SUU Outdoors hosted its last Outdoor Educational Series event on Wednesday, Dec. 1 with special guest speaker Executive Director of Outdoor Pathways Briget Eastep.
Eastep’s talking point for OES was on becoming a steward of the outdoors by following the Leave No Trace mentality of outdoor exploration.
The Leave No Trace way includes these seven principles: one, plan ahead and prepare; two, travel and camp on durable surfaces; three, dispose of waste; four, leave what you find; five, minimize campfire impact; six, respect wildlife; and seven, be considerate of other visitors.
As defined in the presentation, stewardship was simply the careful care and management of something valuable.
“In thinking about how you can be a steward, someone who cares and manages themselves to take care of it, what can you do?” asked Eastep. “The first thing is learn about Leave No Trace and practice it because [it] gives you actual things you can do.”
In addition to discussing the Leave No Trace principle of outdoor conservation and stewardship of the outdoors, the ten essentials were another addition to the conversation.
The ten essentials that help with outdoor exploration include having food, water, emergency shelter, extra clothes or layers, a multi-tool or knife, navigation, illumination, a first aid kit, fire starters or other fire-related items like camp stoves and heat and sun protection.
Eastep concluded the presentation by encouraging all participants to simply enjoy the outdoors for twenty minutes. Even if that was merely exploring Southern Utah University’s campus, nature can be found and appreciated anywhere outside.
The outdoors are a precious commodity in this world and need to be taken care of for generations to come. Practicing these simple conservation techniques will help make sure the great outdoors stays as great as it can.
This event concluded SUU Outdoors’ OES series, which talked about rock climbing in South Africa, bike repairs, packing for backpacking trips and much more.
The series will continue Spring Semester 2022 every other Thursday at SUU Outdoors Basecamp located in the Sharwan Smith Student Center. When it becomes available, more information can be found at SUU Outdoors’ website.
Story and Photos by: Skyler Jones
Email: Outdoors@suunews.net
