2024 WEA International Course Outline

Taito(Co-Instructor/backcountry classroom Inc., CEO)

Hi Everyone, I am Taito Okamura, co-instructor of the course. I might be known by the name "Baku (means tapir in Japanese)" for Japanese student, but please call me Taito for other Asian students. I am so excited to share the outdoor leadership with US, Asian, and Japanese student and hoping this connection expands future development of outdoor leadership in Asian. We have 5 Japanese students and 3 other Asian students come from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia and similar number of US students. And also we will welcome two professional outdoor educators as apprentice from China and Philippine. I am looking forward to working together to progress Asian outdoor leadership in the future. Finally we can't forget the contribution of Dr. Joel Meier, who donated WEAJ to provide this course. I dream of some of you become to lead outdoor leadership of the world like him. See you in Little Rock, Arkansas in coming February.

Molly (National Taiwan Sport University)TW

Hello, my name is TZU-MIAO CHEN, but you can call me Molly. I'm an inquisitive person, keen on learning and exploring new things, particularly in outdoor adventure activities. For instance, I enjoy mountaineering, free diving, river tracing, trail running, snowboarding, SUP, kayaking, and more.

I have successfully hiked all 31 of Taiwan's 100-Mountains, with a special highlight being the six-day expedition – the Nenggao-Andongjun Traverse Hike. I have also experienced river tracing along numerous streams in Taiwan and tried snowshoeing in Japan this January. During my visit, I explored locations such as 「くろがね小屋」in Adatara (安達太良) and summited 「胡桃ケ岳」, 「中ノ岳」, as well as the 大深沢步道 in Naruko (鳴子).

In Taiwan, I work as a part time mountain guide leading people backpacking in mountains. I believe that hiking should be more than just walking, which is why I am interested in learning interesting outdoor education methods. I believe that engaging outdoor education has the potential to inspire hearts and enrich the entire journey. I am excited about the prospect of making many like-minded friends during my travels, and I look forward to sharing experiences and learning from partners from different countries. Expect to see you all!

Jun (National Taiwan Sport University)TW

Hi ! I'm Wen-Jun Chen. You may also call me Jun , and I’m a passionate student in learning outdoor education. I like the outdoor activities to make our mind stronger and feel comforting . I want to learn more about how to teach people to know the mountains and forests with a interesting way . I wish I could increase the ability of the hiking risk management. 

Ruth (Wilderness Inspirations)MY

Hi, I am Ruth Louis from Malaysia. I am currently working as an outdoor educator where I have the chance to facilitate others who are exploring the outdoors, ensuring their safety and making sure they have a good experience.  From time to time, I also get to run different outdoor skills  workshops such as fire starting, shelter building and more. I studied Park and Recreation in university and that is where I got more exposed to the outdoors. By attending the 2024 WEA International Course, I believe it will help me to be a better outdoor educator because it serves as a platform where I get to engage with participants from different backgrounds where we can share our views and practices with each other. Other than that, I also hope to exchange knowledge and learn from the other participants on how the outdoor industry is like in their countries. I am also looking forward to learn from Mr Jay Post and Mr. Taito Okamura, who are well versed and experienced. All in all, what I expect from the course is that I will be able to learn and share with everyone and have a good time. 

Rika (Hino Social Education Center)JP

I’m Rika Morimoto, so please call me Rika in the course. I was born and brought up in Kanagawa, Japan and live in there as well. I belong to Hino nature school in Hino Social Education Center for an outdoor volunteer leader. We provide many children with valuable experiences through outdoor activities, cultures and arts twice or three times a month. We do our programs with LNT movement. Talking about my character,I can say that I am polite, responsible, and hard-working. In addition, being a sociable person, I easily adapt to a new environment, and I like trying new things as well. Moreover, I am a lover of nature, so I like to go hiking and camping. I like cooking as well. I’ve been into making handmade things lately. I’m excited this course because I can experience outdoor adventure in US. Furthermore, I’d like to learn much more about outdoor skills in wilderness and the history of America’s outdoor. Moreover, I’m looking forward to learning with overseas students. I’d like to exchange each cultures as well. I’d like to work in a job related to outdoor education industry, so I should be hard to learn in this course. It would be great experiences in my life.

Kimuny (International Nature and Activity College)JP

I’m Ryosuke Kimura. Please use Kimny as the course name. My organization is International Nature and Activity College. I  look forward to participating in this National Course. In the future, I would like to work in outdoor education. For that I want to learn skills as an outdoor educator for this. Also want to see the field of outdoor education overseas and apply it to my work. actually a little nervous because it is my first time abroad, but I learned a lot at WEAJ and wanted to learn even more. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Omochi (International Nature and Activities College)JP

I’m Tomoka Hanamoto. My nickname is Omochi (rice cake). I want to learn more about wilderness education skills in this course. In particular, I would like to improve my facilitation skills. Another thing I want to learn is teaching skills. There are many teaching methods at WEA. I want to understand them and be able to choose or combine them in my own way. I am still not at a high enough level as an outdoor leader, so I want to learn a lot during the 10 days and become an outdoor leader who can also use English. Then I use English actively and interact with other members a lot.I look forward to learning with you all!

Sho-chan(International Nature and Activities College)JP

Hello,everyone My name is  Shota Suzuki. Please call me Sho-chan. My favorite outdoor activity is Surf and trailrunning. I wanna be a outdoor leader. Then,I wanna tell the people as many as possible about the fun and fascination of the outdoors and the joy of learning. By attending this course,I wanna learn about outdoor more. Looking forward to seeing you for 10days.

Genki (Shinshu University) JP

I’m Genki! Nice to meet you! I love outdoor activities. I have played in rivers and mountains a lot since I was little. I’m currently leading education at university. I’m interested in various activities now. And I will be walking the Abel Tasman trail in New Zealand from November 12th to 20th. After graduating from university, I’m thinking of going to Australia to pursue new learning! In the future, I would like to convey to children the wonders of nature and the joy of outdoor activities. However, as an outdoor leader, I lack experience and skills. Therefore, I would like to participate in this course and learn many things. In particular, I lack leadership skills. Also, I want to improve my facilitation skills. I’m not used to expressing something in front of people, so I want to try a lot and improve my skills. So, in this course, I want to actively discuss and work on issues, communicate a lot, and improve my leadership skills. I’m not confident in speaking English, but I want to do my best while communicating with my teammates.

Sundos (Shanhai Mingxin Outdoor Leadership Center) CH

Wei Song, Chinese outdoor educator. Her unique and rich experience as nurse, educator, and executive transfers into her talent as outdoor educator. She has completed WEA Certified Outdoor Leader Course in Japan and graduate with high grade. She is also challenging to became Certified Outdoor Educator to bring WEA curriculum into China. Not only WEA, but also she is trying to be wilderness medicinal instructor form Wilderness Medicine Training Center, too. She must make a big deference in Chinese outdoor industry!

Lito (Leave No Trace Philippine) PH

Lito De Veterbo, The pioneer of LNT and Mr. LNT in Philippine. He is the first LNT instructor in Philippine and provides huge number of LNT workshop through the nation every year. He also practices long distance walk and promoting LNT through the trip. He was guest speaker of 11th Japan Outdoor Leadership Conference sponsored by WEAJ 2023 in Tokyo and just completed NOLS course this summer. He is also trying bring outdoor professionalism to Philippine using WEA educational scheme.