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This year, Lodge and Libations—an event to help raise funds to construct a premier outdoor educational facility at Western Illinois University's Horn Field Campus—will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Environmental, Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE) program at WIU.

The cost to attend Lodge and Libations is $25, $10 for students, and online registration for both is available at www.wiu.com/web-apps/Alumni/.
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Third Annual Lodge and Libations Set for Sept. 24 at WIU's Horn Field Campus

August 25, 2016

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This year, Lodge and Libations—an event to help raise funds to construct a premier outdoor educational facility at Western Illinois University's Horn Field Campus—will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Environmental, Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE) program at WIU.

MACOMB, IL — Next month, Western Illinois University's Horn Field Campus (HFC) will once again be the venue for the annual Lodge and Libations fundraiser for the Frank Lupton Outdoor Education Building.

Set to start at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 (with a campfire to follow the program), Lodge and Libations, this year, will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the WIU Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration's Environmental, Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE) program, a semester-long field studies program that supports professional preparation in outdoor leadership through experiential education.

Lodge and Libations was first organized in 2014 to celebrate 50 years of Horn Field Campus being part of Western and to raise funds to build a premier outdoor educational facility at HFC, a 92-acre outdoor educational facility (just south of Macomb) administered by the WIU Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA).

Once completed, the new building—to be named in honor of RPTA Professor Emeritus Frank Lupton, who retired from Western in 1993—will not only enhance the learning experiences of Western students, but also serve as a state-of-the-art facility for the hundreds of groups who use HFC every year, including the students enrolled in ECOEE.

"For 40 years, ECOEE has served as the model in wilderness leadership education. Larger universities and agencies have emulated but have never captured the same quality and intensity of ECOEE as both a field based and academic program," explained Michael McGowan, RPTA professor and graduate coordinator. "The development of the Lupton Outdoor Education Center at Horn field Campus will eliminate much of the logistical strain on ECOEE, while also enhancing the ability of Horn Field Campus to serve the outdoor educational needs of the children and youth of the western Illinois region."

Lupton's dream to use Horn Field Campus as a preeminent outdoor educational facility started even before he took a faculty position in the RPTA department 45 years ago.

"I would say my vision for it probably started when I interviewed for the position, back in 1971. I liked Western, and I very much liked the field campus," Lupton said. "I had visions of it becoming like some other outdoor educational facilities I was acquainted with around the country. It is such a great resource—an outdoor center, where a variety of groups could come and learn and enjoy—and serves a lot of purposes. A new building could help attract people from across the country. Horn Field Campus has that kind of potential," Lupton noted.

The L&L Lineup

Lodge and Libations will include music, food, a cash bar, a program (hosted by Dan Yoder, RPTA dept. chair, set to start at 6 p.m.) and the opportunity to reconnect with friends and alumni of Horn Field Campus.

The cost to attend Lodge and Libations is $25, $10 for students, and online registration for both is available at www.wiu.com/web-apps/Alumni/.

Those who cannot attend and still want to contribute can text "Horn50" to 41444 or contact College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) Director of Development Suzanne Woodward at (309) 298-1690 or via email at S-Woodward@wiu.edu.

For more information about Lodge and Libations or about ways to get involved to help Horn Field Campus, contact HFC Program Coordinator Mindy Pheiffer at (309) 298-HORN, MJ-Pheiffer@wiu.edu or the RPTA office at (309) 298-1967.

Learn more about the ECOEE program at www.wiu.edu/coehs/rpta/ecoee/ and about Horn Field Campus at www.wiu.edu/coehs/rpta/horn_field_campus/.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing