Community and camping all in one club
Outdoor Crew Club spotlight
By AMBER WARNKE — features@theaggie.org
As students settle into Davis, many have begun looking for new clubs and organizations to join. Whether to make friends, meet peers with common interests or try out new hobbies, there are countless reasons students might enter the world of student groups. One such club, The Outdoor Crew (ODC), has become an important part of the college experience for the more than 480 students involved in it.
The organization was established in 2016, and describes itself on its website as a “hiking, camping, and adventure club” with “hopes of creating a club that brings people together through mutual love of everything outdoors.”
Camille Conrad, a second-year history and American studies double major, is the club’s social planner. Conrad expressed hope that the club will be able to help students embrace the outdoors, as well as one another.
“It is an accessible way for individuals to get to the outdoors, as well as build community with people they might not have, across the different majors and grades,” Conrad said. “I think it's really easy in the school year to feel bottled down by assignments, other responsibilities, just the general pressure of school. Having a designated time each week to get outdoors to unplug and talk to people, I think is a great distressor.”
Ellie Scheberies, a fourth-year environmental science major, is the president of The Outdoor Crew and said she built connections within the club.
“I spent my first years at UC Davis trying to find my community, and a lot of my friends had Greek life, or sports clubs and D1 sports, and I really struggled to find the place that I could call my community and home,” Scheberies said. “After my first trip with ODC, I found that with them.”
There may be science behind Scheberies’ experience, as a 2024 study found that social time spent in nature leads to increased feelings of social connection more than in other settings. Outdoor activities have a host of benefits, from increased feelings of hope and resilience to improved memory and overall mental health.
Julian Korchin, a fifth-year environmental policy analysis and planning major and club hike planner, said he felt numerous benefits from his many Outdoor Crew adventures.
“I'll just have this epiphany while I'm on the hike, looking at the hills cresting over the ocean right now, or I'm gazing up at these giant redwood trees swaying in the wind, and it feels like such a catharsis and a relief from the stress of the week,” Korchin said.
Korchin described the organization’s annual fall road trip to Death Valley National Park as one of the most impactful trips of his time in the club.
“Being on the sand dunes, watching the sunset, seeing the sunrise over the mountain, hearing the quiet of the desert at night — I'd never really been to a desert like that before — seeing the stars without all the light pollution, singing around the campfire; I was just totally sold on what the club means,” Korchin said.
Korchin said that the social opportunities the club provides are another core part of why he loves The Outdoor Crew.
“You've spent time in a car on the way there [to a trip], and make new friends,” Korchin said. “You bond with people over your shared experience with them. Some of my most memorable times in college have been on ODC hikes on ODC camping trips. It just feels like such a wonderful community to be a part of, people who all want to explore nature with you and all want to get outside and who all want to meet each other.”
While getting into nature can feel difficult for students who may not have a car, people to go with or knowledge of where to go, The Outdoor Crew can help.
“ODC is definitely the most affordable way to get outside with other people,” Nathaniel Liu, a third-year plant sciences major and the club’s social media officer said. “We take care of transportation, and I'd like to say that we're all like-minded in that we want to just meet other people who are enthusiastic about getting outside and enthusiastic about meeting just other people in college.”
As Conrad expressed, the opportunities The Outdoor Crew provides to explore nature — and the reasons to join the club — are endless.
“We live in one of the best places in the world with access to such incredible nature, and it's something we really should take more advantage of,” Conrad said.
Students interested in getting involved with The Outdoor Crew can visit @outdoorcrewdavis on Instagram.
Written by: Amber Warnke — features@theaggie.org