Lakehead University
IN-3: Innovation 3

Centrally located and surrounded by numerous accessible lakes, rivers and other picturesque natural features, Lakehead University's Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism program is the only one of its kind in Canada. Offering a unique integration of theoretical and applied perspectives, the program is extremely popular, and demands a significant level of commitment in addition to high standards of academic excellence. The School offers both undergraduate and graduate level programs which emphasize the study of recreational activities and leisure pursuits related to and dependent upon the natural environment. Building upon a common base of courses, students can select electives from a variety of subject areas, including advanced study in one of three areas of concentration: parks, tourism or leadership. Another unique aspect of the School is the opportunity it provides for students to enroll in an undergraduate double degree option combining Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism with Arts (Geography, History, or Women's Studies) or Science (Natural Science). We also offer a concurrent Honours Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation/Bachelor of Education program. The School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism is blessed with the greatest lab facility in the world - Lake Superior and the boreal forest. The School is located within minutes of world class camping, canoeing, climbing, hiking, fishing, skiing, and many other recreational resources. This close proximity offers ideal teaching and research facilities for many of the field components of our courses. Many courses involve direct experience and interaction with practitioners. Additionally, technological elements, such as modern outdoor equipment, computers, multimedia and video, are used to prepare the student for future endeavors in a broad, complex, challenging and rapidly changing field. With a strong research focus, the school strives to be in the forefront of development in the field while maintaining a commitment to course refinement and delivery. Some of the innovative programs the ORPT hosts include: A regional community service learning (CSL) course that integrates research in collaboration with other organizations and institutions, such as Ontario Parks, Parks Canada, and First Nations organizations. The CSL also includes wildlife research on caribou, beaver, and songbat among other animals. The ORPT program also includes an OUTD 1150 Ecolocigcal Literacy and Land Relations course that encourages environmental and social awareness. Through a respectful weaving of Indigenous and mainstream ways of knowing, we examine self, community and land relations. Together we explore (in theory and practice) the meaning of landscape as teacher, and from this place of understanding, examine how we might apply the best of human intention for socially just and ecologically vibrant communities. Learning circles and fieldwork focus on the Thunder Bay region. Emphasis is placed on safety gained through awareness, ability to read the dynamic language of the land via the regional wildlife, ecological principles and indicators, heritage species, cultural connections, and the role of ceremony in developing ecological intelligence. Other innovative programs within ORPT include the required OUTD 3370 Field Trip course. In this course, theoretical and applied topics related to outdoor leadership, parks and tourism are examined through classroom and field activities. The course provides an opportunity to study and apply skills and knowledge on an extended expedition in a culturally rich and ecologically diverse area. Students choose from a variety of outdoor recreational activities such as sea kayaking, dog sledding, cycle tourism, a Wabakimi canoe trip, or hiking, and combine environmental and social awareness to a research project. This is part of an ongoing relations with provincial parks to conduct research that the parks can use and integrate into their management planning. ORPT is distinguished from other outdoor recreation programs in Canada by its distinctive, broad based approach and focus on more than outdoor recreation and tourism by integrating other areas of knowledge and disciplines into their teaching.

The program has approximately 300 students (years 1 through 4), with average graduating classes of 50 students. Many of our students go on to become teachers in outdoor centers, overseas and in traditional classrooms. Many become involved in outdoor learning environments such as youth camps, specialized programs and even commercial ventures to connect people with the outdoors. Others work in planning and community development fields, and many with protected areas agencies such as Parks Canada and other provincial and regional agencies.