288Organizations Several years ago, faculty members and students realized a need on campus to provide students with more opportunities to experience nature. The campus lacked recreation activities for more experienced students, as well as information for students that were interested in exploring the Natural State but had little guidance on outdoor activities. JD Yingling was a faculty member who took on the task of providing students with a community to meet these needs. In fall 2019, Yingling worked with students to establish the Explore Club. The club was designed to meet the spiritual, communal and recreational needs of students, with the ultimate goal of promoting wellness. The foundation for the club began when Yingling was a student at Harding: “I wanted to backpack, camp and do other outdoor activities but didn’t really know how,” Yingling said. He saw a similar trend among students once he became a professor and wanted to be able to provide them with knowledge and chances to refine their skills using the abundant natural resources in Arkansas. With the help of Mary Kathryn Wicker Rienert, he established the club. “I looked for interested students and found the perfect person in MK,” Yingling said. “We worked together on getting the club started and she came up with the Explore Club name. MK also developed a constitution and went through the process to start an ‘official’ campus organization through Student Services.” Junior Lydia Radke joined the club during the fall of her freshman year. “[Yingling], now a good friend, was my wellness professor that semester and told me about it.” Radke said. “I’ve always loved hiking and outdoor activities and knew that I wanted to do more of that during college and make friends with the same interests.” Sophomore Jacob Branson expressed similar reasons for joining the Explore Club, “I enjoy doing things outside-- hiking, climbing, camping --and it was nice to have an organized group of people who wanted to go out and do those things together, as well as to meet new people.” Yingling additionally expressed his appreciation for the community that the club creates. “Selfishly, I just love to be with students and the outdoors is a great environment to learn from each other and get real,” Yingling said, “Being in the wilderness tends to drop all pretentiousness and people can just be their true selves. It’s easy to get to know someone well and have deep conversations.” He felt another important aspect of the club was the ability to allow students to connect with God while experiencing nature. “I connect with God when I’m outside in creation and I know a lot of students are the same way,” Yingling said. The Explore Club provided students with many opportunities to cope with the stresses of college and simply experience the awe of creation. Branson spoke about the accessibility of the club and specifically pointed out that Explore Club did not require membership or dues EXPLORING THENatural STATE HU Explore Club hikes, paddles and camps in the Natural State. Made it! Members of the HU Explore Club pose at the Village Creek State Park in Wynne, Arkansas. They camped at the park overnight. Photo courtesy of: Amelia Slater for students to participate. “Our officers just plan events and anyone is welcome to come to as few or as many as they’d like,” Branson said. Radke added to this sentiment and shared that the club was open to people of varying experiences. “We have a wide range, from people that have done long, intense backpacking trips to people that have never hiked before,” Radke said, “We want to make outdoor activities more accessible to students by helping people find places to go, things to do, and friends to go with.” Additionally, the club coincided with the Harding Outdoors program, which provided donated gear that students borrowed free of charge. Though he retired in spring 2024, Yingling elaborated on his hopes for Explore Clubs’ future. “Truthfully, we are way behind a lot of other universities in providing outdoor opportunities for our students. Everything we do is without university support,” he explained, “I want to have the program become more well known to alumni and gain more support from donors.” Radke also mentioned hopes for the club to expand and offer more opportunities to students in the future. “The club has grown a lot in the past two years and I hope that continues. We’re also hoping to start planning a wider variety of activities, like climbing, caving and more water activities in addition to hiking and camping. Since its establishment, the Explore Club has strived to become a thriving community. Through much dedication, the club successfully provided a platform for individuals to connect with nature, build friendships, and foster spiritual well-being. Written by Cora Freeman
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