Soft Leadership

Last week I unplugged from all social media...come to find out I didn't miss much. I recommend trying it sometime.

I spent 5 days in the Dixie National Forest near Panguitch Lake, Utah. I've loved the outdoors since I was a kid, while I haven't spent that much time in a tent since scout camp in the '90s is was good to get a change of scenery.

At the Color Country Natural Resource Camp we take 40 students, remove them from their mobile devices, online social networks, and provide them with a hands-on learning experience they will never forget. They make (real-life) friends with students of rival schools and embark on an adventure of self discovery. It must be experienced to truly be appreciated.

This summer camp is the answer to what's wrong with formal education. The camp runs like this:

• Investigations happen during the day, we take a break for recreation, then lectures have at night.
  
• There are absolutely NO multiple-choice exams.
• The food is amazing!
• Public speaking and writing are required.
• Service is performed for USFS projects.
• Leadership, personal motivation, and work ethic are rewarded instead of test scores as a measure of achievement.
• We focus is on cooperation and problem-solving instead of isolation.
• We award scholarships.
• Talk is cheap...we get in the dirt and do the work.

These are the 8 ways we enjoyed a week unplugged from technology in between all the experiential learning: 

1. Mountain Biking
   
2. Kayaking
   
3. Archery
   
4. Rifle Shooting
   
5. Fishing
   
6. Team building challenges
   
7. Hip Hop dancing
   
8. Solo reflection in wilderness

Youth spend 4 hours each morning doing hands-on investigations in the following fields of study:

1. Vegetation
   
2. Aquatics
   
3. Soils
   
4. Wildlife
   
5. Wilderness survival 
6. Outdoor photography
   
7. Creative writing
   

Professionals are invited to the camp to lecture on various subjects. This year we covered:

1. Overcoming obstacles to save the California Condor from extinction
   
2. Careers in recreation management
   
3. What archaeology teaches us about humanity
   
4. An introduction to bats and caves
   
5. Astronomy: A view of Saturn and Mars
   
6. Careers in entomology
7. Orienteering in the wilderness with a map and compass

For more information on the Color Country Natural Resource Camp in Washington County, Utah please visit: www.ccnrcamp.org