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College of the Environment Gear Lending Library removes barriers to field learning

The new program opens doors for students to experience hands-on learning by making essential outdoor equipment accessible to students enrolled in approved field courses

by Jennifer Nerad

University Communications

The College of the Environment Gear Lending Library has two- and four-person tents available for students in approved field courses. Students in Spring Block camp for seven nights at Camp Nor’Wester on Xw-ts'ayem-em (Johns Island). Photo by Gene Myers.

From day trips to quarter-long immersives, College of the Environment field courses — affecting about 500 students each year — come with an extra cost: outdoor gear.

The new College of the Environment Gear Lending Library aims to reduce that financial burden and welcome more students to field study opportunities.

A day trip to a local wetland to study ecology requires waterproof boots, and, depending on the season, rain gear and warm layers — equipment that not every student owns or can afford to buy. A basic investment can add up to hundreds of dollars, and overnight trips requiring camping equipment can push the price tag even higher.

“Field courses offer valuable training, peer networking, and personal growth experiences that can be life-changing, and outdoor skills are a prerequisite to some career paths,” said Professor of Environmental Sciences John McLaughlin, who leads multi-day mountain and river research expeditions, including the spring quarter Environmental Sciences Field Camp, where students learn to conduct research in remote areas.  

“Field work is where students connect with their peers and the environment and are challenged to become better scientists and better human beings,” he said.

Ella Erickson, the equipment shop coordinator at the Outdoor Center and a junior in polymer materials engineering, pulls gear from the College of the Environment’s Gear Lending Library racks. Photo by Luke Hollister.

Faculty and staff noticed that the additional cost of outdoor gear discouraged some students from participating, limiting educational opportunities and inadvertently reinforcing an exclusive culture often seen in the outdoor professional and recreational communities.

“Some students have felt excluded because they cannot afford essential gear or don’t have family, friends or mentors to learn outdoor skills from. Others join field courses without proper equipment and mostly end up learning that being wet and cold for too long can become miserable,” McLaughlin said.  

To lessen the financial strain, some faculty members stockpiled gear for their own courses, but a more holistic solution was needed.

Nic Covell, at right, the Environmental Studies Department manager, introduces the Gear Lending Library to a group of students from Professor Gene Myers’ class. Photo by Luke Hollister/WWU.

A few years ago, a group of students began a multi-year effort to create a shared gear closet. With support from the College’s Diversity and Equity Committee, a 2025 $28,035 Sustainability, Equity & Justice Fund grant from the Sustainability Engagement Institute, and a partnership with the WWU Outdoor Center, their vision has come to light.  

Shalini Singh, a student success specialist at the College of the Environment, has worked on this project since the beginning.

“It’s so exciting to finally see this vision become a reality for students. This Gear Lending Library is the result of years of collaboration between College of the Environment students, staff, and faculty, with essential support from the Outdoor Center,” said Singh. “By providing this resource, we are ensuring that students have equitable access to field courses regardless of whether they have the gear or can afford the gear.”

The Gear Lending Library currently provides needed gear at no cost to students enrolled in approved College of the Environment field courses.

Emerson Tubbs wears waterproof boots borrowed from the College of the Environment Gear Lending Library for an intertidal activity during Spring Block at Camp Nor’Wester on Xw-ts'ayem-em (Johns Island). Photo by Gene Myers.

“In our ‘Spring Block’ four-course environmental education practicum program, students live in the field for 15 days and corresponding nights,” said Professor of Environmental Studies Gene Myers, who is teaching two of the four Spring Block courses this quarter. “We want our field program to be available to students who did not grow up backpacking and camping, and we don’t want the financial cost of essential outdoor gear to be yet another barrier.”

To help with purchasing, storing, and managing gear reservations, check-out, and maintenance, the College partnered with the Outdoor Center, which already has many of these processes in place.  

The Outdoor Center rents bikes, camping essentials, climbing and mountaineering gear, and ski/snowboard equipment at highly discounted rates for students.

This pilot year, the Gear Lending Library has a limited collection of tents, sleeping bags and pads, headlamps, lightweight cook stoves, rain boots, rain pants and coats, base layers, backpacks, and more.  

Further down the path, the College hopes to expand the program, refine the available gear and maybe even collaborate with other colleges and departments to create a larger, more comprehensive fieldwork gear library. 

Learn more about degrees and programs in the College of the Environment, including immersive field opportunities such as Spring Block and Environmental Sciences Field Camp.  

Jennifer Nerad covers Western’s College of the Environment and College of Business and Economics for the Office of University Communications. Have a great story idea? Reach out to her at neradj@wwu.edu.