Leelanau Outdoor Center celebrates 30 years of impacting students
By Berry Kendall
Sun contributor
The Leelanau Outdoor Center (LOC) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Founded in 1994 and situated on picturesque Pyramid Point in Maple City, LOC educates groups of school students with its unique program that combines “experiential and ecological learning in the natural environment that promotes the discovery and development of leadership and character.” Adventure elements of the program include navigating the high ropes course, climbing wall, and zip line while the ecological components encompass Pond Study and Dune School.
According to studies, because of the hands-on approach, students who engage in outdoor education are more likely to understand and retain the concepts they’ve learned. Says one middle school student who completed the program, “I learned that the dunes move a little every year and that most times you can see better without a flashlight.”
Katie Duntley has served as the director of LOC for the past five years but has been on staff for 14. When asked about any reticence first-time participants may harbor, she says, “It’s a regular occurrence for students to seem unwilling to try anything that they think they can’t do well on their first try. Persistence, resilience, and determination seem to be soft skills that modern students have difficulty with.” Duntley details how the program helps shift their thinking: “At LOC we work hard to earn the students’ trust and provide them a safe space to try something new and maybe make mistakes. We want them to know that it’s ok to not get it right the first time, and it is important to work hard and be persistent. In team building, we specifically address communication skills that may be difficult to foster in a school setting, as well as the idea that it’s ok to ask for help and trust others.”
What may sound like an extended field trip has actually been an experience that close to 1,900 students annually have deemed immensely enriching and empowering. As director, Duntley manages a team of 10 staff members who are well-versed in bolstering their young charges through every step of the LOC program.
Jamie Schaefer is the Science and Technology teacher at Laker Schools located downstate in Pigeon, MI. “LOC is such a transformative experience for our students. Many have never been away from home or their parents for that long so it is great to get away and let them spend time in nature and bonding with people they see at school but don’t know very well,” she says. Describing the impact LOC has on the adults, she adds, “As a teacher, it is a great way to get to know students on a different level outside of the classroom. We go to LOC at the beginning of the school year and come back knowing each other a little better and have lots of good stories and lessons on teamwork, supporting each other and [expressing] empathy. While we are not learning in a traditional sense, when we return to school students have a new perspective on each other that helps build our school community!”
Some of Schaefer’s students who completed the LOC program offer their own unique perspectives. Reports one, “When we learned how to canoe it taught me a bit more about teamwork and who I work well with. It also taught me that it’s not always your best friend you work well with; you may work well with people you’ve never even talked with. It taught me to explore different things and keep trying when things are hard.” A classmate shares, “One big impact LOC had on me was to push myself to do things I don’t want to do. And I learned to show empathy.” Another student adds, “I got to meet new people and explore the wild. And I learned that scary things can be fun experiences.” And a fourth remembers, “One of the last nights at camp, we got awards for different things and different people. All of the camp helpers were super fun and really kind and supportive. LOC is an awesome experience!”
Graydon Steele is a teacher at Westwoods Elementary in Traverse City. “Taking my fifth graders on a field trip to LOC each year is one of the most rewarding experiences of my teaching career,” Steele says. “The anticipation and excitement builds throughout the students’ elementary years. Westwoods Elementary has sent students to LOC for over two decades. It remains a cornerstone of not only our fifth-grade curriculum but of the Westwoods experience.”
Steele observes his students fully immersing themselves in the natural environment and says this engagement teaches them valuable life lessons. “From scaling the climbing wall to exploring the wonders of Dune Ecology, canoeing down the Crystal River, soaring through the air on the zip line, and laughing during campfire songs and stories, fifth graders participate in a variety of hands-on activities that reinforce our curriculum. Beyond the fun and adventure, LOC also helps students develop important skills like teamwork, consideration for others, and a strong work ethic. LOC provides a truly enriching experience that leaves a lasting impact on myself and all of our Westwoods fifth graders,” he says.
When asked what they enjoyed about LOC, one of Steele’s students says, “Every time I think of LOC, I think of the end when each counselor gave out rewards. One of my counselors gave me a reward, and it made me feel appreciated. It was a good end to a great trip!” Another recalls, “The front porch [of the Great House], where everyone gathered, was always memorable. We had to dance to get lunch! That connected me more to my friends and let me better understand the counselors’ personalities.”
In the 14 years she’s been with LOC, Duntley has witnessed the evolution of the program. “Early in my LOC career, when Laura Ann Johnson was Director and Pippi Rutledge was the Program Coordinator, they did a great job of pairing our curriculum to coordinate better with what teachers are teaching in their classrooms to help meet state standards,” she explains. “This made it easier to ‘sell’ LOC to their administrators while we were trying to grow our program. Now, we have waitlists for almost every season and are adding more schools to those lists every week.”
Duntley says that new curriculum has been implemented to keep pace with the changes in society and culture. “A few years ago, we added an activity called ‘The Thinker,’ which started as an anti-bullying activity and has since gone through a few iterations. It now focuses on leadership skills and how to be a good role model back at school. We do our best to stay up on the current needs in schools so we can support teachers and students as much as possible.”
Looking forward, Duntley says LOC has more than one goal for growing its program. “Right now, we are trying to raise funds for a matching grant program to get to $1,000,000 in our LOC Endowment,” she explains. “This endowment was set up solely to offer tuition assistance to students who wouldn’t be able to attend LOC on their own. We now have $500,000 in the endowment and we have five years to raise an additional $250,000 for the matching program.”
Duntley also aspires for LOC to envelop a wider diversity of schools and students. “We have public, private, and charter schools from all over the state, but most of them are from the suburbs or rural areas,” she says. “We don’t see many schools from urban areas and I would love to be able to serve that population more consistently. We’ve had a few schools from these areas in the past and it’s always incredible to see the wonder in their eyes when they see the stars for the first time or the fun they have going down the zip line. The problem right now is finding space in our season schedule because we’ve been so packed, as well as the funding to help get these groups to LOC. But I have hope that we can make it happen!”
To commemorate their 30th anniversary, LOC is hosting a Fall Festival on Oct. 5 from 1–5 p.m. For $15 a person, attendees can climb the rock wall, take off on the zip line, hitch a seat on the hayride, shoot a bow and arrow, carve pumpkins, and other fun activities. More details on the festival can be found at LOCprograms.org/events.
