So you want to be an Outdoor Educator?

We meet a lot of people in our travels who are interested in becoming Outdoor Educators, or working in the field of Outdoor & Experiential Education. This might even include positions as varied as Wilderness or  Eco-Tour Guides,  Advanced-Level Trippers, Expedition Leaders,  Adventure Leaders, Tour Operators, Logistics Coordinators, or even just Outdoor Enthusiasts.

We know as employers in this field, that there are some very definite must-haves for applicants who are interested in employment with many of the above-listed titles. The list of must-haves is even more important if you are looking to get a position beyond just basic camp counsellor roles and related pay-grades. The first and foremost amongst these must-haves is the necessity of possessing and maintaining current industry-standard certifications in things like Wilderness First Responder and Swiftwater Rescue Technician for those seeking to lead in a moving water environment. However, much like how nowadays you are no longer guaranteed a steady-paying job with an undergraduate degree, you must also possess more than just certifications. Experience is the name of the game, and without it you are unlikely to find work easily!

Seeing the need for a "one-stop-shop", Leaders of the Day have carefully crafted a modular program that serves all of these needs and more. Not only does our newly-updated Outdoor Educator Certification Program (OECP) allow you to combine the modules that are just right for you, your experience, and your desired work path, but we have strategically arranged them in such a way that allows you to tick these items off of your list in as short a time as possible and still be out in time for the peak of the summer season. Not only will you be able to contact a potential (or current employer) and tell them that you will have all of this new experience accumulated before the summer even starts, but you will have the rest of the summer to work and make money doing what you love more than anything - working outside!

Our Leadership Field Practicum delivers beyond just certifications and begins to add considerable experience to your resume... just what employers want to see.  Join us for an experience of a lifetime paddling the Harricanaw River starting in Quebec and paddling all the way to James Bay. Along the way you will learn all about low-impact camping, knot-tying, whitewater canoeing, risk assessment and group management, navigating with a map and compass, and of course the delicate craft of cooking over open fire, among other valuable skills. Once you reach James Bay, you will be met and water-taxied back to Moose Factory by First Nations community members. The next day you will say your goodbyes and board the Polar Bear Express Train as a group & travel back to Cochrane, ON where our team will meet and escort you back to base camp for a course-end graduation & celebration banquet!

As if that wasn't enough... we take things one step further. With our breadth and depth of experience in the field, Leaders of the Day Co-Founders, Tony Cox and I are invested in our students' success. We are happy to help you find the right fit in an employer or stream of Outdoor Education that reflects your strengths and talents. So much so, that we will observe each of you and make recommendations about where you might find a great fit with an employer. In some cases there can even be opportunities to further develop your skills as an intern or employee with Leaders of the Day.  In many cases we will be happy to make a call on your behalf and say really nice things about you too!

So there you have it. For more information about the different modules available with our OECP and the different skills taught within them, be sure to visit the OECP page on our website!

Thanks for visiting our blog. Stay tuned, as there is always more to come from Leaders of the Day and the Institute for Transformative Experience.

See you out there!
Jonathan Carroll
Co-Founder & Director
Leaders of the Day

Re-Align Your Life Compass: High Octane, Transformative Experience

Hi everyone:  It has been a while since my last article, but it is one of my resolutions this year to be posting here much more often, so stay tuned! In my family, the turning of the New Year is a time of reflection in which we devote some energy to thinking about the triumphs, challenges and events of the year that have been, and excitedly turn our eyes towards the new one and all its many possibilities.

New Year’s is one moment in our North American culture where many of us will pause, however briefly, to consider our life’s direction and “check our bearings” before entering the current of the year that is “down river”. In doing so, we steady our own internal Life Compass as we take stock of where we are standing now and dream of where ideally we wish to be standing next.

Throughout history, adventurers and explorers the world over looked to many important instruments to help them safely find their way.  Since the compass became popular as a tool for navigation in the eleventh century, human beings have trusted the persistent path-finding of its tiny needle to help align them with their intended destinations.

Sometimes however they encountered misadventures, unexpected challenges and setbacks that left them confused, turned around or sometimes feeling more than a little lost.

With challenges behind them, there always came a time of reckoning when they turned to their compasses, to regain their sense of direction and to plot a new course for the next leg of their journeys.

A few years ago my colleague Jonathan sat down at the drawing board and designed the Life Compass Program to help young adults to do just that.  The inspiration for its creation was to craft an exhilarating experience for young adults to step aside from life for a while and to immerse themselves in the currents of a transformative adventure.

Life Compass is grounded in many bodies of work including Master Storyteller Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey model.  It has been designed for young adults 18-29 who consider themselves to be standing at one of Life’s confounding crossroads or transitions.

Whether it is a transition with: school, career, a relationship, or some other compelling life situation, Life Compass Program is the ultimate “Pattern Interrupt”.  It’s about “shaking things up”; excavating people’s possibilities and then supporting them as they find their feet again.

At the very heart of the Leaders of the Day Challenge {“Seek the courage to step outside the familiar; the boldness to experience new frontiers within yourself and to consistently pursue greater personal excellence.”} is the very D.N.A. of the Heroic Journey and that all-important willingness to cross powerful thresholds in our lives.

The students of our Life Compass Program give themselves the gift of 28 incredible days to re-invent themselves daily as they are invited to boldly step out of their everyday circumstances and into the heart of an unforgettable whitewater adventure - together.

The exciting and dynamic settings offered by whitewater environments present powerful metaphors for Life’s ever-changing variables.  Life is always moving and never truly the same as it was a moment before.  We can fight the current, go with the flow, or “eddy out” and walk!

This high-octane, transformative experience immerses participants in the world of whitewater paddling.  Some of the powerful elements of this program include: experiencing the high adventure of whitewater rescue training; becoming certified as a Level 1 Raft Guide while running the world class Ottawa River; hurtling down-river on an eye-opening whitewater canoe expedition with new found confidence; and then slowing it all down as you immerse yourself in our Wilderness Solo experience.....you get the picture.

Both Jonathan and I have had the great opportunity to have lived and worked all over the world during our careers.  When at last we came together to envision and imagine Leaders of the Day as an organization, we agreed that what fed both of our passions most was the theme of transformative experience. In essence it is the power of a special moment or many such moments which conspire to fundamentally change how we think about ourselves, our capabilities and the very world around us.

Whether people come to us for a unique training opportunity, to kindle the flame of leadership, to taste success and challenge, or simply to embark on a remarkable journey, each helps to re-align the needle of Life’s Compass.

For more about our Life Compass Program click here.

Blog post written by Tony Cox: Co-Founder & Director - Leaders of the Day