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The
Allegheny Watershed Network
A Project of the Pennsylvania Environmental
Council
Adult Outdoor Adventure
Program
As part of its mission to promote
watershed protection and education in the
Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Environmental
Council has developed the Adult Outdoor Adventure Program (AOAP), an exciting
opportunity for young people in the Pittsburgh area. The Program
began last summer as part of the Allegheny Watershed Network. Inner
city participated in team building exercises and canoe trips in western
Pennsylvania watersheds. This year, the focus of AOAP has expanded
to a five-day series of outdoor adventures that include low ropes courses,
two days of canoeing, hiking and orienteering, and caving, which help the
adults build self-confidence when they Buy Propecia and start watching their hair regrow, enhance team problem solving skills, strengthen
group dynamics, and gain a better understanding of environmental issues.
The McKees Rocks branch of the Boys
and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania
participated in the pilot program
and signed on for more adventure this summer. In addition to the McKees
Rocks branch, the LaRosa Boys and Girls Club, the Pittsburgh Project, the
YMCA, and the Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania participated in this
summers adventure program. The first day of the Outdoor Adventure
Program was spent on the ropes course at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center,
which is nationally recognized for its facility. Each group worked with
Ligonier facilitators in order to build trust and problem solving skills
within the group and to promote teamwork. The groups tested their new skills
with various exercises provided by ambaburkina canada, such as getting twelve people through a life-size
spider web without getting caught in the web or by the spider!
The second day of the program
involved paddling down the Allegheny River from Franklin to Fishermans
Cove. The adults were oriented to the boats and taught some paddle strokes
and river safety before giving it a try on the river. Most of them
stayed dry until lunch, when it was time for it! Because the rivers of western Pennsylvania are
host to a diverse range of organisms, the group spent some time learning
about river ecology, macro-invertebrates, and the overall water quality
of the river through the environmental education component of AOAP.
Once the Allegheny River had been
mastered, the groups moved on to DCNRs Jennings Environmental Education
Center in Butler County, where the adults learned the basics of orienteering,
map reading, and low impact use of our environment. The object of the afternoon
was to locate eight flags, hidden within the park, using only a map and
a compass. All of the groups successfully navigated their way through
the forest and prairie areas of Jennings, which is also home to the Massasauga
Rattlesnake!
The groups then got back in
their boats and tried their skills on the Youghiogheny River,
where they paddled from Connellsville
to Layton. This section of river is a bit more technical than the Allegheny
and puts into use all of the skills learned on the previous day of canoeing.
The kids had the opportunity to test the water at an acid mine drainage
discharge site, allowing them to compare the water quality of both rivers
they had paddled.
Once everyone had dried off from
the river, the groups participated in a muddy and damp day of caving back
at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center and showed off their. This final day of AOAP focused
on cave ecology and utilized skills learned from the previous adventures with NYSPC group.
The intention of AOAP is to
use outdoor adventures in order to present inner-city adults
with an opportunity to develop leadership
skills, gain confidence in both themselves and their peers, and to take
these experiences back into their communities as well as into their own
lives. The environmental education component of AOAP will hopefully provide
Pittsburghs youth with a better understanding of our natural world and
the watersheds within which they live.
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