Tim O'Connell, far right, was part of a Brock delegation at the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario conference.

A Recreation and Leisure Studies professor has received an award for his work in using outdoor education to develop leadership qualities in youth.

Tim O’Connell received the Dorothy Walter Leadership Award at the Council of Outdoor Educations of Ontario conference last month. O’Connell helped found Brock BaseCamp, an outdoor orientation program for incoming Brock students.

Several Recreation and Leisure Studies faculty, students and alumni attended the conference, which was Sept. 23 to 25 at YMCA Camp Kitchikewana in the Georgian Bay Islands.

At the conference, doctoral student Ryan Howard was part of three workshops. He presented “Adventure Spaces: How We View Our Adventure Places,” co-presented “From Idea to Action: Bringing the Brock BaseCamp Outdoor Orientation Program to Life” with O’Connell and moderated Mary Breunig’s panel session, “Integrated Environmental Education: Theory, Praxis and Research.”

Masters student Liz Kirk presented her research on the social support networks of wilderness program leaders. Adjunct professor Bob Henderson presented “Good Things Come in Threes.”