Z vibe canada5/31/2023 Everyone is so supportive and just wonderfully fascinating. “The best thing about ETOL is the community. “It’s just the coolest thing,” Neame says. While a portion of the degree consists of outdoor adventures, (many students take part in a month-long ETOL field study in Norway), Neame says about 80 per cent is academics and acquiring the necessary skills. “I knew I needed a post-secondary education and knew I wanted to have fun getting it,” he says. I’m just so grateful to be living and breathing and experiencing the world.”įor Neame, the ETOL program, which teaches ecotourism and outdoor leadership while arming students with a four-year university degree, is the answer. “I don't even need to achieve the goals as long as I am pursuing them. Neame spent more than 70 days on the road last summer, travelling some 7,000 kilometres along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route with a final stretch up through Alaska. “Getting to Alaska was great but the journey was the awesome part. “It’s about what I think is going to make me feel the most alive and most fulfilled,” he says. Now it’s not so much about the endgame, but about the experiences. Whether backcountry skiing in the Rocky Mountains, surfing in Santa Cruz or competitive birdwatching (yes, that’s a thing), the outdoors is at the core of what brings him joy. Growing up in Alberta, it’s no surprise that Neame became obsessed with nature. People are kind wherever you go.” ETOL the perfect fit It was like trying to say ‘no’ to a grandmother giving you more food,” he says. “He said, ‘I just want to support you somehow,’ and wouldn't take ‘no’ for an answer. And there was that musician in a pub who wouldn’t let them leave without taking all his tips. Some offered meals while others allowed them to camp on their properties. “I cried many times.”īut the beauty encountered along so many miles and near-daily exchanges with generous strangers eased the ride. “My legs hurt everyday and I was tired and would think, ‘I can’t do this,’” Neame says. One day I’ll tell that story to my grandkids.”īlack widow spiders, flat tires and a 170-kilometre stretch in the desert without water … not to mention the physical exhaustion that comes with pushing pedals seven hours a day. “Things going wrong is just an opportunity to learn and grow and experience more. “Seven seconds before we hit the rocks the currents changed and we steered the other way. “We thought there was a good chance one of us might die,” Neame says. At one point, the pair were caught up in high winds in the Johnstone Strait, with the boat heading straight towards massive rocks. He and his sailing partner encountered whirlpools and angry ocean rapids, all in a 22-foot (6.7 metre) sailboat. The sailing trip was not part of ETOL requirements, but the resulting production (Windward) did take home the Esker Award at the 2021 ETOL Film Night and was recently featured in the Fernie Mountain Film Festival. “We drove to Vancouver, bought a sailboat and just sailed north.” “Neither of us knew how to sail,” he says. Neame’s supportive parents were, perhaps, relieved when learning about his biking plans given his prior big trip was quite the sailing adventure with a friend. “The only way to know if you are actually capable of doing something is to give it a shot.” Not the first, not the last “I didn’t train for this and I’m not out here breaking records, but I am out here,” he said in the midst of the gruelling adventure. ![]() Just jump on it and commit fully to what you are doing,” he says. “I think it really instilled that belief that you just have to go for things. ![]() It not only whipped the Calgarian into shape, but gave him perspective, too. The trip was a graduation requirement of a self-planned and executed expedition longer than seven days. Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.Institute for Environmental Sustainability.
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