Precambrian Research Center

Information for

2009 Field Camp Participants

Objectives / Tuition and Fees / Insurance, Medical Care, and Immunizations / Safety and Physical Conditioning / Participants and Staff / Housing and Meals / Transporation / Field and Personal Gear / Personal Business / Recreation / Camp Policies / Directions to UMD / Arrival / Contact Information

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Students enrolled in the Precambrian Field Camp course (GEOL4500.2) should carefully read the following information about the 2009 camp.

Objectives
At it's most fundamental level, UMD's Precambrian field camp will introduce students to basic field mapping methods that would be taught in any six week field camp. However, what sets this camp apart from other field camps (typically Rocky Mountain-based) is its special emphasis on those techniques that are most appropriately suited to field studies of the diverse Precambrian terranes of the southern Canadian Shield. In addition to basic exercises involving structural measurements, measurement and description of stratigraphic sections (both igneous and sedimentary), and unraveling relative age relationships, students in this camp will also be introduced to core logging techniques, acquiring and working with geophysical data, mapping glacial sediments and landforms, and mapping in strongly deformed and metamorphosed terranes. In addition to learning basic mapping and map-making techniques, another major objective of the camp is to train students in the navigational, logistical, and safety skills necessary to manuver through boreal forests of the Canadian Shield. This training will come from experienced instructors who specialize in Precambrian mapping.

Tuition and Fees
The total cost of tuition and fees for the 2009 field camp to students seeking undergraduate credits will be $2,900. This cost applies to all students, regardless of their state or country of residence. The breakdown of costs are:

$1899.24 - Tuition (6 cr@ $316.54/credit)
$ 413.36 - University Fees (Email acct, comp/tech fee, university fee)
$ 587.40 - Room, Board, and Camp Fees
$2,900.00 - Total

Payment Schedule - A $50 application deposit should accompany submission of the course registration form. Tuition and fees are to be paid to the UMD registrar by June 5th unless otherwise notified.  Room and board fees (less the $50 downpayment) will be due at the beginning of camp.  

Insurance, Medical Care, and Immunizations
All field camps participants are required to carry their own health insurance during the duration of camp and to have been immunized within the past 10 years with a tetanus booster (see application form). In the event of an accident during a mapping project, except during the week of the capstone mapping project, all camp activities will be conducted within a short (15-30 minute) drive of a hospital or medical clinic. A first aid-trained instructor will be present at each project and each capstone project instructor will have recieved first aid training.

Safety and Physical Conditioning
Field work in northeastern Minnesota often involves strenous hiking in various types of environments ranging from steep hillslopes, to thickly overgrown woods, to broad swampy marshes. It also may involve canoeing many of state's 10,000+ lakes. And despite its northern geography, weather in mid-summer can often be quite hot and humid. Consequently, a big part of doing field work in this area requires an understanding of how to be safe in the woods. Therefore, a significant amount of time will be spent on safety and emergency first aid training during the field camp.

Given the often strenuous nature of doing field work in this environment, it is also important that field mappers be in good physical and aerobic condition, are not significantly overweight, and have a good sense of balance. If you are not in very good physical shape, you may want to reconsider attending this field camp.

Participants and Staff
The maximum number of students that will be accepted into this year's field camp is 24. Depending on the project, between 3 and 5 instructors will be assisting with the camp. Drs. Hudak, Miller and Peterson will be involved in all projects throughout the camp while various other instructors will be involved in projects that fit with their geological expertise.

Daily Schedule
The daily schedule for this inaugural season of UMD's Precambrian Field Camp is expected to be rigorous, but will include opportunities for relaxation, recreational activities, and general free-time. Monday through Saturday will be instructional days with Sunday routinely being a free-day. Participants may leave camp on Sunday, but must be ready for activites on Monday morning. A typical instructional day schedule might go something like this:

7-8 - Breakfast in cafeteria (pick up bag lunch)
8-9 - Meet in classroom for morning lecture or head directly out to field
9-5 - Outdoor field project (lunch in the field)
5-6:30 - Dinner in cafeteria
7-10 - Open lab to work on daily exercise, occasional evening lecture

Housing and Meals
Field camp participants will be housed for five of the six weeks in dormitories on the UMD campus (weeks 1,2, & 6) and at Vermilion Community College (VCC, weeks 3 & 4). For two nights during week 2, we will stay in dormitories at Wolf Ridge Environmental Center near Finland, MN. Students will be expected to room with 1 to 3 roommates during this time. If single rooms are needed for legitimate reasons, this can be arranged at an additional cost to be determined. During the Capstone Mapping Projects in week 5, most students will be primitive tent camping in various locations. In all these settings, students will be expected to supply their own bedding (for twin beds) and/or sleeping bags and pillows.

While housed at UMD, VCC, and Wolf Ridge, breakfast and dinner will be served in campus cafeterias. Bag field lunches will be provided each day by the school's catering service. Please indicate on the application form if you require a vegetarian diet or if you have other dietary restrictions. After normal meal times, snacks, take-out foods, and restaurant dining are available at various locations within walking distance of both campuses.

Transportation
Daily travel from campus to field sites will be by 15-passenger vans and/or mini-vans. These vehicles may not be used to transport students to non-field camp related activites. When at UMD, students can use the city bus system or may use their own vehicles to run errands. When at VVC in Ely, the vans may be used to make laundry and grocery runs into town, however, they must be driven by instructors. Personal vehicles may be brought to Ely or may be left in Duluth.

Field and Personal Gear
Click here for a list of required and optional field and camping equipment, clothing, and other personal gear to bring to camp. The equipment list also notes field equipment that will be supplied to participants.

Personal Business
While at UMD, access to various services for personal business (laundry, banking, shopping, etc.) will be available either on campus or with a short walk or bus ride. The Kirby Student Center at UMD has a food court, gift shop, grocery, coffee shop, bank tellers, and ATM machines. Also leaving from Kirby Center is a city bus network that can transport you to downtown Duluth, the Miller Hill shopping mall, or other areas of town. Click here for more information about Duluth.

While at VCC, many services and businesses are within a 15 minute walk of campus. We will make vans available on some evenings for laundry runs over the two weeks we are in Ely. Click here for more information about Ely.

Most national cell phone services (Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Cellular One, T-mobile, QWest, Unicel) have network access in Duluth, though the coverage in Ely is less complete.

Recreation
Although we will keep a rather rigourous work schedule over the six week camp, we will make time each day for some rest, relaxation, and recreation. In addition to scheduling an optional group recreational activity most nights, students can access various athletic and recreational options at UMD during the evenings or on free days. These include swimming, weight room/cardio machines, and running track. Unfortunately?, the game room (pool, foosball, videogaming, darts, pinball, ...) in the Kirby Center is only available during the day on weekdays in the summer. Gaming locations are available within walking distance of both UMD and VCC. TV's are available in the dormitory commons areas of both campuses.

Camp Policies
Camp participants are expected to conduct themselves in a responsible and lawful manner during the field camp. Any gross violations of camp policies or University policies (during time on campus) will be grounds for dismissal from camp. Camp policies include:

Visitors - students may invite visitors (family members, friends) to participate in free-time activities, but must seek permission from instructors to have visitors attend program activities. Visitors must provide their own transportation and meals.

Firearms - no firearms are allowed to be in a student's possession during the camp (black bears rarely, if ever, attack humans).

Fireworks - fireworks are not allowed on campus and are strongly discouraged from being used elsewhere during camp.

Alcohol - alcoholic beverages are prohibited on campus. Students who are of legal drinking age (21 and older) must go off-campus to consume alcoholic beverages. Bad and unlawful behavior due to excess alcohol consumption will not be tolerated.

Drugs - only prescription drugs will be allowed in camp (students must provide proof that drugs are doctor-presribed). Use of illicit or non-presription drugs will not be tolerated and may be grounds for dismissal.

Directions to UMD

Interstate 35 is the main freeway into Duluth from all points south; US 2-53 is the entry from the east and west, which then intersects I-35 just south of downtown. Take I-35 through downtown to the 21st E. Ave exit. Take a left on 21st Ave and proceed about 8 blocks up the hill to where the road merges to the right with Woodland Ave. After Woodland crosses the stoplight at 8th St/Kent Rd, cross to the left lane and turn on to College Ave. The UMD campus will soon appear on the right hand side.

To get to the dormitories, proceed to Junction Ave and turn right. Make another right on Niagara Ct. and follow the signs to Lake Superior Hall, where you will check in to the dormitories. You may park your car in lot J-4 on the west side of the dormitories.

To get to the geology building (Heller Hall; HH on campus map below), proceed on College Ave. to Kirby Drive and turn right. After passing the skyway to the Swenson Science Building, Heller Hall is the first building on the right. There are a few metered parking areas immediately behind in front of the building and others scattered along Kirby Drive. For more long-term parking (free in the summer), park in lots A or B off University Drive (see map).

click on image for larger view

• Arrival

• For the out-of-town students, you should plan to arrive at UMD between noon and 4PM on Sunday, July 5.  To check into your dorm, go to the housing desk in the lobby of Lake Superior Hall (see attached campus map).    The dorm rooms will be located in halls E and F. You can park your car in Lot J-4 on the west side of the dorms.   

  Plan to gather in the lobby of Lake Superior Hall at 4:30PM for a brief walk-thru of campus.  We will then have a pizza dinner in the classrooms that we will use while at UMD - Chem 206 and 207.  Following the meal, we will run have our first "class" - the purpose of this meeting is to make introductions, collect tuition and fee balances, give an overview of the camp schedule, go over the field camp curriculum, and introduce the first field exercise.

• Contact Information
• 
  Camp Directors may be reached throughout field camp by cell phone at the following numbers (see staff directory for email addresses):
  • Jim Miller - 218-391-5320
  • George Hudak - 920-573-2662
  • Dean Peterson - 218-213-0836
• 
  University of Minnesota Duluth
  • Department of Geological Sciences office - 218-726-7238 or 726-8385
  • Student Housing office - 218-726-8178 or 726-8768
  • General Information - 218-726-8000
• 
  Vermilion Community College (Ely)
  • Summer Program Coordinator (Mary Klein) - 218-365-247
  • General Information - 218-365-7200 or 1-800-657-3608

• 
  Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center (July 25-27)
  • General Information - 218-353-7414
    
    
• 
  U.S. Forest Service
  • Superior National Forest office (Duluth) - 218-626-4300
• 
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