The Outdoor Action Program has been an important program for building community at Princeton for the past twenty-five years. Outdoor Action activities serve as powerful group bonding experiences that help students develop new friendships, learn leadership skills, increase interpersonal skills, develop concern for the environment, and learn lifelong wilderness skills. The overall success of the program can be seen through the yearly increases in participation, through evaluations by student participants and leaders, and through research studies that have been done on the program. This report documents the history and growth of the program since its founding in 1974.

This report was written on the 25th anniversary of Outdoor Action to celebrate the many accomplishments of the program and chart a course for future program development.

Executive Summary

The Outdoor Action Program has been an important program for building community at Princeton for the past twenty-five years. Outdoor Action activities serve as powerful group bonding experiences that help students develop new friendships, learn leadership skills, increase interpersonal skills, develop concern for the environment, and learn lifelong wilderness skills. The overall success of the program can be seen through the yearly increases in participation, through evaluations by student participants and leaders, and through research studies that have been done on the program. This report documents the history and growth of the program since its founding in 1974.

Outdoor Action has become a broad-based program that provides a wide variety of experiential learning opportunities for Princeton students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Over half of all current Princeton undergraduates have participated in one or more Outdoor Action activities. To understand the broad campus impact of the program it is important to examine the range of services that OA provides to the Princeton community:

• OA provides activities that truly build community cutting across the different groupings, which too often fragment the campus. OA brings together students from all four classes, graduate students, faculty, and staff.
• OA provides the training and opportunities for students to develop leadership skills.
• Each year OA provides a critical orientation experience for over half of the incoming undergraduate class.
• OA provides valuable non-alcoholic group activities for students.
• OA provides a full range of activities that are affordable for all members of the Princeton University community regardless of economic background. This includes providing both instruction and equipment for the activities.

Outdoor Action Program Mission Statement

To provide enriching educational and personal growth experiences through outdoor and adventure challenge activities to members of the Princeton University community and to urban youth in the Princeton area encouraging leadership development, skill development, and stewardship of the natural world.