GVSU students on course with ethical recreation

An unusual course at Grand Valley State University taught students to leave no trace that they were there. The Special Topics Natural Resources Management class, conducted by C. “Griff” Griffin, taught practices in “ethical recreation” before, during and after a recent two-day camping and hiking trip in the Manistee National Forest.

Increasing recreational use of public lands takes a toll on both the biophysical resources and visitors seeking particular types of recreational experiences. The course focused on the principles and practices of recreating on public land and their scientific basis. Participants in the two-credit, highly compressed course can earn a certificate of completion from the national Leave No Trace program.

Students learned the seven principles of ethical recreation, which range from minimizing surface impact of hiking and camping, to respecting wildlife, properly disposing of waste, and leaving what you find. For a complete list, visit the Leave No Trace Web site at www.lnt.org .

Planning ahead is another principle built into the course with teaching exercises led by each student participant. For example, student Melissa Buzzard demonstrated how to hang a “bear bag” to keep the group’s food and scented products, like bug spray, out of reach of wildlife overnight. Afterwards, even the rock used to weight the rope was returned to the place it was found.

For more information contact Carol Griffin at (616) 331-3104, or visit www4.gvsu.edu/griffinc .

Student Dallas Goldberg, left, C. Griffin and student Justin Schneider work on assembling a tent, locating it the required 200 feet from a pond / Photo by Courtney Newbauer