

WEA Research Committee 1st Quarter Report 2011 It's always great to start our year off with the annual meeting of the Research Committee at the ICOL! This is always our most productive time of year, and I'm excited to come out of that meeting with some new resolve for the WEA's research initiatives. As the chair of the Research Committee I wanted to take a few minutes to update the membership on the state of our current publications, and the new initiatives going into the future. Part of the charge of the WEA Research Committee is to oversee the continuing development of our publications. The Journal of Outdoor Recreation Education and Leadership (JOREL) is entering its third year, and the WEA has committed to continuing to support this journal into the future. I would encourage you to sign up for a subscription to this publication if you haven't already. With every new issue this journal contributes significantly to our field, don't miss out on...