For those interested in outdoor activities, Outdoor Recreation is the right place to go.
“The direction of outdoor recreation is based on Ouachita students; what Ouachita students want we will offer,” said Mike Reynolds, professor of Kinesiology/Leisure Studies.
Reynolds has coordinated Outdoor Recreation for several years, and this sports lover likes to participate in the activities with the students.
“We are open to any activities that the students would like to participate in,” he said. “If they have a group and like to do a certain activity, come and see me, we will sponsor it.”
At first, outdoor recreation started as an academic opportunity, but four years ago the department branched out into campus activities.
“It’s kind of a mix between the academic and the campus activities,” Reynolds said. “Another reason is because we have the equipment of kinesiology and leisure studies so we were using our equipment to do outdoor recreation trips.”
Last year, Outdoor Recreation had seminars such as outdoor photography and brought in an expert to teach Ouachita students. This semester, Outdoor Recreation is doing many trips and activities ranging from camping/hiking trips, canoe trips, mountain biking and indoor climbing. They are trying to offer more outdoor activity opportunities this year.
“We’ve been doing this for couple years, for this fall we have Thursday activities such as hiking, mountain biking and canoeing,” Reynolds said. “It starts at 3:30 p.m and we’ll come back before Refuge.”
David Armstrong, a senior kinesiology major, likes to do backpacking and camping. As a student worker in the department, he has many outdoor activity experiences.
“Do yourself a favor and get outdoors and enjoy something away from campus,” Armstrong said.
The challenging thing is that activity is very dependent on the weather.
“Last week we went mountain biking in the rain … made for some interesting turns,” Armstrong said.
The faculty members are very conscious about the security of the students. Activities are cancelled if there is a chance of bad weather.
These activities help students build activity leadership and plan for the future.
“This is providing me with some good experience that will hopefully help prepare for a similar field of work in the future,” Armstrong said.
Outdoor Recreation is a great way to explore the outdoors and build new relationships.
“College is the time to do things that you have never done before — to get outside the box,” Reynolds said. “If you have never mountain biked, go mountain bike; if you never canoed, go canoeing; if you’ve never climbed, climb and see what you like. Besides that, you will meet people on campus that you probably have never seen before and you will get the physical benefit from the exercise and training.”
Students who want to participate can sign up at the Campus Activities office in the Evan Student Center.
“We keep the cost minimal, like the Thursday activities are free,” Reynolds said. “College is a time to push your limits and Outdoor Recreation is a great opportunity to do that. You don’t have to be skilled to participate. These are fun and ‘no pressure’ social activities.”
