News Editor
The Outdoor Adventures program allows students and Student Recreation Center members to participate in recreational activities outside of campus.
During the fall semester, the program offered 10 trips and had 142 participants.
SRC director Mary O’Mahoney said the Outdoor Adventures program was first planned in fall 2013, and by winter 2014, trips were being offered.
“This is a very young program,” O’Mahoney said. “All these trips were basically third party trips, meaning we contracted with a company and student assistants just drove students to the location and we paid a company for the activity.”
Outdoor Adventures manager Joshua Coy said that the program struggled when it was first established at CSU Bakersfield.
“The program struggled for a while to find enough people to attend our trips, but in the past year, our trips are getting more and more popular and every trip has been able to go,” said Coy.
O’Mahoney said that the interest for the program has been there. She wants to make sure students know about the program, how fun the trips are and how affordable they are.
“We wanted to offer more and different types of trips and the types of trips that students would not only enjoy but learn about the outdoors, camping skills, rock climbing, appreciation of nature, etc.,” said O’Mahoney.
During summer 2015, SRC hired Marshall McArthur as its first coordinator for Outdoor Adventures and Experiential Learning.
The Outdoor Adventure’s program will be offering camping trips and a weekend ski and snowboarding trip during this semester.
O’Mahoney said that the newest activity that’s being offered is a mountain biking trip in April.
Though these outdoor activities are a great way to become involved, it can be dangerous.
However, the SRC puts students’ safety first.
O’Mahoney said the safety of students is their number one priority on their trips. McArthur, who is Wilderness First Responder certified, will know how to handle emergencies if they happen.
“Any student assistants that go on the trips have first aid and CPR certifications as well as additional training on safety policies and procedures,” said O’Mahoney. “We have pre-trip meetings to inform the students what they need to bring, what to expect during the trip and general rules.”
With the program, the SRC subsidizes about 40 percent or more of each trip so it’s affordable for students. Outdoor Adventure trips include transportation, equipment and meals.
“The funds go right back into the program,” said SRC Student Development Coordinator Mariah Schultz. “We subsidize 40 percent of the costs so the SRC is still paying for the remainder of the trips… so that our participants don’t have to stress about any of the planning.”
The Outdoor Adventures program gives students the opportunity to embrace life-changing experiences that college is about.
“I would encourage anyone looking to get out of Bakersfield for a weekend, or who is looking for adventure to give our program a try. We love to give people new experiences and our trips do not require any prior experiences,” said Coy.
For this spring semester, the program will offer 12 trips, including kayaking, a photography hike, snowboarding, river rafting, mountain biking and surfing.
Schultz encourages students to sign up for spring trip registrations as many participants have already signed up.
“If [students] are thinking about going on a trip, even if it’s not until March or April, I would get into the SRC as soon as possible and sign up to secure [their] spot,” said Schultz.
