Nova Scotia Community College
ER-T2-7: Outdoors Program

The Environmental Engineering Technology program's Geology Field School course has been offered for 30 years and in that time frame, faculty and students have noticed many changes to the coastal rock exposures. The degree of coastal erosion is attributed in part to climate change, as the frequency and intensity of storms has increased. The other component contributing to the coastal erosion is the geology and geomorphology of the coastal environment. Some attempts to mitigate the process of coastal erosion have been implemented, which only provides temporary relief, as relative sea level continues to rise. The students get to assess the benefits. The students are instructed on safety in the field. Rock hammer use is limited to looking at beach rock only, not rock in place, in order to minimize the impact on the rock outcrops for future generations. Students carry out all garbage (Pack It In, Pack It Out), as part of following the philosophy of “Leave No Trace”. Paul Batson, Faculty NSCC Gittens Lodge In 1969, Prof. Ted Gittens and Dr. Verl Short, faculty members from Nova Scotia Teachers College, looked for land to establish an Environmental Science Centre. They found their land with Scott Paper, who leased the College a 600-acre block of land at Manganese Mines. Gittens Lodge construction began in 1971 and was completed in 1973. All the lumber used in construction was supplied by Scott Paper. Most of the supplies and labour were donated by local companies and organizations. Renovations and upgrades have been performed through the years drawing on resources from Scott Paper (now Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation), the Department of Public Works and Transportation, Nova Scotia Teachers College, Nova Scotia Community College and the local community. In 1993 an evaluation of the woodlands surrounding the Lodge was conducted and 23 ecological study sites were documented and mapped. In an average year, approximately 1500 children and 150 adults make use of NSCC's Gittens Lodge and surrounding property. One such NSCC program group is the School of Health & Human Services Child and Youth Care (CYC) program. This group uses Gittens Lodge as a location to facilitate a variety of learning experiences during the year. We introduce Gittens in September during orientation & program introduction activities, usually facilitated by recent alumni of the program. We talk about Gittens as a location – some of its history and the partnerships that ensure its continuation. Environmental sustainability and Leave No Trace are a key piece of our discussions – both as they relate to our use of Gittens and to opportunities for the youth that we will be working with once they graduate and are employed. We do an overnight at Gittens during the winter semester during which time CYC students have the opportunity to demonstrate outcomes associated with group process and group functioning. They spend time doing outdoor education components (adjunct outcomes) and winter outdoor safety education. They are responsible for the meal preparation and grocery shopping as well as some activity facilitation while we are there. It is quite possible that it is the ancillary outcomes that are the most meaningful (transformative). Anecdotally, learners identify the significance of their outdoor experience as the key point of the weekend. Kelly Shaw, Faculty School of Health & Human Services, Recreation Leadership Program The Lodge is used when facilitating Introduction to Outdoor Recreation or Advanced Outdoor Recreation. The facility is the setting for seasonal activities including but not limited to canoeing, hiking, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing and wilderness survival workshops. The group practices 'Leave No Trace' principles. Students have the option of receiving certification through the No Trace workshop. Dawn D-Arcy, Faculty