We had great success this year with our Amherst College FOOT Program! A whole new group of first-year students have gone through this immersive 3-day experience, where they get to know each other, take part in thought provoking activities, receive guidance from Student Leaders about college life at Amherst College, and enjoy exciting local outdoor adventures. Some groups go on a 3-day overnight trip, and some venture out on day programs, returning to the college to do activities in the evening with their team, but everyone involved takes part in thought provoking and community building activities that always open the door to new conversations and new friendships.

Among these activities are the Mind Map, Letter to Self, and Values Clarification. Every year before FOOT starts, upperclass-students at Amherst College apply to be Student Leaders and they learn how to facilitate these activities from AIAO Staff, and they work on a team with one or two of our staff to deliver these activities in the field, and guide their group through the entire FOOT experience. Much of the time, the students who apply to be Student leaders were previous first-year students who took part in the FOOT program. Time and again the chance to be a Student Leader proves to be a wonderful leadership development opportunity for students.

One of the wonderful aspects of these trips is that new students have an opportunity to go through these activities in a new and beautiful natural environment that always seems to enhance introspection and self discovery.

Have a great year Amherst College students! We’re looking forward to working with you in the coming years to create fantastic new experiences for future students.

This week, James and Tannin have been spending time hiking the Robert Frost trail section by section, and he just finished the whole trail yesterday! Here are some pictures of his travels. We hope you can get out and enjoy this lovely trail that runs right through our backyards here in the Pioneer Valley.

Click here for more information on the trail

Recently, members of the AIAO team had the good fortune of reconnecting with faculty from Holyoke Community College (HCC) and their current students for an annual paddle and discussion on the Swift River in Belchertown. It was a beautiful late-summer day with calm waters, laughter, and good conversation.

For the last 17 years, AIAO has taken HCC sustainability students paddling on the Swift, getting them out of the classroom and into nature to discuss topics related to the theme of sustainability. Topics this year included sustainability itself, the local suite of wildlife and the natural history of the area, the history and impacts of the Quabbin Reservoir, interdisciplinary learning, and the Leave No Trace ethic.

The students that took part in this program are studying sustainability as a part of HCC’s Sustainability Studies program, which promotes ecological literacy, knowledge, and responsibility – all things that grow in importance more and more these days. Though the majority of them had never paddled a canoe or kayak before, they were all naturals, and our travels up and down the river were relaxed and rejuvenating.

As more leaves fall, the mercury drops, and the woodstoves are lit, we’ll be thinking of our day on the Swift and looking forward to next year. Good luck, students!

https://www.hcc.edu/courses-and-programs/academic-divisions/sem/sustainability-studies

If the image above looks familiar to you and you can’t figure out why, look no further than our homepage! We thought that this was a fitting way to design the logo for this year’s FOOT Program shirts! It will be appearing on the back of the Amherst College t-shirts that new students will be wearing as they venture off on their FOOT trips during their college orientation.

We’ve been running the FOOT program with Amherst College for many years now. These First-Year Outdoor Orientation Trips help build a strong foundation of community and self awareness for first year students at Amherst College. We take students on a handful of different trips, including 3-day overnight expeditions and medleys that consist of several day trips. We also work together on a team with student leaders who are upperclassman at Amherst College. We help them out by showing them some tools-of-the-trade, but these enthusiastic student leaders always take ownership of their role as a trip leader and as someone who can help new students become acquainted with the ins and outs of college life. A lot of the time these student leaders were on FOOT trips at the beginning of their first year!

The following are the expeditions that will be going out this year, and a few photos from past year’s trips.

Advanced Backpacking: Students make rich memories with one another as they summit peaks, pitch tents each evening, gather firewood, cook meals, pack backpacks, filter water, share stories around the fire, make s’mores and play cards beneath the stars. They hike high along the Appalachian Trail following the scenic Taconic Range in Mount Washington State Forest.

Canoeing: Students get out on the water for a canoe expedition, navigating the scenic flatwaters of the Connecticut River that wind through gorges and farmlands in Vermont and Massachusetts. Participants are entirely self-sufficient, packing their gear in the canoes and camping in picturesque campsites along the river banks. With plenty of opportunities to get wet, play river games, and connect with canoeing partners, this is always an unforgettable trip.

Eco-Service Project: Students enjoy the wonder of the outdoors while contributing in a way that will impact others’ ability to share that experience for years to come. Students make memories and take pride in a legacy with their peers through the contributions that they make together.

Rock-Climbing: Rock climbing and rappelling is a sport that challenges one’s own perceived physical and mental limits and demonstrates in real-time their ability, tenacity and resilience. The locations that students visit offer a variety of routes that meet any ability – beginner to advanced. They spend time in purposeful and supportive communication with their group members as they belay new friends and scale the walls above.

We also have 7 medley trips going out, where students will spend each day of FOOT doing a different activity. The variety of activities we do in the medley trips include Hiking, Kayaking, Canoeing, Primitive Living Skills, Eco-Service.

One of the beautiful outcomes of FOOT for us here at AIAO is that we frequently hear about students who meet on their FOOT trips and cultivate relationships that turn into long lasting friendships that they keep throughout their college career. We are very excited to run another round of transformational FOOT trips this year, and can’t wait to see how these new students will rise to the occasion – they always do!

In April, Farlin and Eric went for a paddle with the Hartford Chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters on Summersville Pond in Summers Connecticut.

Farlin and Eric took them out during their first warm weather experience of the year. This particular crew was the core team of folks who have shown up to all big brothers big sisters programs we’ve done. There was a feeling of comradery and closeness that had been developing over the many months that we’ve been doing these programs with them.

Farlin and Eric have seen this particular group of kids really coming out of their shells and developing both confidence and competence in areas all across the board. During this program they put emphasis on taking on more of a leadership role by having the kids start off in the stern with the adults in the bow, where they had control over the direction of the boat. The kids were able to make decisions about where the group went and where they explored, and they all had a chance to get out of the boats into the water.

 There was a lot of wildlife coming out of the winter fog. Specifically, they saw a ton of turtles… Like hundreds of turtles sunning themselves on logs on the side of the pond.

There was some sweet sadness and a feeling of parting because this string of programs with Big Brothers Big Sisters would be coming to an end soon, but they were talking about going to “yard goats” games together, outside of this their programming with AIAO.

After several failed attempts to majestically snatch a meal from the lake… this bald eagle decides to swim for his lunch.

Enjoy!

There is something archetypal, maybe even mythic about rocks and stone. They seem to beckon, call, and draw me closer in. Whether it is a rocky crag, a glacial erratic, or a polished white stone underfoot, I become mesmerized, as if a spell has been cast upon me. Maybe it is my Celtic lineage, or maybe it is the seeming immutability of stone that is alluring to this mortal being. Whatever the case, I am a sucker for stone.

When I purchased my first home, I found myself called to erect stone walls, standing stones, build cairns, and even installed a stone spiral in my front lawn. After getting married, my wife Gayle and I purchased a new home with 18 acres, and the fever ensued. From the moment you enter the drive, to the trails out back you will find that the calling of the rocks has meta-morphed into a passion that some might deem bordering on madness.

Over the past few years, I have been wandering the woods behind my home and found myself serendipitously encountering a number curious stone structures. They are dry laid stones stacked in a “U” shaped pattern. They are several courses high and usually about four to six feet wide at the opening of the “U”. The second one that I came across was on the day before the Spring Equinox of 2017. I happened to be out there about an hour before sunset and realized that the sun was going to set in perfect alignment with the opening of the “U”.

I returned the following day, on the equinox, with my dog Tannin and had the fortune of a perfectly sunny day. As the sun got lower in the sky, I felt myself excited and wondrous, as I was witness to this magical event happening in the woods behind my house. This did not seem to be a coincidence that the sun was casting its beam directly into the mouth of this structure. Who, when, and why, were questions that were swirling in my mind, while at the same time feeling awe, and gratitude for having the fortune to have been called to this spot. I love the woods for so many reasons and this was, for me, a unique and unparalleled addition to the catalogue.

Upon returning home, I began attempting to find answers online. I came across a book called “A Guide to New England Stone Structures”. I readily ordered it and had it shipped express. As I pawed through this amazing book, I did not come across anything that looked like the structures that I was finding. I decided to write to the author and see what he might have to share. He wrote back quite quickly and let me know that the archaeological consensus seemed to be that these were ceremonial prayer seats built by the indigenous peoples of the land.

I continue to seek answers to this mystery and hope to call attention to these structures with the right people and at the right time. They feel precious and sacred and I feel strongly that they should be preserved and protected. As I learn more, I will share more. Until then, enjoy the photos, ponder the mystery yourself, and get out in the woods!