WCU returns to 'Top Adventure College' online poll, wins for fifth time
甜瓜视频app has been voted the 鈥淭op Adventure College鈥� in a Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine online readers鈥� poll, reflecting the popularity of, and pride in, local outdoor activities.
The contest began Feb. 25 and had regional colleges and universities meeting in head-to-head matchups in a 32-school bracket, with WCU and Lees-McRae College, last year鈥檚 titleholder, moving on to the championship final.
鈥淥ver a half-million votes poured in to Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine鈥檚 鈥楾op Adventure鈥� contest 鈥� the most ever in its seven-year history,鈥� said Will Harlan, BRO editor-in-chief. 鈥淥nce again, Western Carolina rallied its students, faculty, staff and alumni to a decisive victory. WCU boasts a premier location for outdoor adventure 鈥� with world-class whitewater, climbing crags and hundreds of miles of trails in national parks and national forests surrounding campus. It also offers outstanding outdoor education and adventure opportunities, such as the university鈥檚 outdoor program known as Base Camp Cullowhee.
Paddle sports available to the WCU community range from mild to wild, with placid lakes to serious whitewater close by.
鈥淢ost importantly, perhaps, Western has a dedicated, outdoor-minded campus community that promotes and celebrates adventure,鈥� Harlan said. 鈥淚t's not surprising that WCU has captured its fifth 鈥楾op Adventure College鈥� title. They鈥檝e definitely earned it.鈥�
Blue Ridge Outdoors is a print and online publication about outdoor recreation in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, with offices in Asheville and Charlottesville, Virginia. WCU had won the polling for four straight years then went into a 鈥渉all of fame鈥� category in 2018 before returning to competition this year.
On campus and off, numerous outdoor opportunities await WCU students, faculty and staff, and the surrounding community. From a multiuse trail system behind the Health and Human Sciences Building on the university鈥檚 West Campus to the neighboring Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, as well as scenic lakes and waterways such as the nearby Tuckaseigee River, there is quick and easy access to some of the most adventure-friendly landscapes in the South.
鈥淩eceiving the designation of 鈥楾op Adventure College鈥� is truly a tribute to the array of outdoor opportunities 甜瓜视频app has to offer,鈥� said Shauna Sage, director of WCU鈥檚 Department of Campus Recreation and Wellness. 鈥淥ur students not only live in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, but have opportunities to engage in outdoor activities in both the curricular and extracurricular realms of their student experience.鈥�
Campus Recreation and Wellness鈥檚 outdoor program, Base Camp Cullowhee, offers equipment rentals, events and programs, including recreational trips and experiential education services.
Proper instruction and equipment are available for ascent and other wilderness adventures.
Among the academic programs offered by WCU of interest to students pursuing careers in the outdoors are forest resource management, hospitality and tourism management, natural resource conservation and management, and parks and recreation management.
鈥淭his semester, I am piloting at new course entitled 鈥楴ature Rx,鈥欌�� said Debby Singleton, an instructor in the parks and recreation management program. 鈥淐urrently, it is an elective open to any student at WCU. I created this course because I saw a need to introduce, encourage and teach students how to enjoy the nature we have around us. We witness why time in nature 鈥� the outdoors 鈥� is good for not just our physical well-being, but also emotional, mental, intellectual and spiritual well-being.
鈥淚n a couple of weeks, we鈥檙e going to participate in a forest therapy session at Pinnacle Park with a certified forest therapy guide, Mark Ellison,鈥� she said. 鈥淒uring each class period, we take one of the research studies mentioned in Florence Williams鈥� book, 鈥楾he Nature Fix,鈥� and replicate it in class to see if we get the same results. The majority of the time we do. I think the main take-away is that students are attracted to WCU because of its location, but they still need assistance in learning how to enjoy it fully.鈥�
