TCOS - Trinity College Outdoors Society

TCOS Director applications are now live!

Apply using the link below and let us know if you have any questions!

Applications are due on Friday, October 8th at 11:59 pm.

2021-2022 TCOS Director Application Thank you for considering to apply for a Director position in the Trinity College Outdoors Society. Please review the constitution to understand your role within the group. If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fM9B4GxFHjT5...

We want YOU to join our TCOS family!

To learn more about each position, check out our constitution (linked in below) or send a message to our team. If you would like to nominate yourself or a friend for a position that will be elected at Monday's TCM, send a message to Sam Parker or email [email protected]. If you would like to run for one of our first year rep positions, come to the First Year Elections Tomorrow night (in person or online!).

Let us know if you have any questions and we can't wait to meet you soon!

TCOS Constitution:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fM9B4GxFHjT5B6KVNKTS1442KitFS1IqXky5s4IvJ90/edit?usp=sharing

This week's TCOS challenge comes from our awesome first year reps, Thomas Speciel and Eloise Valasek!
🎃

Hey everyone, happy Halloween! Join TCOS in this weekend’s Outdoor Scavenger Hunt in Costume to win a 25$ gift card to Tim Hortons or Starbucks (your choice)!

Here’s how to partake in the challenge: Take a spooky picture at as many of the locations below in your creative costumes. Send us your pictures on Instagram or Facebook by November 2nd at 11:59pm. The winner will be announced the next day!

Locations: Equestrian Statue in Queen’s Park, UofT Bookstore, Convocation Hall, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, a decorated house of your choice and for bonus points visit Taddle Creek Park!

For those not on campus, you can submit pictures with: a decorated house of your choice, your favorite tree, a local statue, or you holding your favorite fall leaf!
Enjoy and good luck!

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Want to join this amazing community of adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts? Apply to be one of our first year reps TONIGHT at first year elections!
Can’t wait to see you all at 8pm on Zoom!

See more info on the 2T4 page!

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Hello everyone,

We are getting ready for another adventure-filled year and are trying our best to provide you with a stress free outlet during these times. We are excited to announce that our new team of Directors for the 2020-2021 academic school year has been selected. Thank you so much to everyone who applied, we were thrilled with the applications we received and look forward to working with you all. In light of current events, TCOS would like to emphasize that we stand with and support all of your voices. We hear you and are actively implementing new ideas and re-evaluating our constitution to ensure an all-inclusive environment for our students. This is especially important as renewed discussion and energy is bringing out positive change in ending systemic anti-black racism. We will be part of this positive change, please see our post in the Trinity group for the steps we are taking. As we are now a newly levied club, we wanted to thank all of you for making this possible and for supporting our efforts to bring the community together and improve mental health.

We now have the opportunity to expand our event sizes which allows more students to come out and enjoy the outdoors with us. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and can’t wait to see all of your faces again soon.

Sincerely,
Mirielle Korting, President
Maya Sternthal, Vice President
Shashwat Aggarwal, Treasurer

Hello everyone,

As avid adventurers and lovers of the natural environment, The Trinity College Outdoors Society (TCOS) is determined to ensure that all members of Trinity College feel included and valued in our club. The 2020-2021 academic year will mark the beginning of our time as a levied club and we believe that with this levy comes a responsibility to ensure that our use of college funds is done in the most responsible way possible. Two of these responsibilities are modifying our constitution to reflect a stronger stance on diversity and inclusion and amplifying the voices of BIPOC students in our community and in the greater community of adventurers.

TCOS will modify elements of our constitution to emphasize the club's dedication to the promotion of diversity and inclusion in outdoor activities. These elements include:

The addition of a fourth objective to the club's constitution:
- Promote outdoor activities to ALL students in the Trinity
College community, especially to BIPOC students and other historically marginalized members of the community, in an attempt to dismantle historical tendencies of exclusion in outdoor activities and the outdoor industry.

- The addition of a new responsibility to all of the club's executive members (President, Vice President, Treasurer):
Responsible for the promotion of diversity and inclusion in all TCOS events, initiatives, meetings, and formation of future executive teams.

- The addition of a new responsibility to all of the club's directors:
Responsible for the promotion of diversity and inclusion in all TCOS events, initiatives, and meetings.

While TCOS has always strived to provide an inclusive environment for outdoor enthusiasts, it is an ugly myth that in the greater world, green spaces and outdoor activities are accessible and welcoming to all. Historically, outdoor sports such as skiing and mountaineering were accessible to only a small portion of the North American population; Outdoor activities were historically for the white and privileged. Unfortunately, many of these trends persist today as seen in the failure of outdoor equipment companies to advertise their products to ALL segments of the population and by the unwelcoming atmosphere that many BIPOC are faced with on the trail, the mountain, the water, and in the climbing gym. Natural spaces are for all human beings, but this notion has not been upheld.

As one of our first initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in outdoor activities, TCOS will work to amplify the voices of BIPOC outdoor enthusiasts. We will share the work of individuals, organizations, and initiatives aiming to ensure that outdoor spaces and activities are truly accessible and welcoming to EVERYONE. If you would like TCOS to promote a particular resource amplifying the voices of BIPOC adventurers, a historical resource on the social history of outdoor recreation, or have further ideas of how TCOS can work to make our events more inclusive and accessible for all, we encourage you to reach out to our executive team.

Sincerely,
Mirielle Korting, President
Maya Sternthal, Vice President
Shashwat Aggarwal, Treasurer

Resources on BIPOC voices in outdoor recreation and in the outdoor industry*:
*Please note that the majority of these resources come from the United States due to the lack of diversity-focused outdoor initiatives in Canada.

SHORT FILMS:
Closing the 'Adventure Gap': Bringing Diversity to Mountain Climbing: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventure-blog/2015/05/11/closing-the-adventure-gap-bringing-diversity-to-mountain-climbing/
Brothers of Climbing: https://www.mountainfilm.org/media/brothers-of-climbing
Advocating outdoor diversity and inclusivity - Judith Kasiama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVcVJheDW8g&feature=emb_title
This woman is on a mission to diversify our public lands [insights]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=84&v=cWS-zJ-7984&feature=emb_logo
How an outdoor athlete's mom helped her take risks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=MFXnnrcDzrw&feature=emb_logo
Merrell Presents: Akuna Hikes - PTSD Healing Through Hiking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=40&v=azwxA0CMqu8&feature=emb_logo
REI Presents: The Pleasure and the Pain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lanEYR7yoIo

MONUMENTAL ADVENTURES:
Expedition Denali: https://expeditiondenali.nols.edu/home
Black Canada Hike: https://www.cbc.ca/playersvoice/entry/black-canada-hike-claiming-space
Akuna Matata, also known as Will Robinson, the first African American Man to complete the Triple Crown: https://www.outsideonline.com/2402640/will-akuna-robinson-triple-crown-thru-hiking
Elsye “Chardonnay” Walker, the first African American Woman to complete the Triple Crown: https://thetrek.co/qa-elsye-chardonnay-walker-likely-first-black-female-triple-crowner/

ARTICLES:
How to be an ally in the outdoors: https://www.outdoorresearch.com/blog/article/how-to-be-an-ally-in-the-outdoors?fbclid=IwAR3ZrnjBF9qjzFABxLN39VCmDbfIM8wnJfOw-8xXMRO02BIEfdvkUeqj85A
Mountain Equipment Co-Op See yourself Outside: https://www.mec.ca/en/p/diversity
Racial Complexities of Outdoor Spaces: An Analysis of African American ’s Lived Experiences in Outdoor Recreation: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4120&context=uop_etds
Black Skiing, Everyday Racism, and the Racial Spatiality of Whiteness: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0193723513498607?journalCode=jssa
Do white people dominate the outdoors?' U of T expert on race in outdoors advertising: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/do-white-people-dominate-outdoors-u-t-expert-race-outdoors-advertising

PODCASTS:
National Wildlife Federation Outdoors: "Increasing Racial Diversity in the Outdoors with Eric Morris": https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/increasing-racial-diversity-in-outdoors-eric-morris/id1403554700?i=1000447659581
Wild West: "Rue Mapp of Outdoor Afro on Diversity in the Outdoors": https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/rue-mapp-of-outdoor-afro-on-diversity-in-the-outdoors/id1438005996?i=1000433942165
Hiking Thru - Episode #46 - Akuna Matata aka Will Robinson: https://www.hiking-thru.com/episodes/will-robinson-aka-akuna-matata
Hiking Thru - Episode #20 Chardonnay aka Elsye Walker: https://www.hiking-thru.com/episodes/elsye-walker-aka-chardonnay

ORGANIZATIONS:
Diversify Outdoors: https://www.diversifyoutdoors.com/
The Black Outdoors: https://www.theblackoutdoors.com/aboutus
Black Girls Do Bike: https://www.blackgirlsdobike.com/home
Black Men Run: https://blkmenrun.com/
Native Women's Wilderness: https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org/
Unlikely Hikers: https://jennybruso.com/unlikelyhikers/
Spirit North: https://www.spiritnorthxc.ca/
Outdoor Afro: https://outdoorafro.com/about/

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS:

Hello everyone! I hope you are all staying sane during this quarantine and have the chance to get out and breathe some fresh air! In the spirit of getting out and being active, I’m excited to announce that the Trinity College Outdoors Society Director Application for the 2020-2021 academic year is now live! We are looking for anyone that loves the outdoors and wants to promote the spirit of adventure in our community. Becoming a director will allow you to get creative and plan your own outdoor excursions with the help of our experienced members and established platform. We are so proud of what the society has become and would love to be able to keep providing Trinity with fun outdoor adventures. With an enthusiastic team, we will do just that! The application is live now until May 27th at 11:59PM. We can’t wait to hear from you!

TCOS Director Application Thank you for considering to apply for a Director position in the Trinity College Outdoors Society. Please review the constitution to understand your role within the group. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fM9B4GxFHjT5B6KVNKTS1442KitFS1IqXky5s4IvJ90/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks to everyone who came to our bowling event today! We hope you had fun! See you at our next event!

Thank you to everyone that came on our sublime excursion to Rattlesnake Point! From climbing over fences to seeing spectacular views of mushroom farms, it was a day for the books. See you at our next event! 🌲🐍

Who knew skating could be such a good study break :) Hope everyone has an amazing break! Good luck to those who still have finals and congrats to those are done!