American Wilderness Leadership School

I am Jim Bouchard and I have lived in Northern Michigan my whole life and have been teaching social studies at Alcona High School for seven years now. I have been teaching about the western United States every year through pictures, movies, and books and have always thought to have a pretty good understanding of what it is like. This all changed when the Northeast Michigan Safari Club chapter allowed me to travel "out west" to Jackson Hole Wyoming, to the American Wilderness Leadership School. 

 I am a "Northern Michigan boy," and have never been any further west than Minnesota. When I landed next to the Tetons I was totally amazed at how the pictures and books that I have referred to through the years do no justice to the beauty of the west. The city of Jackson Hole itself was amazing as well as the location of the Safari Club American Wilderness Leadership School. 

 When I arrived at the school we spent the first day getting acquainted to the location, and by the next morning we were up and running. There wasn't a lot of time to sit around, we were always on the go, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The daily adventures ranged from teamwork skills and curriculum specific ideas for the classroom, to white water rafting, hiking and skeet shooting. Within the curriculum activities, I was able to learn information that would allow me to add to many subjects in Social Studies including the environmental issues of overgrazing, and the governmental issues of conservation. All of these daily events were not only fun to be a part of; they also opened the eyes of all the participating teachers to different ways of attaching the outdoors and the outdoor lifestyle to the classroom.

 The other amazing aspect of the Leadership School was the diversity of the people I met. In my personal cabin, I had roommates from Texas and Washington. Being in this environment was interesting because we were coming from different corners of the country. Along with my roommates there were teachers from Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Florida, California, Louisiana, and many other states. It was incredible dealing with all of these people. I learned a lot from being around all the different people as we engaged in our daily activities. I have been an outdoorsman my whole life, however, some people had never spent one minute hunting, fishing, or shooting. This created a situation where I could actually help some of my fellow classmates during our outdoor specific areas and see the influence of the outdoor lifestyle firsthand while I helped teach it.

 To say the least, it was one of the most influential activities that I have ever done in my life, especially regarding my education. Not only did it enrich my teaching career with new ideas, it also opened my eyes to an even greater understanding of the beauty of the west. I would just like to say thanks to the Northeast Michigan Chapter of the Safari Club International for their acceptance of me into this program. There is one thing for sure, this is just another example of how The Northeast Michigan Chapter has touched lives.