There’s a common misconception that bears hibernate during the winter. During true hibernation, however, the heart rate goes down and metabolism slows, causing the body temperature to lower dramatically, in some animals to near freezing. It is a state of inactivity. Bears never reach that level. They go into something called winter lethargy or denning, in which they are able to conserve energy without shutting down for the season.

In the lull in between fall and winter sessions of Journeys Outdoor School, the residential outdoor team has come back home and gone indoors. We are catching our breath, but by no means inactive. While preparing for winter, Journeys Outdoor School Director Adam Yarnes still has an eye on next spring, creating new and exciting lessons for a new year. Kari, the administrative projects coordinator, is a season ahead of that, working on ways to get the word out about Summit Camp 2010. With all of this forward thinking going on, Tiffany, the residential schools coordinator, is working primarily with the past, revising lesson plans and preparing an evaluation that will give us answers on what we have done well and, most importantly, how we can be better. In this “down time” there are programs to be booked and information to be gathered and a thousand things to do, from past reflections to forward preparations to ensure that the programs in 2010 grow from our experiences in 2009. So, while this month the residential team may be spending more of our working time indoors, our state of being is definitely active.

We hope you are enjoying the snow and embracing the fact that humans don’t have to hibernate. Happy holidays from all of the Journeys Outdoor School Staff!

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