Welcome to WilSkills

Spring 2008 Course
A new semester is upon us which means all Vanderbilt students have another opportunity to take the WilSkills course. Informational slideshows for Spring 2008 will be held in Garland 101 at 7pm on Monday, January 14th and Tuesday, January 15th.

Our New Vehicle!
WilSkills is proud to announce that over the summer we were able to acquire a Freightliner Sprinter Passenger van. Now that the new Vanderbilt Biodiesel facility is operational we have been running the van on 100% biodiesel produced from Vanderbilt Dining Services waste vegetable oil. We are proud to say that it gets approximately 24mpg fully loaded with people and gear and 16mpg with a trailer, compared to the old van which got 18mpg with people and 11mpg with a trailer. This is a 33% improvement on top of the inherent emissions improvements of using biodiesel. Soon we will have a page dedicated to our new earth-friendly vehicle, in the meantime check out a photo here. A big thank you goes out to everyone who donated their time, energy and money into helping us acquire our new vehicle. WilSkills is proud to be leading Vanderbilt in green transportation.

Vanderbilt Biodiesel
WilSkills is hugely excited about Vanderbilt Biodiesel. The program is off to an amazing start considering it just began in the Fall of 2006. Please visit the Vanderbilt Biodiesel Initiative page for the latest info and to get involved.

About WilSkills
Wilderness Skills is Vanderbilt University's premier outdoor experience. The course is designed to integrate academic study with practical experience in the wilderness. It utilizes both the classroom and the environment, combining lectures, films, and discussions with trips to the surrounding areas. The trips are designed to teach students the basic techniques of backpacking, caving, rock climbing, and whitewater paddling. The course is offered each Fall and Spring semester and is open to all current Vanderbilt students, both undergraduate and graduate. Read more.