Wilderness Fundamentals/Wilderness Adventure The Wilderness Fundamentals program is designed to provide children ages 9-14 with the basic skills they need to explore and enjoy the outdoors. In a series of weekend trips to various state parks and national forests, students encounter and overcome many of the obstacles and challenges that every outdoors person faces. Moreover, they begin to build the confidence and team spirit that will help them succeed in any future undertaking. DESCRIPTION: The ultimate goal of Wilderness Fundamentals is to prepare students both physically and psychologically for our Ten Summits program in a safe, fun and supportive environment. On each trip, we introduce our students to the demands and joys of participating in an outdoor expedition; and all the while, they learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork. Beginning with the basics of trip planning and proper dress, we gradually move on to the more specialized skills of building and cooking on a fire in any weather, constructing shelters, and handling emergency situations. As students gain confidence and increase their comfort level in the woods, they then learn basic orienteering by map and compass, how to travel diverse terrain without leaving a trace of their passing, and most importantly how to function as part of a team. No expedition ever succeeds without the contribution of each and every member. Through the course of Wilderness Fundamentals, every student learns to be responsible for him or herself as well as every other team member. Each student learns both how to follow and how to lead --- the keystone of every successful team and expedition. This course in teamwork and outdoor training culminates in a final examination. Every Wilderness Fundamentals class is required to pass a simple test -- as a group -- to determine whether or not they are eligible to move on to the exciting and more demanding Ten Summits program. Once the class has passed the test to the satisfaction of the IRCS instructors, each student is awarded a certificate of accomplishment and will then be allowed to enroll in the Ten Summits program, if he or she so desires. In addition, once a student has successfully completed Wilderness Fundamentals he or she is also eligible to enroll in our challenging extension to that course: Wilderness Adventure. In Wilderness Adventure, our students encounter increasingly more difficult and complicated situations designed to refine their outdoor skills while strengthening their growing sense of teamwork and cooperation. The ultimate goal of the Wilderness Adventure program is to render the IRCS instructors superfluous. As they progress, our students undertake more and more tasks without the direct involvement of their instructors. Although the IRCS instructors are present every step along the way to insure the safety of each student and oversee the cohesion of the group, they recede into the background as the students themselves assume the responsibility for their assigned tasks, independent of direct instruction or guidance.
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