Schedule of Events

Outdoor Links

What is the Wilderness Leadership Society?

The Wilderness Leadership Society at Villa Julie College was founded in spring of 1996 with the mission of promoting interest in wilderness activities as well as the development of leadership skills. The club sponsors several activities each spring and fall semester, and occasionally sponsors summer activities as well. In addition, the club co-sponsors larger outings with other clubs on campus, such as the Environmental Club and the Student Nursing Association. The WLS won the Outstanding Club Award for the1997-98 academic year.

All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to participate in club activities, and may choose to participate in some activities and not others. In most cases, no experience is necessary. All that is required is a willingness to learn, to get to know each other, and to have fun. We sometimes ask for volunteers to help organize events, and students may volunteer to lead events themselves, even those who are not club officers. We are always looking for new ideas. Meetings are held periodically.

 What Sort of Things Do We Do?

Some of the things we have done include:

Backpacking
Camping
Canoeing
Day hiking
Frisbee golf
Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center
Ice skating
Kayaking instruction
Orienteering
Paintball
Rock climbing
Scuba diving instruction
Skiing
Spelunking (caving)
Sport (indoor) climbing
Tubing
Whitewater rafting
Wilderness outfitting seminars

Service projects, including:
Highway cleanup
Save Our Streams
Treemendous Maryland

Who Can Tell Me More?

For more information, contact Alan Penczek at f-pencze@mail.vjc.edu.

Outdoor Links

Local Outfitters and Schools

Earth Treks' Climbing Center
http://www.earthtreksclimbing.com

Hudson Trail Outfitters
http://www.hudsontrail.com/

Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)
http://www.rei.com

Organizations Sponsoring Local Events

Appalachian Mountain Club, Washington DC Chapter
http://www.amc-dc.org/Events/date.htm

Chesapeake Audubon Society
http://www.chesapeakeaudubon.org/fldtrips.htm

Chesapeake Hiking & Outdoor Society
http://www.chaoshikers.org/

Columbia Ski Club
http://www.columbiaskiclub.org/default.aspx

Cromwell Valley Park
http://www.bcpl.net/~cvpark/

Cylburn Arboretum
http://www.cylburnassociation.org/

Gwynns Falls Trail Council
http://www.gwynnsfallstrail.org/

Maryland Native Plant Society
http://www.mdflora.org/events/currentevents.html

Maryland Outdoor Club
http://www.marylandoutdoorclub.org/index.asp

Maryland Volkssport Events
http://www.ava.org/gen3/data/events_results.asp?StShortName=MD

Mountain Club of Maryland
http://www.mcomd.org/

Nature Conservancy, Maryland/DC Chapter
http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/events/

Patapsco Valley State Park
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/spring_summer_2007_tributary_pub.pdf

Quantico Orienteering Club
http://qoc.us.orienteering.org/

Sierra Club, Greater Baltimore Group
http://maryland.sierraclub.org/baltimore/outings.html

Sierra Club, Maryland Chapter
http://maryland.sierraclub.org/

York County Parks, PA
http://ycwebserver.york-county.org/Parks/Calendar/calendar.htm

Volunteer Opportunities

Baltimore County Volunteers
http://www.co.ba.md.us/Agencies/volunteers/index.html

Earth Share
http://www.earthshare.org/get_involved/volunteer_resources.html

Hiking Safety

Expert Village
http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/hiking-safety.htm

Other Resources

Appalachian Mountain Club
http://www.outdoors.org

Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center
http://www.geneseevalley.org/

Maryland's Public Lands
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/

National Hiking/Climbing Links
http://www.fred.net/kathy/at/otherlinks.html

Rail Trails:

Heritage Rail Trail County Park, PA
http://ycwebserver.york-county.org/Parks/RailTrail.htm

North Central Railroad Trail, MD
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/greenways/ncrt_trail.html

Other Rail Trails
http://www.traillink.com/

Running Trails in Maryland
http://www.trailrunner.com/state_trails/md.htm

Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities (SOLO)
http://www.soloschools.com/solohome.html

Trail Journals
http://www.trailjournals.com/

Villa Julie Cross Country Course
Cross-country course