WILD ROCKIES

May 2024 Newsletter

Today's the day! The 26-hour donation window is OPEN for Missoula Gives 2024! Follow the link below to donate directly towards student financial aid for WRFI courses!

To express our gratitude, we're offering the following gifts:

-First donor to donate $250 or more will get a WRFI fanny pack

-First 2 donors to donate more than $100 will get a WRFI ArtToolkit

-First 5 donors to donate more than $75 will get a WRFI branded Opinel knife

-First 10 people to donate more than $50 will get a free ceramic WRFI mug

-First 50 people to donate more than $20, will get a free WRFI sticker pack

Thank you for helping us get more students into the field for impactful experiential education!

Help Us Welcome Our New

Interim Field Education Manager!

Adam Kershner Joins the WRFI Team

Say hello to Adam Kershner, joining us as WRFI’s Interim Field Education Manager! 👋 Adam brings professional experience in environmental education as a guide, program director, and Wilderness Medicine instructor with Aerie. He’ll be splitting time this summer between the office and the field to ensure everything course-related runs smoothly!

On his passion for experiential education, he says:

"I truly found my passion for experiential education while working for an environmental education program on Catalina Island off the coast of California. Teaching through an experiential lens has allowed me to effectively connect with and reach more students, and through that, increase my own personal knowledge."

In his free time, Adam enjoys climbing, skiing, whitewater rafting, and mountain biking, and he encourages others to take advantage of every opportunity to explore our world along the way. He’s excited to see WRFI students do just that and to hear their stories from the field this summer!

Welcome, Adam!

New Blog Post: Echoes of Industry

by: Elijah Manzer, Colorado Plateau '24

"I was shocked by the deafening silence. With no civilization for miles, it was just our small WRFI group until we reached the Great Gallery.

Once we started diving into our coursework, specifically the geology coursework, I realized that the canyon makes noise differently. The canyon was screaming, "I LOVE ROCKS!".

Actually, that was the echo of our instructor Heather screaming, but the canyon was screaming that information at me too. The exposed layers of rock spoke of ages gone by.

The great dunes of Navajo Sandstone and the riparian world of the Kayenta spoke of an age completely different from the modern

Horseshoe Canyon."

Fresh from the field and hot off the press - check out WRFl's newest blog post by Colorado Plateau student Elijah Manzer, titled "Echoes of Industry: Navigating the Quiet and the Noise in Green River". Elijah reflects on what he's learned so far on the course, including how canyon walls in the desert can speak to you if you're careful to listen.

Emma Hamilton: Newfound Energy to

Make A Difference

WRFI Impact Stories

Featured Course: Montana Afoot and Afloat

🚨 Scholarship Opportunity 🚨

Any student who enrolls and pays their deposit for Montana Afoot and Afloat by May 31st automatically receives a $2,000 scholarship! Share this amazing opportunity with your network!

Gain a holistic picture of Montana’s landscapes, ecosystems, and geography by tracing the path of water in Montana’s dramatic landscape from headwaters high up in the mountains to flood plains in valleys that host important wildlife and communities alike. Students on this course will gain an integrated understanding of future, past, and present relationships between the human communities and landscapes that characterize Montana’s rich and diverse geography and is designed to give students the experiences and academic background to formulate a personal land ethic – that is, a vision of a wise and beneficial way to relate to the land.