“Connect – Discover – Educate” is the College of Health and Human Services overall mission, which strives to develop leaders whose focus is health and wellness, while incorporating community outreach.
The Wilderness Studies Classes offered at Cal State Long Beach provides students with the opportunity to participate in backpacking, kayaking, mountaineering, rock climbing to help achieve this mission. These classes teach skills in responsibility, teamwork, respect for others, ethics of hard work and appreciation for nature. On the days when the wilderness students do not have class, they are organizing coastal clean ups from beaches in Malibu al the way to Long Beach.
We are the new generation of health and human services professionals, and with the skill set we have gained from these courses, we can provide a foundation for a healthy Long Beach community. Unfortunately, the CHHS has elected to remove the Wilderness Studies Classes which profoundly impacts the health and wellness of our CSULB students.
As a sixth semester nursing student, I can attest that our rates of obesity, depression and anxiety are increasing in our youth because they’re missing something essential to their health and development — a connection to the natural world.
From a health care standpoint, spending time outside backpacking, mountaineering raises levels of Vitamin D, which protect against heart disease and diabetes, according to CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. From the demands of the CSULB nursing program, having a chance to partake in the WCS has provided me with the appropriate outlets to channel my stress and grow my passions.
In addition, the literature shows exposure to environment-based education significantly increases student performance of their critical thinking skills as well as a decrease in stress. After kayaking every Friday, not only is my spirit renewed but I also have more energy to enthusiasm to educate my patients on the environmental and community benefits of the outdoors.
Furthermore, I chose to attend CSULB for the opportunities in service learning, student group involvement and community outreach. From the backpacking and kayaking classes I have taken at CSULB, I have achieved more than I ever imagined. I have been encouraged to continue my education in countless ways be it attending seminars, obtaining certifications or taking specialty training.
WCS are threatened to be cancelled and the senate is meeting to make a final decision. My motivation is to let the senate know they classes are worthwhile and keep the classes on myCSULB!
Removing the WSC negatively impacts the health and wellness of our CSULB students as participating in WSC has helped develop skills that prepare for the demands of being a leader in the health and human services sector today.
Heather Coyne is a nursing student and a student in the Wilderness Studies class.