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NOLS is a global, nonprofit wilderness school.

Wilderness skills are the vehicle through which NOLS enables their participants to become leaders in their communities.

Finally, NOLS courses uphold a commitment to environmental service and advocacy.

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In today's world, the wilderness lies in wait for everyone. Are you ready to step forward? www.nols.edu

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NOLS offers a variety of educational experiences in a multitude of locations that span the Globe.  They have organized their programs into four categories: Expeditions, Wilderness Medicine Education, Custom Education, and Risk Services.

Regardless of the program type, NOLS graduates exhibit the eleven characteristics listed in the attached image.

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NOLS Expeditions challenge participants to grow as leaders and change-makers by bringing them into the remote wilderness.  They offer an incredibly wide variety of experiences with 152 programs ranging from 5 months in Patagonia to 5 days in Ecuador.

Many of the programs include a language and/or culture component as well as some sort of environmental or community service. Some courses even include academic course credit.

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NOLS offers wilderness medicine courses for novices, outdoor enthusiasts, and medicine professionals.  These courses help graduates attain certifications in Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness EMT, Wilderness First Aid and more.

They are, however, rather expensive. An 80 hour Wilderness First Responder course, for example, can cost as much as $1000.

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NOLS also offers the employ of their network and resources to design custom programs for interested groups.  These programs seem to be marketed towards business professionals and universities.

A particularly interesting option is the Leadership Navigation Challenge. This short, two day course uses experiential learning and basic urban navigation curriculum to explore team building and dynamics.

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NOLS Custom Education | Leadership Navigation Challenge

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The Leadership Navigation Challenge is an intensive team leadership development program. This facilitated training delivers core aspects of the NOLS leadership curriculum customized to your work context and needs. The culminating activity of the Leadership Navigation Challenge requires participants to practice their skills and actively engage in an outdoor Global Positioning System (GPS) mission that requires in-the-moment decision-making, collaboration, analytical thinking, and strategic planning.

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Finally, NOLS offers their expertise in the form of Risk Management consultation and education for other outdoor and international education entities.

These efforts culminate in a yearly Wilderness Risk Management Conference held every October. The next one will be in Portland Oregon!

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My main question in exploring NOLS was how diversity and inclusion could be incorporated when their programs were so expensive.  I was able to find some encouraging answers to this question.

The NOLS Gateway Program uses donor funds and community partnerships to provide full-scholarship experiences for select students from under-resourced populations.  This programs provided 150 scholarships in 2016.

The Fellowship and Instructor Training Program specifically targets U.S. based people of color for training and employment as NOLS Program leaders.

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A full listing of available NOLS positions can be found here: https://www.nols.edu/en/about/our-team/employment/

Becoming a NOLS instructor is highly competitive, and requires the completion of a NOLS instructor course.