Wilderness Program 50th Anniversary
2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the Earlham Wilderness Program, now known as the EC Outdoor Education Program. The Wilderness Program was started in 1971 by a small group of Earlham faculty members dedicated to the value of experiential education.
Homecoming 2024 will feature a gathering for anyone who has been involved in the Wilderness/Outdoor Education Program.
Homecoming 2024
In 1971, the first official Wilderness course was offered at Earlham College! Today, we are celebrating the 50+ years of adventures, lessons, and friendships that grew out of that course and the hundreds to follow! Join us at Homecoming 2024, from October 17th-20th, for a long-weekend full of sharing memories, catching up with friends, and to once again be a part of Earlham’s Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Program!
Highlights
Thursday: Biology Colloquium, Gear Room Open House
Friday: LNT Service Project, Alumni Awards
Saturday: Pop-up Wilderness/Outdoor Education Art Exhibit, Climbing Wall,
*All-Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Alumni Gathering*, Nicholson Farm After-Party
Sunday: Middlefork Reservoir Paddle
Schedule
12-1pm Biology Colloquium with Karen (Hibbard-Rode) Mager – Computer, Science, and Technology Building (CST) rm300
Karen Mager is a Wilderness Alumna and former Environmental Sustainability Faculty, Class of 2004.
3-5pm (drop-in) Outdoor Education Gear Room Open House – Dennis Hall rm 224
Come check-out our gear room space on the second floor of Dennis Hall! Make yourself some GORP, enjoy a slideshow of 50+ years of photos, spot your campsites on a map, explore the “field” library, and let the smells of backpacks and sleeping bags take you back to your trip planning days at EC!
9-11am (shift 1) Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Service Project –old ropes course
After 50 years, it is time for the old ropes course (first erected in 1974) to come down! Put on your boots, bring your work gloves and some water, and help us Leave No Trace on this overgrown area of campus. Service may include hauling scraps of old ropes course, removing invasive species, and helping to replant the area. Meet at the old ropes course – east of the Darrell Beane Stadium, north of the Gene Hambrick Tennis Courts.
1-3pm (shift 2) Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Service Project –old ropes course
After 50 years, it is time for the old ropes course (first erected in 1974) to come down! Put on your boots, bring your work gloves and some water, and help us Leave No Trace on this overgrown area of campus. Service may include hauling scraps of old ropes course, removing invasive species, and helping to replant the area. Meet at the old ropes course – east of the Darrell Beane Stadium, north of the Gene Hambrick Tennis Courts.
3-5pm (drop-in) Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Art Drop-off at Leeds Gallery, Runyan Center
Do you have art inspired by your participation in Wilderness/Outdoor Ed at Earlham? Share it in Leeds Gallery as a part of our exhibition! We’ll have sections dedicated to August Wilderness, Southwest Field Studies, Trips, Campus, and Nature. Paintings, poems, ceramics, photographs etc. are all welcome. Hanging supplies and display tables provided. We’ll also have pens and paper to create an artist statement to go along with your piece. All items are left at your own risk and must be picked-up by Sunday, October 20th at 5pm. Items left after this time will be donated to the college archives.
4-6pm (drop-in) Ethan Solomon Climbing Wall Open Climb, Athletics and Wellness Center (AWC)
Whether you still spend your weekends at The Red or haven’t touch a belay device since graduation, come on over to the climbing wall and we’ll show you the ropes! Shoes, harness, and helmets provided. Come climb with us!
5:00pm Alumni Awards – Goddard
Auditorium, Carpenter Hall
Former Wilderness Director Margaret Lechner is being recognized and honored with the Distinguished Service Award.
10am-12pm Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Art Drop-off at Leeds Gallery – Runyan Center
Do you have art inspired by your participation in Wilderness/Outdoor Ed at Earlham? Share it in Leeds Gallery as a part of our exhibition! We’ll have sections dedicated to August Wilderness, Southwest Field Studies, Trips, Campus, and Nature. Paintings, poems, ceramics, photographs etc. are all welcome. Hanging supplies and display tables provided. We’ll also have pens and paper to create an artist statement to go along with your piece. All items are left at your own risk and must be picked-up by Sunday, October 20th at 5pm. Items left after this time will be donated to the college archives.
12pm onward Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Art Display, Leeds Gallery – Runyan Center
Pop-up art exhibit created by current and past Wilderness/Outdoor Education participants.
1-3pm (drop-in) Outdoor Education Gear Room Open House – Dennis Hall rm 224
Come check-out our gear room space on the second floor of Dennis Hall! Make yourself some GORP, enjoy a slideshow of 50+ years of photos, spot your campsites on a map, explore the “field” library, and let the smells of backpacks and sleeping bags take you back to your trip planning days at EC!
1-3pm (drop-in) Ethan Solomon Climbing Wall Open Climb, Athletics and Wellness Center (AWC)
Whether you still spend your weekends at The Red or haven’t touch a belay device since graduation, come on over to the climbing wall and we’ll show you the ropes! Shoes, harness, and helmets provided. Come climb with us!
4-6pm All-Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Alumni Gathering – Stout Meetinghouse
Join us as we reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and share stories, memories, and reflections from our time with EC Wilderness/Outdoor Ed. This gathering will include messages from past and current directors, faculty, and students, ice-breaker games, a book signing of They Kindled a Fire: 50 years of Wilderness at Earlham College, and a ribbon-cutting of the newly renovated Stout Meetinghouse fire pit. Refreshments, including a wiener roast (meat and vegan options available), sides, and s’mores, will follow.
7:30pm-10pm Nicholson Farm Wilderness/Outdoor Ed After Party – Nicolson Farm
Rich and Marie Nicholson invite you to visit their farm, a traditional welcome back venue for August Wilderness groups! Relax by the pond, gaze at the stars, sit around a campfire, and enjoy a slideshow including photos from some of the many Nicholson family attended EC Wilderness/Outdoor Ed trips! The Nicholson Farm address is 2344 Airport Rd. Centerville, IN
9-11am Sunday Morning Paddle – Middlefork Reservoir (weather permitting)
Wrap-up your weekend with a calming paddle on our local Middlefork Reservoir. No portaging needed and students will be available on-site for paddle stroke refreshers! Bring your own watercraft or borrow one of our Old Town canoes. We’ll meet you there! Middlefork Reservoir is approximately 5 miles northeast of campus.
9am- 5pm Wilderness/Outdoor Ed Art Pick-up at Leeds Gallery, Runyan Center
Did you display your art in the Wilderness/Outdoor exhibit? If so, don’t forget to pick it back up before you leave!
A History in Story
In celebration of the Wilderness Program’s 50th anniversary, we invited alumni to submit personal stories of growth and discovery from Wilderness/Outdoor Education events. The many memories shared in stories, journal entries, photos, drawings, poems and songs are a testament to the impact of this program on generations of Earlham students.
The compilation has been published as They Kindled a Fire, now available through the Earlham College bookstore. Experience first-hand accounts of people and events that have influenced the field of outdoor education worldwide.
Donate
This campaign ended on December 31, 2021, but you can still make a gift to Earlham College. (Be sure to write-in the designation as “Wilderness and Outdoor Education Fund)