While the majority of our programs are for public and private school students, we have many opportunities for open enrollment courses. Join us for any or all of the events listed below:
June 11-13, 2010
Annual Work Weekend
Please join us for a weekend of service, fun, and learning. Our annual work weekend brings together current and previous staff members and friends of The Mountain Institute to tackle many facility projects. Whether you're skilled or unskilled, there's certainly a task we would appreciate your help with. In the past, volunteers have re-roofed buildings, painted the dorms and shower shack, built a composting toilet, worked on the road, cooked for the group, repaired sleeping bags, and erected clotheslines; the list is endless. Join us for whatever time frame you can; we are happy to provide your meals and lodging here at Spruce Knob. We appreciate advance notice of your participation so we can plan projects for the event. Please contact Dave Martin (304) 567-2632 or dmartin@mountain.org for more information.
June 20-26, June 27-July 3, July 4-10
Mountain Adventures Summer Camps for Youth
Join us in the mountains of West Virginia for a unique and personal summer camp experience. Activities vary from week to week as campers explore the natural world through hiking and backpacking, canoeing, rafting, rock climbing and more! Bake-offs, murder mysteries, music video production, laser tag, and creative art crash-courses provide fun evening and afternoon experiences. Join us for one to three weeks for an unforgettable summer experience! For more information, click here.
August 3-6, 2010
Appalachian Watershed and Stream Monitors Professional Development Workshop
While we have limited availability for grant funded teacher/ student participation in the AWSM program, we offer this workshop on a fee basis as well. Teachers, Watershed Organizers, college students, or any interested citizens are welcome to participate. Join us at the Spruce Knob Mountain Center to learn West Virginia Save Our Streams Protocols for physical, chemical, and biological analysis. You will learn about restoration opportunities within the Spruce Knob area and your home watershed and explore relationships between pristine headwaters streams and their downstream connections. Guest speakers share information about local and regional watershed challenges. Opportunities are provided to discuss curriculum potentials with other teachers and discover the connections between local geology and stream characteristics. Based on your interest, you may become a Level I WV Save Our Streams Monitor. The Mountain Institute will provide you with a variety of tools to teach others about watershed health. For more information on either grant funded or fee based participation please visit.
August 9-12, 2010
Reading the Landscape Professional Development Workshop
Teachers, college students, informal educators, and any other interested parties are encouraged to attend the RTL workshop. While we have limited spaces for teacher/ student grant funded participation, we also offer this workshop on a fee basis. The Reading the Landscape curriculum, developed by TMI for WV schools, encourages students to take a closer look at the world around them and investigate the intricacies of the diverse Appalachian ecosystem. Many students study ecosystems of regions around the world, but are not familiar with the complex, mountain forests of West Virginia. The RTL curriculum focuses on familiarizing students with these highland forests.
Workshop topics typically include: Mountain Geology, Salamander Diversity, Plant Kingdom Investigations, Habitat Comparisons, Insects Study, and Stream Assessment. Participants are provided with extensive amounts of background information on each topic, as well as a vast array of classroom activities and lessons. For more information on either grant-funded or fee-based participation please click here.Register here for the Reading The Landscape Professional Development Workshop.
August 22-30 2010
Wilderness First Responder
The Wilderness First Responder curriculum uses the principles of long-term care, improvised resources, and varying environmental conditions as the framework for learning. Now the most widely recognized and most often required outdoor leader certification, the Wilderness First Responder course was first developed and taught by SOLO in the mid-1980's. Created to provide outdoor leaders, guides, and rangers with the knowledge needed to deal with crises in remote settings, this 80-hour certification course meets DOT National Standards for First Responder with additional protocols for extended-care situations. Like all SOLO programs, the emphasis of the WFR is on prevention and decision-making. Students who successfully complete the SOLO Wilderness First Responder course will receive a SOLO Wilderness First Responder card and an American Heart Association Adult Heartsaver CPR card (or equivalent).
September 3-7 2010
Almost Heaven Star Party
The Almost Heaven Star Party will be held September 3rd to the 7th, at the Mountain Institute in Spruce Knob, WV. The event is sponsored by NOVAC. Spruce Knob is one of the premier dark-sky sites in the East! Registration opens the week of April 19. For more information on registration and event details visit http://www.ahsp.org/index.html
September 9-12 2010
Yoga Ascent: 4 Day Mountain Retreat
This retreat on Spruce Knob Mountian is an opportunity to explore the heart of yoga at its intended height! This will be a retreat for the nature and climbing enthusiast who is interested in yoga, as well as for the yoga practitioner who wants to explore the centrality of the sacred mountain archetype in Yoga history and practice. In addition to daily yoga sessions and meditation practices, all of our excursions and outdoor activities are optional highlights of the retreat, and you are welcome to spend your days exploring the silence and tranquility of the wilderness. The retreat will emphasize the benefits of solitude and silence in nature; and the development of traditional yoga as a mountain-based practice. You will encounter the mountain as a place of ascent and experience the proximity of the mountains to Spirit itself. Through silent meditation, hiking, stargazing, climbing, journaling, yoga practice, and traditional mountain ceremonies, you will open yourself to the uplifting and healing power of the sacred mountain. Online Registration will be open soon. Visit http://www.yogani.com/ for more information.
October 7-10, 2010
Run For The Hills! Race Weekend
The Mountain Institute's second annual "Run for the Hills!" 5K and Half Marathon and The West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners are pleased to present a three day stage race through the Monongahela National Forest. Join us for a 50K October 8, 50 mile October 9th, Half Marathon and 5K October 10th. For more information on the Trilogy (50K, 50 Mile, Half Marathon).
