Free online outdoors courses + info

Leave no trace

We all share responsibility in keeping the outdoors wild and beautiful, and an important tenet of that mission is leaving no trace in the places we visit. For a short but comprehensive introduction on how to leave no trace when you get outside, take this free online course (we recommend 101 and backcountry): https://learn.lnt.org/

General outdoors info articles

For a large collection of outdoors articles on various topics written by experts, take a look at these sources:

REI articles: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice

REI videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwZcNfPpV9CXSVbpH1ckVmw

The Mountaineers articles: https://www.mountaineers.org/courses/virtual-education-center

Crux Academy (includes videos and collections to create courses on specific topics): https://www.crux.academy/courses

Intro to avalanche safety

If you are planning on heading into avalanche terrain regularly, we recommend you seek out formal, in-field training from a reliable source (most people start with AIARE I). For a short introduction to avalanche safety, check out this free online course from Avalanche Canada: https://avysavvy.avalanche.ca/en-ca

Rock Climbing basics and safety

Want a bit of background on rock climbing before you hit the gym or crag for the first time? Or are you an experienced climber who just wants a refresher on some safety topics? The American Alpine Club has free videos on different climbing topics here: https://americanalpineclub.org/education

For the more experienced climber looking to break into alpine climbing, Ortovox offers a comprehensive free online course: https://www.ortovox.com/uk/safety-academy-lab-rock/

Plants + Wildlife spotting

If you’ve ever wanted to know what that bird was that you just saw on a hike, check out Audubon’s resources on how to get started birding: https://www.audubon.org/birding

We also recommend the app Merlin, which helps you identify birds based on what they look like / where you saw them, and can even identify birds based on their calls that you record! https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Seek by iNaturalist is another free app which is best used for identifying plants you spot on the trail, or even just around campus, by pointing your phone camera at them. It shares information on the plant you find such as how rare it is and whether or not it is native to that area. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app