VISIONS Service Adventures
Vitals
- GYA Accredited Since: Unaccredited by the GYA. Please see the Standards for more information.
- COVID-19 Plans: In-person only
- Enrolling:
Yes - App Deadline:
- Next Available Departure? Mar, 2021
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Mission Statement:
Live in harmony with ourselves, each other and the natural world.
- Level of Independence/Supervision (mouse-over for definition):
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Attachments
Program Locations
Typical Itinerary
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W e e k 1 |
Welcome to Gallatin Valley, Montana. Travel to VISIONS Ranch, just ten minutes from downtown Bozeman, and learn the rhythms of ranch life and settle into your new home. | Orientation: As you relax into your new home, draft your goals for the experience ahead, discuss leadership roles, expedition behavior and shared responsibility. | Orientation: Continue orientation by exploring the area and getting to know your peers. | We’ll strap on cross country skis or snowshoes and pick up produce for dinner at our neighborhood farm. The afternoon will be spent in smaller cooking groups for lessons in culinary basics and reducing food waste. | Spend the day on a Bison Ranch rooted in principles of holistic management and regenerative agriculture. Take part in the field dressing and evisceration of the bison, done with honor. Enjoy bison throughout the program. | Using the hide harvested in the field the day before, students will learn the process of tanning from a cultural anthropologist who has been working with bison hides most of his life. | |
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W e e k 2 |
Learn about composting techniques to keep food waste out of landfills and instead contribute to a rich nutrient cycle through composting methods that will be used throughout the program. | Begin a capstone project. This project can take a creative form, including film, photography, writing, music, or other methods of your choosing. At the end of the program, each participant will present their capstone. | Mindfulness workshop in the morning for the next few days to develop a practice of mindfulness, resilience, motivation, empathy, compassion and leadership. | Afternoons will be learning about modern homesteading techniques. We will also explore ways to use clean energy sources to heat, warm water and prepare meals. | Mindfulness workshop in the morning, continued, and homesteading in the afternoon, continued. | Enjoy a rest day! Spend the day skiing at local ski area, x country endeavours, or relaxing. | The next few days stay in nearby Pony, MT. Immerse yourself in the natural world and learn how to meet survival needs using scavenged resources. |
The Montana Spring Roundup Gap program examines ways we can step forward as change agents for issues fundamental to sustainability and equality. Set in Montana’s beautiful mountains, the curriculum combines outdoor adventure with hands-on and experiential learning. Following some of Project Drawdown’s Climate Solutions, including improving society, reducing sourcing, bringing emissions to zero and uplifting nature’s carbon cycle, participants will discover how to implement solutions and build a bridge to the world we want for ourselves and generations to come. For a more detailed itinerary please see here: https://visionsserviceadventures.com/spring-roundup-gap-program/.
Peer Reviews
Program Details
- Program Starts: Spring
- Program Duration: Less than 2 months, Semester, Yearlong
- Program Cost: $6,500 - $14,350
- Program Financial Aid: Yes
Program Learning Outcomes
- Sustainable farming and ranching
- Community building
- Outdoor skills and ethics
- Wilderness medicine
- Permaculture
- Regenerative agriculture
- Self-discovery
- Cooperative service
- Conservation and land stewardship
- Personal and professional growth
Projects focus on sustainable agriculture as well as the preservation and understanding of natural resources. Participants volunteer with farmers, ranchers, environmental organizations, outfitters and land and wildlife professionals. In the middle ground, between the wild and the urban, worksites are where you dig in on the frontlines of local food production and help protect ecosystems and livelihoods that are under threat.
In the process of volunteering, a place-based curriculum is underscored. Participants experience the culture of the Rocky Mountain West firsthand and intimately connect with some of the most diverse ecosystems in the contiguous United States.
Students learn from and collaborate with land owners, growers and conservationists. In addition to experiential learning through our hands-on work with farmers, ranchers, nonprofits, outfitters and environmentalists, expert speakers will educate and inspire students, and also certify participants in outdoor skills.
Staff Training and Certification
VISIONS leaders are conscientious, motivated and compassionate mentors. Many are former Peace Corps volunteers, teachers, wilderness instructors and more. They understand that students have tremendous energy, empathy and enthusiasm, and are skilled at turning these qualities into effective action. Leaders are all certified in First Aid and CPR, and many hold advanced Wilderness Responder and Wilderness First Aid certifications.