How SOLAR Works

SOLAR is a loosely formed volunteer organization made up of people who enjoy the outdoors. In general, activity coordinators and class instructors are members just like you and are not trained professionals, but rather volunteers who share their knowledge and experience. As a club, we do not sponsor, approve, or have the resources to “qualify” our offerings. The club’s role is simply to get people who want to offer something together with people who want to do or learn something. If a person seems to know what (s)he is doing, the Steering Committee will generally allow him or her to present an activity or a class. As somebody wanting to participate in a particular activity or class, it is imperative that you are comfortable with the person running it, the plans, requirements, abilities needed, etc.

The actual requirements for running a class through SOLAR are very simple. Basically, the leader or coordinator should have knowledge to share, background in the specific class topic, and a plan/outline acceptable to the Education Chair. (There may be other requirements such as a Wilderness First Aid and/or CPR Certification, depending on the class.) If the leader or coordinator appears to know what (s)he is talking about, the class will generally be presented. SOLAR may or may not look into claims of experience or history made by a potential class leader or coordinator.

Most of our classes are run by volunteers who are donating their time and knowledge in hopes of sharing those skills with others who may enjoy them. A few of our classes are offered by certified instructors and may offer actual certifications from organizations such as the American Red Cross. This is the exception rather than the rule.

Activities work similarly. If a member wants to coordinate an activity, (s)he can present a plan to the Activities Chairperson. If it is something that is of interest to members and/or broadly falls into “enjoying the outdoors,” it will generally be presented to the club. We really don’t look into how qualified or experienced the leader is.

If it appears that an activity or class may be outside of SOLAR’s comfort zone, the steering committee may decide it should not be formally presented to members. If somebody presents the activities chair with a plan to attend the zoo, it will probably be presented. If that same person wants to go to the zoo to feed tigers, that would probably fall outside of the club’s comfort zone and be turned down.

The SOLAR Yahoo! Group gives members a way to communicate between meetings and/or find other people to do things with. If a member wants to hike, sell their used gear, meet for dinner or feed the tigers without presenting at a SOLAR meeting, the Yahoo! Group is the place to advertise. The group has some basic guidelines -- e.g., political, religious, and inflammatory posts may not belong there and will hopefully be blocked by the moderators. If a member posts that (s)he wants to get a group to go to the zoo to break into the tiger enclosure and feed them bits of steak, nobody will block it. Just because it’s on the Yahoo! Group does not mean it’s a good idea! You are responsible for yourself. Don’t blindly follow anyone to feed the tigers!

The bottom line is that SOLAR is what our members make it. SOLAR gives members access to affordable and unique opportunities. Once again, as somebody wanting to participate it is imperative that you are comfortable with the person running the class or activity, the plans, requirements, abilities needed, etc. If you really like to read policies, we have them. Look for guidelines on coordinating and/or participating in activities and classes on our website.