Professor Jason Burton’s Outdoor Recreation class at Southern Utah University has been working hard preparing to host the first annual University of the Parks Expo on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
The event, which is open to all students, will take place in the Sharwan Smith Student Center’s Ballroom from 1 to 5 p.m. It will include a fun line-up of activities, such as National Parks trivia and the opportunity for guests to vote on their favorite entrants in an outdoors-themed photo contest.
S’mores and cookies will be available for all guests while they last. Students will also have opportunities to talk with representatives from many local public lands agencies and to explore job possibilities with SUU’s Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative (IIC).
The event will also include a prize drawing in which students can win various useful outdoor equipment, including a Black Diamond Headlamp, an inflatable camp pad, a Thermarest blanket, a JetBoil Zip stove, and two entrance passes to National Parks and public lands.
“The upcoming Expo is, first and foremost, a chance to celebrate SUU’s designation as the University of the Parks,” said Burton. “It also gives us the chance to help our community learn of ways to get involved with partners and practice responsible recreation when visiting the world’s best backyard. I hope it grows into an annual event on campus.”
Burton shares that the idea for the event was led by students in his ORPT 4740 Organization and Administration for Outdoor Recreation class. They were inspired by meeting with University of the Parks committee members.
Because changes in leadership and challenging circumstances had caused SUU to end some of its University of the Parks programming, such as Semester in the Parks a few years ago, these students saw a need to bring back awareness of the University of the Parks brand, building more connections on campus and increasing the opportunities that students have to develop themselves outdoors. This week’s Expo aims to facilitate those goals by bringing more awareness to SUU’s current resources like IIC and SUU Outdoors and helping students increase their knowledge of outdoor activities available locally.
“I’m hoping we can provide every student at SUU the opportunity to get involved for the first time or reconnect with the outdoors in a new and meaningful way,” said Sarah Staron, one of the students in Burton’s class who has spent the last few months organizing the Expo. “I find it valuable that going outside feels inclusive and also that all people, regardless of direction of study, can become connected to SUU being the University of the Parks.”
Students are welcome to come and go during the event, participating in whatever aspects of the Expo they choose. Questions about the event can be directed to jasonburton@suu.edu.
Author: Emily Walters
Photos Courtesy of Anna Mower and Jason Burton
Editor: Chevy Blackburn
outdoors@suunews.net