Graduating students with the attitude and ethics of a professional wilderness guide will always be the primary goal at the Four Rivers Institute. These are the core values and skills that will enable our students to succeed in any endeavor they choose to undertake.
The ability to create a plan of action that takes into account the wellbeing and needs of an entire group and to be able execute that action efficiently is a skill that ultimately applies to any area of life. Outdoor leadership training has long been acknowledged as one of the best ways to gain this valuable life skill because the rewards and consequences are so immediate (i.e. a warm dry sleeping area during a storm or a long, wet and cold night both are the logical results of the planning and preparedness of the group’s leader and neither will be soon forgotten.)
We believe that professional behavior in the field is essential to the ability to lead. A short list of character traits that the program will nurture is confidence, thoughtfulness, decisiveness, fairness, patience, prudence and calmness under fire. These are the traits of a successful group leader and guide, and will be incorporated into the unique strengths of each student.
Our objectives for achieving this, our primary goal, are to use time tested techniques. A healthy lifestyle consisting of simple living, healthy diet and exercise. The daily life of the students will be fairly routine. They will plan for and prepare their own meals within a certain budget. They will be responsible for meeting the community’s maintenance and upkeep needs including cleaning facilities, wood gathering and preparation for heating. The students will be responsible for all equipment upkeep and any other task for which they are reasonably capable. While the central facility will have a media center and library, the student’s personal dwellings will be media free environments. This style of simple living fosters a sense of personal responsibility, and of one’s responsibility to a group.
Physical conditioning is also a part of a student’s daily routine. This is important for both their personal well being and their overall safety on our expeditions.
Focused exercise in group dynamics training is a crucial part of our curriculum, both in the division of labor on campus and in their personal relationships. This is very important to the overall development of a successful wilderness guide. Proficiency in group dynamics also lends itself to many situations in life. Students will be involved in the budget and planning aspects of our expeditions as well as their own daily meals. This provides ample opportunity to apply the techniques in planning and problem solving that they will be learning.
Community service both within and outside the school community will be a part of their weekly activities. We believe that generosity promotes all of the character traits we are looking to strengthen in our students. It gives an opportunity for the students to learn their individual potential to affect change in our society. They will be offering their services weekly to members of communities that will benefit the most from their newly learned skills. This will also give them a weekly opportunity to develop their abilities as wilderness guides and an opportunity to analyze their strengths and weakness’ both personally and as a group. Experience can be the best teacher and our students will graduate from this program with ample experience in the field.
The curriculum is designed so that the attainment of our primary goal is an enjoyable and fun process. Growing pains are inevitable but the environment in which they occur will be safe and geared towards the student’s well being physically, mentally and spiritually. The driving concept is that being in a wilderness environment; planning, preparing for and executing an expedition, and the subsequent personal growth are fun and important experiences, and that these experiences prepare you for a productive and purposeful life in the future.
Graduating students with the attitude and ethics of a professional wilderness guide will always be the primary goal at the Four Rivers Institute. These are the core values and skills that will enable our students to succeed in any endeavor they choose to undertake.
The ability to create a plan of action that takes into account the wellbeing and needs of an entire group and to be able execute that action efficiently is a skill that ultimately applies to any area of life. Outdoor leadership training has long been acknowledged as one of the best ways to gain this valuable life skill because the rewards and consequences are so immediate (i.e. a warm dry sleeping area during a storm or a long, wet and cold night both are the logical results of the planning and preparedness of the group’s leader and neither will be soon forgotten.)
We believe that professional behavior in the field is essential to the ability to lead. A short list of character traits that the program will nurture is confidence, thoughtfulness, decisiveness, fairness, patience, prudence and calmness under fire. These are the traits of a successful group leader and guide, and will be incorporated into the unique strengths of each student.
Our objectives for achieving this, our primary goal, are to use time tested techniques. A healthy lifestyle consisting of simple living, healthy diet and exercise. The daily life of the students will be fairly routine. They will plan for and prepare their own meals within a certain budget. They will be responsible for meeting the community’s maintenance and upkeep needs including cleaning facilities, wood gathering and preparation for heating. The students will be responsible for all equipment upkeep and any other task for which they are reasonably capable. While the central facility will have a media center and library, the student’s personal dwellings will be media free environments. This style of simple living fosters a sense of personal responsibility, and of one’s responsibility to a group.
Physical conditioning is also a part of a student’s daily routine. This is important for both their personal well being and their overall safety on our expeditions.
Focused exercise in group dynamics training is a crucial part of our curriculum, both in the division of labor on campus and in their personal relationships. This is very important to the overall development of a successful wilderness guide. Proficiency in group dynamics also lends itself to many situations in life. Students will be involved in the budget and planning aspects of our expeditions as well as their own daily meals. This provides ample opportunity to apply the techniques in planning and problem solving that they will be learning.
Community service both within and outside the school community will be a part of their weekly activities. We believe that generosity promotes all of the character traits we are looking to strengthen in our students. It gives an opportunity for the students to learn their individual potential to affect change in our society. They will be offering their services weekly to members of communities that will benefit the most from their newly learned skills. This will also give them a weekly opportunity to develop their abilities as wilderness guides and an opportunity to analyze their strengths and weakness’ both personally and as a group. Experience can be the best teacher and our students will graduate from this program with ample experience in the field.
The curriculum is designed so that the attainment of our primary goal is an enjoyable and fun process. Growing pains are inevitable but the environment in which they occur will be safe and geared towards the student’s well being physically, mentally and spiritually. The driving concept is that being in a wilderness environment; planning, preparing for and executing an expedition, and the subsequent personal growth are fun and important experiences, and that these experiences prepare you for a productive and purposeful life in the future.