Trainings for Community-based Outdoor Leaders
Who’s Eligible: These trainings are for anyone working in outdoor recreation programming in their community. This includes but is not limited to non-profit programmers, program managers, educators, recreation department staff, and volunteers. In most cases previous experience is not required, just a willingness to learn.
What to Expect: These trainings cover a mix of skillsets including facilitation, instruction, management, and technical knowledge. We intentionally move through different outdoor environments and modalities (bike, hike, paddle) to examine how concepts play out across a variety of outdoor sports and settings.
Where: These trainings take place in OSI’s own backyard – the Katahdin Region of Maine. We’ll tap into the trails, mountains, rivers, and communities here to explore the outdoors.
How to Register: Space is limited in each training. To inquire about space and participation reach out to registration@outdoorsi.org.
Overview & Schedule
Intro to Community-Based Outdoor Leadership
June 17 & 18, 2026 - Skowhegan
Tuition $560
**COURSE FULL**
Outdoor recreation is a vast field, full of exciting possibilities. Many people think this field requires remote, wild landscapes far from people. The truth is, though, one of the fastest growing spaces in outdoor recreation can be found in the heart of the communities we call home. In this course we’ll take time to explore themes, challenges, and opportunities that emerge at the intersection of community development and outdoor recreation. You’ll engage with peers and professionals working in this space to run programs, operate gear libraries, hold new events, build trails, and bring the outdoors to life in Maine’s hometowns.
Trauma Informed Adventure Leadership
June 29 & 30, 2026 - Millinocket
Tuition $560
Outdoor Education relies on concepts like challenge, resilience and eustress (the good kind of stress) but sometimes well-intentioned leaders can misjudge how many of these concepts are "optimal" for our participants. While a lot of time and energy get put into risk management around technical skills and judging safety concerns, less focus is put on the psychological components of risk management. For this session, we'll learn about what stress is, how it differs from person to person, and what it looks like when we miss the "growth zone" and end up in the "panic zone.” We’ll discuss strategies to prevent these scenarios from getting too out of control. As experiential educators, we'll spend some time understanding the impacts of people's experiences on how they respond to stress, and we'll explore brain science as it relates to learning, fun, connection, movement and challenge.
Mountain Bike Based Leadership
June 22 - 24, 2026 - Millinocket & Patten
Tuition $850
Mountain biking leadership requires a diverse set of skills as a leader – teaching, coaching, use of terrain, mechanical know-how, trail awareness, and more. We’ll spend two full days diving into the topics, skills, and progressions that help leaders find success in delivering bike-based experiences. Previous experience as a mountain biker is not required as we’ll start with beginner skills, progressions, terminology, and concepts that will help even the most seasoned rider feel more confident leading and instructing groups on the trail. Throughout this course we’ll explore the Katahdin Region’s ever-evolving bike-optimized trail systems, enjoying a variety of trails for all abilities.
Intro to Sustainable Trail Development
June 24 - 26, 2026 - Millinocket & Patten
Tuition $850
Great trails make getting outside easier and more fun. But great trails don’t happen by accident. They are the result of planning, design, collaboration, construction, and ongoing maintenance. This starts with quality education. This course is an introduction to sustainable trail theory and the fundamentals of trail stewardship. This hands-on training is suitable for volunteers new to trails, as well as those serving as trail crew members and leaders. Along with classroom presentations, we will teach a wide variety of trail maintenance and construction skills using hand tools.
River Based Leadership
July 15 - 17, 2026 - Katahdin Region Waterways
Tuition $850
Getting on the water offers us a special way to share the outdoors with people of all ages. Some leaders find the idea of traveling via rivers, lakes, and streams exciting, while others find it intimidating. Whatever your comfort level, on-water trip leading provides unique challenges and considerations that are worth taking the time to explore with other leaders in a supportive environment. During this course we are going to travel downriver in canoes where we'll practice and discuss skills that will help you get the most out of your water-based adventures. From trip design to technical skills, to safety and group management, we’ll use these three days in Maine’s backcountry to increase our comfort leading others on the water. We’ll also take a closer look at community-based outdoor programs, and use peer-to-peer conversations to examine the obstacles and opportunities on-water experiences can provide.
Questions?
For more information reach out to registration@outdoorsi.org
The Outdoor Sport Institute & Our Community
Our mission is to empower resilient, active outdoor communities. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization. Through OSI you can access resources, support, and a network of peers to connect with and share ideas.