Roving Outdoor Conservation School
Encyclopedia
The Roving Outdoor Conservation School (ROCS) is a twenty-one day special trek program at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron
, New Mexico. The program is open to participants who are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. R.O.C.S. is an educational backpacking experience rooted in conservation and environmental science education.
Throughout the trek participants have both structured and spontaneous lessons rooted in environmental science, visits from guest speakers, and the opportunity to work on various conservation projects with the Philmont Conservation Department and the U.S. Forest Service in the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest
. While on the trail participants learn about ecology, botany, dendrology, geology, soils, hydrology, forestry, fire ecology, wildlife management, range management, environmental policy, leave no trace
principles, and environmental ethics. Participants tackle diverse conservation projects ranging from trailbuilding to meadow encroachment to timber stand improvement to erosion control to streambed restoration.
The Roving Outdoor Conservation School exposes participants to the land management challenges facing the West, as well as the rest of America. The program emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and focuses on empowering participants so that they may transfer what they learn on the trail to their lives back home.
Cimarron
Cimarron is the title of a novel published by popular historical fiction author Edna Ferber in 1929. The book was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1931 through RKO Pictures. In 1960, the story was again adapted for the screen to meager success by MGM...
, New Mexico. The program is open to participants who are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. R.O.C.S. is an educational backpacking experience rooted in conservation and environmental science education.
Throughout the trek participants have both structured and spontaneous lessons rooted in environmental science, visits from guest speakers, and the opportunity to work on various conservation projects with the Philmont Conservation Department and the U.S. Forest Service in the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers and is administered by the United States Forest Service...
. While on the trail participants learn about ecology, botany, dendrology, geology, soils, hydrology, forestry, fire ecology, wildlife management, range management, environmental policy, leave no trace
Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...
principles, and environmental ethics. Participants tackle diverse conservation projects ranging from trailbuilding to meadow encroachment to timber stand improvement to erosion control to streambed restoration.
The Roving Outdoor Conservation School exposes participants to the land management challenges facing the West, as well as the rest of America. The program emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and focuses on empowering participants so that they may transfer what they learn on the trail to their lives back home.
See also
- Cimarron, New MexicoCimarron, New Mexico-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 917 people, 382 households, and 255 families residing in the village. The population density was 479.5 people per square mile . There were 449 housing units at an average density of 234.8 per square mile...
- Order of the Arrow Trail Crew
- Outdoor educationOutdoor educationOutdoor education usually refers to organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges in the form of outdoor activities such as hiking,...
- Philbreak
- Ranch Hands
- Rayado Program
- The Gospel of the Red ManErnest Thompson SetonErnest Thompson Seton was a Scots-Canadian who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America . Seton also influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting...
(1936 & 1958) - William T. Hornaday AwardsWilliam Temple HornadayWilliam Temple Hornaday, Sc.D. was an American zoologist, realtor, conservationist, author, poet and songwriter...
External links
- 2011 R.O.C.S. Application
- About Scouting: William T. Hornaday Awards
- GeoScouting High-Touch with High-Tech land navigationGeocachingGeocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world....
patrol leadership skills - Virtual tourism bioneerBioneerBioneers, also known as the Collective Heritage Institute, is a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization promoting practical and innovative solutions to environmental and social problems based in a philosophy which recognizes the aliveness, interdependence, and intelligence of the natural world. ...
s: St. Louis Council BSA Philmont Expedition 817-F