A view of Lake Michigan taken during MSU's wilderness writing class fall 2009. Photo: Alice Rossignol
As a master’s student in environmental journalism my time is spent in the office, in the classroom, or studying in a dark place and always, on a computer.
My point is: flickering, fluorescent bulbs can’t replace sunlight, and surfing to a place on the internet can’t replace a first-hand experience.
So when I took a wilderness writing course last year at Michigan State University I felt that I could reconnect with the subject of my writing: the environment. We camped on the shores of Lake Michigan, listened to a pack of coyotes hustle past our tent during the night and relieved our eyes from the daily fluorescent assault.
It was my first time seeing a Great Lake and I came back a more prepared journalist because of it.
Afterward, I wanted to know what other Great Lakes universities had to offer, classes that if I had the time, funds or enrollment status, I would take in a heartbeat.
Here’s what I came up with:
I wouldn’t mind learning to climb up and move around a tree’s canopy safely at the Cornell Outdoor Education program.
Or learn how to properly cross-country ski or utilize a toboggan at Northland College.
Maybe canoe up near Northern Michigan University, or backpack with folks from the University of Chicago.
And of course, I’d need to learn the skill of orienteering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison so I could find my way back — probably straight to my computer.
Know of other awesome classes? Add yours below.