Designed to develop Christ-centered leaders while gaining the technical qualifications to becoming emerging professionals in industries such as adventure tourism, camp ministry, and various emergency services.
Diploma in Outdoor Leadership
The two-year diploma program in Outdoor Leadership is ideal for students who want to develop the basic skills and competencies for leading others in wilderness environments and adventure sports. Students in their first year will complete the Emergency Rescue Technician certificate, which provides training in wilderness first response, search and rescue operations, emergency management, first aid, land navigation, wilderness travel, rope rescue, avalanche safety and risk management. Additionally, students will be introduced to backpacking as well as winter travel and camping. In their second-year students will receive training in rock climbing, mountaineering, ocean and river kayaking, and group management. Throughout this training students will also take courses that challenge and foster growth in their spiritual lives. Many diploma grads have secured employment in the adventure tourism sector or outdoor ministry positions in camping and youth work.
This program has been approved by the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training.
Requirements & Fees
In order to enter the Outdoor Leadership diploma, students must have successfully completed the following courses from the Emergency Rescue Technician Certificate: HKIN 232 Wilderness First Responder, HKIN 142 Rope Rescue Tecnician, HKIN 143 Avalanche Safety Training, HKIN 161 ERT Skills Evaluation, OUTL 103 Emergency Rescue Technician I and OUTL 104 Emergency Rescue Technician II.
Outdoor Leadership is a complex program that requires additional equipment and clothing. Below are the equipment, clothing and course requirements for first and second year.
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“I have grown in every way during my time at Columbia. My comfort zone has been constantly stretched – physically and spiritually. Scripture became real in a way I didn’t think it could, I learned so much about myself, and about God’s faithfulness when life doesn’t look like I thought it would.
Some of my all-time favourite memories are the mountaineering trips from my modular semester and the time my roommate almost killed her fish, which sounds morbid, but it is a really great story.
The most important thing that I have learned about the Bible during my time at CBC is that everything in the Bible points to a God who is faithful, who invites me to know him and to be used by him daily.”
—Morgan C, Outdoor Leadership Program
