Environmental Education Center at University of Rhode Island's W. Alton Jones Campus

Outdoor Skills is an Earth Camp program for ages 11-13. The goal of the program is to learn how to have an enjoyable outdoor experience with others through responsible decision-making and using skills appropriate for natural conditions. The week will be spent learning and practicing outdoor living skills, in the forests of the W. Alton Jones Campus and the adjoining Arcadia Management Area.

Sunday through Wednesday morning will be spent on the W. Alton Jones Campus. Sunday is devoted to moving in and meeting and getting to know your fellow campers, junior counselors and counselors in your Outdoor Skills field group. Sunday night also includes an “all camp” campfire activity so you will meet and see other campers and counselors in Earth Camp for the week. You will sleep in rustic screen houses near the Poor Farm Base Camp, which has a bathhouse nearby, and you will eat your meals in the dining hall through Wednesday breakfast. On Monday and Tuesday you will learn skills that will help you have meaningful outdoor experiences with little impact on the natural environment. You will also learn skills that will help you prepare and plan for your two-day backpacking trip such as:

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Map and compass reading
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Food preparation and storage
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Fire building
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Camp cooking with campfire or camp stoves
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Knot tying
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First aid and safety
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Environmental hazards
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Weather
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Using tents
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Using backpacking equipment
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Leave-no-trace camping techniques
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Basic ecology

Group-building activities will help you to get to know the other campers in your group as well as your Counselors and Junior Counselors. This is important since working together, good communication and understanding each other’s needs is critical when in the backcountry. You will have opportunities to swim, canoe and participate in some of the all camp games, activities and campfires.

You will also learn how to pack all of the necessary equipment, food and clothing for a two night backpacking trip. Your counselors will teach you about backpacks: how to pick a pack that fits you properly, adjust it for your size, pack it properly, put it on without falling over and methods to stay comfortable when you hike.

On Wednesday morning you will head out on the trail, hiking and taking in the scenery! Your backpacking trip will be a group effort. As you hike it is important to help and encourage each other and work together to find the trail. At the end of each day, when you arrive at the campsite, everyone will share in the responsibilities of setting up tents, cooking and cleaning up after supper. While camping out along the hiking route, the group will practice leave-no-trace camping techniques. This involves camping in a manner that little mark is left on the land when you leave. Food is cooked over small camp stoves, and pots and dishes are washed away from water sources to avoid polluting. Other leave-no-trace practices include carrying out trash, using biodegradable soap and properly disposing of human waste. It is important to be as sensitive as possible to the natural areas that you will visit.

Your hike will include two nights camping out and backpacking in the Rhode Island forests of the 12,000-acre Arcadia Management Area and the 2,300-acre W. Alton Jones Campus. On Wednesday morning you will be driven in a 15-passenger van to the Connecticut/Rhode Island boarder, approximately a 30-minute drive. You will start your hike from the sandy shores of Beach Pond and hike about 4 miles to your first campsite, which includes an abandoned picnic shelter, which can be handy if it rains. On Thursday your 3½ mile hike will include some of Rhode Island’s nicest scenery. Some highlights include Step Stone Falls and the view from the top of Penny Hill. On Thursday night you will camp in a pine grove near a gentle brook. On Friday morning your group may choose to take one last swim at the Alton Jones waterfront as you hike approximately 1 mile back to camp.

You and your group will help put away all of the equipment that you used, and you will have a chance to reflect on the week, wrap-up and have closing activities. After lunch, there is some time to spend with new friends before the family program begins. Sign-out and goodbyes follow as the week comes to a close.