Why NOLS

The Power of Wilderness

In today’s global landscape, where micro-interactions and non-stop demands often set the tone, providing organizations a powerful way to disconnect from the every day and reconnect with each other can be the catalyst for a high-performing team.

Your team needs confidence, resilience, and leadership to accomplish their goals. Through experiential learning, a team can deepen their bonds, strengthen their decision-making capacity, and prepare to lead in a changing world.

For over five decades, NOLS instructors have leveraged wilderness classrooms, outdoor skills, and a proven leadership model to help organizations and teams move through their daily grind. By customizing an expedition course, from a few days to a full week, participants will draw on existing strengths and uncover areas of growth, and walk away with the skills to succeed—together.

Prepare your team to lead in a changing world.

Who We Train

Course participants prepare for a group challenge during a Leadership Navigation Challenge.

Corporate

Customizable leadership model designed for executive retreats, team building, and new employee engagement.

Education

Integrated curriculum and leadership expeditions for secondary schools, prep schools, colleges, universities and graduate programs.

Military

Enhance your unit’s cohesion and skills with rigorous hands-on small team leadership experience and training.

Students jump into the sunset after a long day hiking.

Adventure

Proven risk management training for guides, outfitters and adventure travel providers.

Students smile for a group photo in front of a school bus before heading into the Wind River Wilderness.

Custom Education

Real Challenges. Real Solutions.

NOLS Custom Education designs 7-30 day expeditions in the world's great wilderness areas, and 1-3 day leadership adventures as close as your local park for groups and teams who want to deepen their rapport, grow their understanding of each other, and work together to overcome real challenges. Our programs blend our clients’ learning objectives with NOLS’ proven curriculum to create experiences that build skills and confidence, and help our students learn to lead in every role and on every team.

Students canoeing on a waterway in the Adirondacks surrounded by lily pads and lush green foliage.

Risk Services

Strengthen risk management practices for your organization

Taking risks may be critical to achieving your organization’s educational goals. Risk is inherent in outdoor activities and international programming, but you can improve risk management practices and better manage uncertainty with the help of NOLS Risk Services.

All of our services are informed by decades of managing risk for our own global programs. Expand your risk management toolbox today and step forward with confidence.

Training options to meet your needs: We offer courses in risk management for program administrators and for field staff. Or bring NOLS to your team for a customized training.

Consulting: Gain external perspective on your overall program or on specific issues like staff training or emergency planning. Learn more about how we can support your program

Attend the annual Wilderness Risk Management Conference to learn and share common practices in wilderness risk management and contribute to a culture of open dialogue among educators, leaders, administrators, students, and members of the outdoor industry.

Wilderness Medicine

Empowering people to act

We believe in giving people the tools they need to respond in an emergency, whether in the backcountry or their communities. When you bring a NOLS Wilderness Medicine course to your organization you join in our goal to develop leadership, improvisation, and self-sufficiency skills, allowing people who travel in remote locations to care for themselves and each other.

Whether you’re a college, camp, research organization, guide service, or governmental agency—we can travel around the globe to certify your staff or students to manage emergencies in austere environments. You can choose from a variety of course offerings lasting 2-10 days and delivered in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or Swedish.

Explore your options and join a community of course sponsors committed to expanding the reach of wilderness medicine skills. NOLS Wilderness Medicine is a GSA Authorized Federal Supplier. See our Authorized Federal Supply Schedule Price List.

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Training Leaders

Programs for Organizations