“The Missing Piece in Our Faith”
Q&A with Outdoor Education Director Chloe Houle

Chloe Houle studied at Au Sable’s Pacific Rim Campus in the summer of 2016. She returned to work at the Pacific Rim Institute and serve as an RA for Au Sable’s summer courses for several years. She worked as a naturalist and middle school teacher before landing her dream job directing the outdoor education program for the Mission Springs Camps and Conference Center in Santa Cruz, California.

How did Au Sable shape you?

Au Sable holds a near and dear place in my heart. It was my first time being in a true community that was really passionate about science and faith. Growing up, I was always taught that you find God in the church. That never really resonated with me. Being at Au Sable validated that it’s okay that I don’t feel God the strongest at church or when I’m formally worshipping, but when I am outside in his creation.

So your previous church experiences didn’t validate that you could experience God outdoors?

There was never an opportunity. I went to youth group, Bible study, small group, and there was value in all of those. But I always felt like something was missing. Being outdoors was the missing piece in my faith that connected it all together.

What have you been doing since Au Sable?

When I finished my senior year at Bethel University, I applied to work at Mission Springs Outdoor Education as a naturalist. My job was outside 90% of the time. Although Mission Springs primarily serves public schools, by me being outside getting to share God’s creation, even if I wasn’t directly getting to talk about God and use words like stewardship and creation, I knew I was still spreading his love in the way that was best for me to do.

You started as a naturalist at Mission Springs, and now you’re directing the program.

When I was a naturalist, I realized that directing an outdoor education school is truly my dream job. I’m passionate about science and getting students outside and sharing this earth with them.

Last January, while I was teaching middle school science in Washington, I got a call from my previous mentor at Mission Springs. She said, “It’s time for you to take my job.” I couldn't believe that at 27 years old I was being offered my dream job. I moved here in July to start directing the program.

What does your current role entail?

I run a team of nine naturalists. My associate director and I do an intensive two-week training with them. Then we hold week-long science camps for middle school classes. We teach them the majority of their science standards. Schools sometimes build up for science camp with activities in their own classrooms. Or if they’re doing science camp in the fall, they go through the school year working more in depth on the standards we hit at camp. Science camp is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students. It’s educational, experiential, hands-on learning that helps to cement in their classroom standards.

I'm the liaison between the schools in our camp. I have less involvement with students and more involvement with the adults and administration that run the schools.

What are the challenges of your job?

We serve vastly different populations from week to week. We have inner-city Oakland students one week and the next week we have Silicon Valley students. The week after that we might have students from the Hollister area, which is much more agricultural. Adapting to what all those different populations and communities need and learning how to interact with their adults can be really exhausting.

The rain is another challenge. We’ve had a lot of big weather events this year in California. I'm learning how to bring peace of mind to everyone who is coming to camp in terms of safety. Dealing with the weather also might mean saying to students, “It’s going to rain every day you’re at camp but the rain also brings out way more salamanders and newts and different organisms that we don’t get to see when it’s dry.”

Can you talk more about adapting to serve different communities?

It's something we have spent a lot more time learning about, researching, and striving for. We try really hard to get our inner-city Oakland students here. Those communities are typically people who haven’t experienced the outdoors, they don’t have access to it. Being outdoors can be a very white-dominated activity. Our Oakland students come from many different cultural backgrounds. We’re learning to not be naïve and to take time to learn and understand each individual culture that comes.

An activity we have is a night hike. Students go on a solo walk, typically about 50 feet, from their chaperone to their naturalist without a flashlight in the dark. For some students, like our Hollister students from a very agricultural community, being outside at night-time is very normal for them. However, for our inner-city Oakland students, they don’t get to go outside once the streetlights come on. It's not a safe space for them. There are a lot of big emotions that come out when we ask them to do the night hike.

I put my staff through a lot training to understand that these schools are different. Which is not saying that that’s bad; it's quite good. We try really hard to get these schools to camp. We hope their time is an inspiration to say, “I can be outside. I can do this.”

Especially having my associate director, who is Black, we both understand the importance and need to hire diversity on our staff. My associate director leads professional development to help our staff understand why it’s so valuable to reach these different communities and provide them with this experience.

How would you sum up the value in making outdoor education more accessible?

Nature and the environment play such a significant yet different role in every individual’s culture. When we make that space more accessible, we get to learn more about it and see how different cultures interact with nature and what value their culture places on it. It enriches how we get to learn and engage with the environment. It's a common ground where you can connect and begin to have other conversations.

What spiritual rhythms keep you going?

I just had that conversation with my supervisor. I have felt trapped and in a bubble, and it’s because I haven’t been able to go hiking because the weather’s been so bad. When I get to go out on a 10- or 15-mile day hike, it's really calming. Sometimes I go for a drive and just sit and watch the ocean and listen. Those are the main things that help me stay grounded and present.

At work, we start every week with a staff devotional and prayer before we welcome a group to campus. That's a good practice that reminds us why we do this.

What advice do you have for Au Sable students?

For current and future students, give Au Sable absolutely everything you have. Pour your whole self into it. You won’t regret it.

For those graduating, recently graduated, or already in the field, I would remind them that even if you don’t get to directly speak about God’s creation and stewardship, through your passion for it, people know what’s different and people understand what that comes from. Actions speak a lot, especially in the science field.

It's good to have dreams. It’s good to have pipe dreams. Sometimes they can become reality. So don’t give up on them. Share your dreams with other people. They will help you make it happen. That’s how I was blessed to have this role I currently hold now.