Reynolds Field Station Supports Friends of Field Camps
friendsoffieldcamps.org
What is Friends of Field Camps?
Friends of Field Camps is a national alliance of professional societies and foundations, federal and state government agencies, geoscience faculty, and industry partners taking coordinated action to help geoscience field camps and field education in the US survive and thrive.
Why does Reynolds Field Station support Friends of Field Camps?
MAPPING MATTERS!
Geologic mapping underpins critical data interpretations across energy, water resources, environmental engineering, hazards mitigation, and mineral exploration. However, the foundational training ground where future mappers develop spatial reasoning and observational discipline – university field camps – faces severe challenges. Declining enrollments, escalating operating costs, and diminishing institutional support threaten the survival of field programs nationwide. Yet employers continue to value and seek field experience. If field education falters, who will train and become the mappers of tomorrow?
What is the Value of Geoscience?
Credit: Rasoul Sorkhabi (Outcrop, July 2026)
What Organizations Are Participating?
Professional, State & Federal Organizations
- American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation (Founding Member)
- American Geosciences Institute
- Geological Society of America
- American Association of State Geologists
- Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists
- American Institute of Professional Geologists
- Association of State Boards of Geology
- National Association of Geoscience Teachers
- Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience
- Society of Economic Geologists
- Society of Exploration Geophysicists
- Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration
- US Geological Survey
- Energy & Geosciences Institute
- Texas Bureau of Economic Geology
Companies
- Subsurface Consultants (Energy Consulting & Training)
- Geosyntec (Environmental Consulting)
- Switch Energy Alliance (Energy Education non-profit)
- Basin Dynamics (Worldwide Field Training)
- ExxonMobil (Energy)
Faculty & University Field Education Perspectives
- University of Texas El Paso
- Indiana University
- Ohio University
- University of Houston
What Actions Are Friends of Field Camps Taking?
- Student Recruitment & Access
- Developing a national clearinghouse website built on an American Geosciences Institute AI search engine to streamline how students discover camps, evaluate program attributes, and access scholarship support.
- Web Forum for Field Camp Directors and Faculty
- Developing a national web portal for field camp directors, faculty and department chairs to network, share best practices in methods and safety, exchange cost-saving strategies and identify resources
- Advocacy
- Engaging and informing universities, state and national government agencies and industry on the critical role of field mapping skills now and in the future.
- Career Development
- Encouraging curricula that balance solid-earth mapping fundamentals with modern digital tools, such as drone imagery, GIS, and GPS metadata. Demonstrating alignment with professional licensing standards highlights the career value of field training to students and university administrators.
- Sustainable Business Models
- Developing and piloting innovative, financially solvent field camp frameworks, such as regional consortia to pool student and faculty cohorts and to reduce costs, shared infrastructure, modular or split-session option to reduce student opportunity costs, and best practice examples of grassroots alumni engagement strategies to fund capital expenses.
Visit the Friends of Field Camps Website!
Find a field camp, scholarship, faculty forum & much more
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?
Explore With Us!
We are passionate about the sharing the amazing environment and scientific learning opportunities at the Reynolds Field Station. We encourage you to Contact Us about ways you and your institution can participate in exploring and contributing to the science and appreciation of this natural wonderland. We are a 501(c)(3) public charity and welcome donations that will enable travel expenses, grants and scientific equipment for learners who need assistance participating at the Field Station.