Learning the ropes

Photo by Jay Simpson, Campus Recreation Services

TU’s new challenge course to improve teambuilding

by Stuart Zang

Seeking a teambuilding experience? Look no further than the heart of the Glen.

This week, Campus Recreation Services’ (CRS) Adventure Pursuits will unveil the Towson University Challenge Course, an outlet for experiential education and adventure-based leadership programming. Designed for the campus community, the course will also be available to external groups.

Deb Moriarty, vice president for student affairs, says it is atypical for a college or university campus to have its own challenge course. “Usually student organizations and academic classes travel to outdoor facilities, such as camp sites, for programming and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars doing so,” says Moriarty. “Through this 2010 initiative, TU students will further engage in co-curricular learning and leadership experiences right on campus.”

The challenge course has low ropes elements designed to provide teambuilding opportunities for a variety of populations. Groups of eight or more learn to work together as they glide on rope swings, navigate members through a raised tractor tire, stand on a balancing log, or scale up and over a 12-foot wall. Half- or full-day sessions will be facilitated by TU undergraduate and graduate students.

“Groups can expect to build communication skills, trust and problem-solving abilities and improve group cohesion that is unique to their needs,” says Nathan McKinnis, assistant director for Adventure Pursuits. He says individuals may increase their personal confidence and develop leadership styles while learning to trust others.

“Our top priority in designing and building this course is preserving the Glen woods,” says Moriarty. Before breaking ground on the course’s construction, CRS hosted three beautification days during which students, staff and faculty removed invasive plants from the Glen woods and worked toward protecting indigenous plants and trees. CRS also consulted with faculty from the environmental sciences program, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences on how to maintain the woods as a true green space. The Glen woods is home to the region’s largest arboretum, containing 23 native species of trees, and has been used by the TU community as a learning environment for many years.

McKinnis says groups have already started booking dates on the challenge course as far ahead as the fall, but plenty of times and dates are still available.

“We’re ready to help any group begin to work together and break new boundaries.”

For more information, including details on program rates, visit the Campus Recreation Services Web site, email Lindsay Giles, or call x42367.

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