By Aimee Brandon Posted June 8, 2017
People always say there’s nothing to do in Winnemucca. But what’s better than the great outdoors? The Nevada Outdoor School (NOS) currently works with the elementary schools, but they’re looking to get going at the high school.
“Up to this point Nevada Outdoor School has mainly focused on kindergarten through 6th grade with some 7th and 8th-grade programs, but we are really looking to get our foot in the door as far as getting 7th and 8th grade and high school to promote outdoor education, outdoor ethics ‘leave no trace’ and ‘tread lightly’, and then some create community stewardship projects,” said Brody Goucher, a Naturalist at NOS.
Nothing is guaranteed as of yet but they are working toward getting the funds for the program. They are applying for a grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation to get an outdoor club at both the high school and at the junior high.
“They will be separate, but they will do the stewardship project together. Which is basically like a clean-up project somewhere: trail maintenance or picking up trash somewhere like Water Canyon or places up here. Those would be maybe once every three or four months. Then the club would meet once a month and would go do something every month like for example during the winter going snowshoeing up Water Canyon,” said Goucher.
Students who participate in the club would learn two very important things when it comes to spending time outdoors and in nature.
“The clubs would emphasize two outdoor ethics known as ‘leave no trace’ and ‘tread lightly’ which both promote responsible outdoor recreation. They each have a set of principles and they’re basically about keeping the environment clean when you’re camping and stuff like that,” said Goucher.
Hopefully, the Nevada Outdoor School will be able to get the grant and bring this program to Lowry. For the time being, they do have a community hike once a month. Anyone can participate in these. They have other events open to the community such as the upcoming Dutch Oven Cookoff on August 5. You can find more information on community hikes and other events at nevadaoutdoorschool.org. You can email any questions to info@nevadaoutdoorschool.org.
