Field School Dates: June 12 - 24, 2024
Program Overview
This field school experience will take participants to various remote locations around Latvia, where we will learn how a variety of Latvian human services professional use nature and adventure-based activities to support health and well being in a variety of sectors. We will be actively participating in a variety of wilderness-based activities and camping in remote regions for the first six days the field school. Next, we’ll be attending the Gathering for Adventure Therapy Europe, a 4-day conference that brings together hundreds of human services professionals from across Europe to share best practices and research about the application of nature and adventure-based activities in support of mental health and well being. Finally, we’ll experience a traditional Latvian Sauna Ritual to close the experience before heading home.
GSO Funding Opportunity
This is a Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) program approved field school. This means that participants who meet the GSO funding requirements (see the GSO funding application) are eligible for grants of up to $10,000 to cover the costs associated with this field school.
Academic Credits
A total of 6 academic credits are available as part of the field school: CYC 391 - Therapeutic Applications of Wilderness (3 credits); and HHS 430 - International Perspectives on the Social Determinants of Health. There will be readings and assignments required as part of these courses that will be delivered remotely through VIU Learn during and early June before departure. While this field school is open to students from any department at VIU, upper year status is strongly recommended as we will be working with advanced models of counseling, health, and well-being. Some additional work will be required during the field experience.
If you have questions about the academic content and requirements of these courses, contact Stephen.javorski@viu.ca.
Find out more information in the 2024 Latvia Field School Application Package.
Application Procedure
Deadline to Apply: January 19, 2024
Interested students should submit their completed Field School Application Form to Stephen.Javorski@viu.ca and GSO Funding Application to EdAbroad@viu.ca by January 19, 2024