91原创

91原创 Pepsi Scholars work in the garden.
Outdoor & Place-Based Experiences

Outdoor & Place-Based Experiences

Signature Academic Experiences support student engagement within their academic and career fields. Through framing experiences that support exploration and discovery, students will have a deeper connection to the world of possibilities for OHIO鈥檚 Bobcats.

Outdoor Programs

Collaborative outdoor programs that serve as high-impact opportunities, blending immersive trips from the New Adventures First-Year Outdoor Orientation program to Next Adventure challenge course days.

Outdoor Experiences

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    Next Adventure: Second-Year Outdoor Programs

    Challenge Course & Zip Line Days

    Looking for a way to spend time outside, build your community by getting to know other second-year students, gain leadership and communication skills, and have fun? Join SAE's Next Adventure program & spend a Saturday just off campus exploring the 91原创 Outdoor Pursuits challenge course. Start your morning off with a series of low-ropes team building initiatives to boost your community and communication skills. Take a break for lunch (pizza is provided!) before you navigate high ropes elements and step onto the new Alphine Skypark. Finish the day with a ride down the zip line - featuring easy access to the entry platform for an exciting 1,000-foot ride across the Ridges landscape, with a slow and soft landing on the other end.

    This challenge course program runs from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    Program cost: $5 - Lunch provided!

    Fall 2026 Program Dates

    Saturday, September 19th, 2026

    Saturday, September 26th, 2026

     

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    New Adventures: First-Year Outdoor Orientation Summer Trips

    Start your OHIO experience with a New Adventure!

    Going to college is an adventure, so why not start it that way? Outdoor Pursuits and Signature Academic Experiences partner to offer this high-impact, community building First-Year Outdoor Orientation Program. Choose from backpacking, rock climbing, or a canoeing trip, while camping in scenic wilderness areas. Build a tight-knit community with the other incoming students adventuring alongside you. All the while, you'll gain the skills you need to succeed in your first year at OHIO. 

    New Adventures Orientation trips are open to all incoming first-year students. All gear, transportation, food, equipment, and instruction is provided. No previous outdoor experience is required!

    2026 New Adventures Outdoor Orientation Programs
    June 24 - 28, 2026Backpacking & Whitewater Rafting: Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania 
    July 15 - 19, 2026Backpacking: Grayson Highlands, Virginia 
    August 9 - 20, 2026Canoeing: Boundary Waters Minnesota

    Learn More & Register

Place-Based Programs

Place-Based education is anytime, anywhere learning highlighting the power of community and region to personalize students learning and engagement. From culture, ecology, history, economy, and beyond; building students sense of place & understanding.

What Is Place-Based Education?

Place-based education can happen anytime, anywhere, and Is defined by the Center for Place-Based Learning and Community Engagement as an immersive learning experience that 鈥減laces students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, and uses these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum.鈥

It is a learning approach that highlights the power of place by:

  • Focusing on developing students鈥 sense of place and learning through the exploration of their surrounding environments.
  • Providing opportunities for students to engage and work with local partners to enrich their community while connecting to their lived experiences. 
  • Incorporating engaging techniques such as problem-based learning, outdoor and environmental education, community-based education, active learning, reflection, critical pedagogy.

Place-based locations can be within the local community (near or on campus) or site visits (off campus) depending on the goals of the course or program. These may include green spaces, college museums, performing arts centers, community gardens, non-profit outreach, local businesses, place-specific organizations, and more. 

students gathered outside in uptown Athens listening to an instructor talk as they gesture towards a building

  • Place-Based Events 

    Fall 2026 Leading for a Cause Retreats

    In partnership with the The Center for Student Engagement and Leadership, we are offering two Leading for a Cause retreats each semester. These experiences are free, and each retreat has space for up to 22 students. 

    Take a deeper step into what it means to explore a place, as you explore the Athens, or Columbus community. On these experience you will engage with professionals across disciplines, reflect on what it means to lead for a cause, and discover what place means in community, while you consider possible futures that you might help to create

    Columbus Retreat

    Athens Retreat

    Saturday, September 12th at 9am through Sunday, September 13th at 3pm

    We will visit a variety of sites across Columbus where organizations and individuals are Leading for a Cause, including for-profits, NGOs, and municipal (city) sites. Registered students will receive information about how to prepare, will be engaged throughout the day with activities to promote critical thinking, and will complete independent reflections on their experience afterwards. 

    *Register by August 14st for areas of interest to influence sites; registration closes September 4th.

    All expenses paid - $350 value, FREE!

    Open to any year or major. 

    Register Here

    Friday, October 2nd, 9am-7pm

    We will visit local organizations in Athens that are Leading for a Cause, and conclude with dinner and information about an Athens classic - Casa Nueva! Registered students will receive information about how to prepare, will be engaged throughout the day with activities to promote critical thinking, and will complete independent reflections on their experience afterwards. 

    *Register by September 25th for areas of interest to influence sites; registration closes September 25th.

    Lunch & dinner included; all expenses paid - $200 value, FREE!

    Open to any year or major.

    Register Here