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Objective
The goal of the Louisiana Outdoors Outreach Program is to engage the students in hands-on activities, which increase environmental awareness and encourage local stewardship.

Purpose
The fundamental purpose of the Louisiana Outdoors Outreach Program (LOOP) is to provide a unique hands-on approach to educational and recreational outdoor programs, activities, and services to underserved and at-risk youth. Through a comprehensive organizational model, the goal is to enhance self-esteem, encourage mental and physical improvement, and develop the many characteristics associated with civic mindedness.

Target Population
The program will target inner city schools and community agencies that serve students who are considered at-risk or Title I equivalent. Title I is a federally funded program in high poverty schools that target children with low academic achievement. Additionally, there are four basic types of school groups covered in this outline; three are divided according to age/grade, and the other covering three types of special needs groups. The breakdown for these groups are as follows: (1) Elementary School - Grades 2-5, (2) Middle School - Grades 6-8, (3) High School - Grades 9-12, (4) Special Needs - Gifted and Talented, Physically Challenged, Emotionally and Behaviorally challenged.

Need
In most educational settings, the population most in need is receiving the least amount of exposure. The pressing need for a comprehensive outdoor education program for the underserved population of at-risk youth is not being addressed adequately. The lack of such services contributes to academic and social problems. This often leads to behavioral, psychosocial, and developmental problems, placing additional burdens on communities, the economy, the workforce, and the juvenile justice system.

Strategy
LOOP is currently partnering with schools and community agencies in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area to offer a comprehensive outdoor education program. The basic structure of the program will follow an educational philosophy known as experiential learning. This model encourages hands-on learning, multi-disciplinary lesson plans, and continuity in all working partnerships. A prototypical outdoor education program of this nature takes small groups (10-25) through a series of organized, academically linked, adventure-based activities. This begins with a series of in class workshops, followed up with scheduled excursions into outdoor environments. In terms of content, LOOP emphasizes three major areas:

• Environmental Education - Basic ecological concepts, regional/local concerns (wetlands preservation, coastal erosion, and other urban environmental issues).
• Outdoor Skills - Water safety, canoeing, backpacking, wilderness travel, minimum impact camping.
• 'Soft Skills' - Teamwork, problem solving, conflict resolution, self-esteem, perserverance.

Evaluation
The program evaluation will be an impact and outcome based evaluation, consisting of a series of informal assessments by LOOP staff. The evaluation will measure the students' success through outdoor skill development activities as outlined in the curriculum. The impact portion of the evaluation will explore the overall impact of the program activities on the students' academic success, self-esteem, behavior and social development by monitoring participants' grades and self-reporting of improvements associated with program participation. Team competitions will also be utilized as a tool to evaluate participants' skill development and social development, in addition to the teams' ability to work cooperatively and accomplish goals. The outcome portion of the evaluation will explore the successful achievement of the established program goals and objectives as outlined in the selected outdoors outreach program.

For general information regarding LOOP, contact:
Louisiana Outdoor Outreach Program
Office of State Parks
1-888-677-1400 or
225-342-2443

For information on the Baton Rouge area LOOP activities, contact Kimberly Beshears by email at kbeshears@crt.state.la.us.

For information on the New Orleans area LOOP activities, contact Dan Forman by email at dforman@crt.state.la.us.

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
P.O. Box 44426, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4426