Outdoors Club ready to continue operations after setback

An organization dedicated to exploring the state through hiking, kayaking, tubing, paint balling and more since 2014 is experiencing a comeback.

Earlier this semester, the Outdoors Club suspended operations due to a lack of student interest in joining the executive committee.

Justice Redding, the club’s president, said she talked to faculty adviser Chet Barney about getting the club started again.

“I wanted to get involved on campus and saw that Outdoors Club was suspended, so I messaged (Barney) and said I love the outdoors and I would love to get involved,” Redding said. “I set up a meeting and now we’re trying to get the ball rolling.”

The club now has an executive board, but needs to create a budget, brainstorm activities for the spring and talk to SGA about funding.

No administration work, however, can beat the feel of the outdoors, Redding said.

“I spent the past two summers working near the Badlands and Black Hills,” she said. “The outdoors is a big part of my past time. I spend so much time hiking and climbing and camping. It’s just a really big part of my enjoyment of life and my relaxation is getting to the outside, and I want to be able to share that.”

The mission of Outdoors Club is to keep students active and to foster friendships between club members, Redding said.

Senior marketing major Nicole Dressen said the Outdoors Club would be a great fit for her. She said it’s a “really good way” to get involved on campus and to advocate for the planet.

“I love the Earth and I think the world is a really great place, especially the outdoors,” Dressen said. “People need to be more cautious about the wonderful place that we live on, and so the outdoors is a really great thing.”

Barney said USD students should take advantage of the opportunities that Outdoors Club presents.

“SGA told our club’s president back then that we were the fastest-growing club at the university. That was really great to see… some (students) would never experience the outdoors,” Barney said. “They would just come here, go to school and once they graduate, they go other places. But with us, we’d take them up to Great Bear, go fishing to the Outdoor Campus… everybody had a great time.”

Barney said exploring South Dakota is something students should take advantage of.

“I think if they really love the outdoors and if they want to expand their taste of South Dakota then they should get involved,” Barney said. “There is so much in this state to explore that you really can’t do on your own… when you collaborate with other people and find out what’s really fun and what’s not so fun, you can really have a good time.”